September 06, (THEWILL) – National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (Nihotour), recently matriculated no fewer than 500 students and trainees for the 2020/2021 academic session.
Director General of Nihotour Alhaji Nura Kangiwa, disclosed this during the matriculation ceremony at the institution’s headquarters in Abuja, thereby noting that the exercise brought together students and trainees from nine campuses of Nihotour across States.
Kangiwa congratulated the students for their admission into the Institute to study professional occupational skills development for career ladder building, while expressing optimism, he revealed that Nihotour was one of the most rated projects of the UNDP/ILO and Nigeria Government for professional travel, hospitality and tourism training services, research in the country as well.
“More importantly, our tuition fees are the least among tertiary institutions in Nigeria”. The management subsidises fees of students in this Institute to attract the less privileged towards empowering youth and also providing avenues for professional organizations to access capacity building for their agencies”.
“We on our part are doing all we can within the resources available to maintain the needed conducive teaching and learning environment for your smooth training and studies”.
He admonished the trainees and students to use their youthful energies positively to enhance the growth and development of the Institute and not to bring shame and bad publicity to damage the good image the Institute is known for.
He further advised them in adhering strictly to the school rules and regulations.
He added that they should be committed to learning and studying with an expectation of finishing with good results.
With theme ‘Building Capacity To Meet The Travel, Hospitality And Tourism Industry Skills Gap For Quality Service Delivery In Nigeria, FTAN President Mr. Nkereuwem Onung commended Kangiwa for his passionate leadership and unwavering quest to sustain the position of Nihotour as a leading global brand to be reckoned with.
“We appreciate what you are doing and the many lives you are changing and growing positively”
A few years back, students of tourism and hospitality were laughed at for not choosing more serious career paths”.
Jobs in the sector were not taken seriously and building a career in the industry was not regarded as an option at all”.
“A few years down the line, we are here today celebrating with new students who are interested in pursuing a career in travel, hospitality and tourism”.
Onung expressed that the world has entered a phase that is popularly referred to as the fourth industrial revolution. A period characterized by a technological revolution that is massively reshaping and transforming the way industries, communities and societies operate and engage or relate with each other.
Onung said the travel, hospitality and tourism industry is right in the middle of this as it is largely labour intensive.
He explained, travel, hospitality and tourism industry’s potential to realize growth and make significant contributions to the economic development of communities around the globe mainly hinges on one condition: its ability to rapidly fill hundreds of thousands of new positions with qualified people. The industry is particularly dependent on its ability to hire young men and women ages 17–25, who make up the largest share of employees in the industry.
“Going forward, the nature of travel, hospitality and tourism businesses will change to functioning with only qualified manpower and more efficient operations, where a balance between smart and skilled labour is sought after”.
“Our dear matriculants, while NIHOTOUR is performing its duties of providing you with adequate level of quality education, it is imperative for you to know that increasingly, educators and employers are finding that for young people to succeed in today’s rapidly changing and globalized world, they need an educational foundation that includes more than just academic and technical skills. You critically need life and employability skills as a way to prepare you to be motivated and confident decision-makers who can overcome adversity and realize your potential”.
“At this point, we encourage you all to develop a career vision to chart a career path in this sector. This entails accepting responsibility for how far you want to go. The vision must be clear, you must acquire the competence required while expecting definite constraints which creativity and concentration will deliver.
“The importance of life skills for the travel, hospitality and tourism industry cannot be overstated. It is not unusual for entry-level staff in a hotel to interact daily with hundreds of people with different cultural backgrounds, languages, service expectations, and needs. Travel, Hospitality and Tourism industry workers must be able to rapidly adapt to accommodate a degree of diversity unheard of in other lines of work”.
He appealed to all practitioners in the industry to join hands with NIHOTOUR as a matter of urgency and necessity to encourage upskilling, re-skilling and continuous education as a means to building capacity to meet travel, hospitality and tourism industry skills gap for quality service delivery in Nigeria.
About the Author
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
