The Hindu Business Line : Back to school

‘Let’s Learn’ will have eight training modules, covering two areas — hospitality and travel and tour operations. The training modules have been designed with the assistance of the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies and the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Kovalam.

‘Let’s Learn’: An investment in people.

Sankar Radhakrishnan

Some sections of Kerala’s tourism industry are all set to go back to school. For, Kerala Tourism is about to embark on a training initiative aimed at brushing up the skills and knowledge of people working in the State’s tourism industry.

Called ‘Let’s Learn’, the training programme is part of ‘Synergy’, Kerala Tourism’s unique public-private partnership initiative, and will be rolled out over the next few weeks.

“People are a critical part of the ‘Kerala experience’ for tourists and there is, therefore, a need to invest in people working in the tourism sector and develop their skills,” said Venu V., Secretary-Tourism and Culture, Government of Kerala.

‘Let’s Learn’ will offer short-term refresher courses to people working in the tourism sector. It will also be part of a long-term strategy to develop human resources (HR) in the State and add to the strength of the Kerala brand, he said.

To begin with, ‘Let’s Learn’ will have eight training modules, covering two areas — hospitality and travel and tour operations. The two- and three-day training sessions will be offered in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. The contents of each training module have been designed by Kerala Tourism with the assistance of the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) and the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Kovalam (IHMCT). The tourism sector’s views had been incorporated while developing the courses, he said.

While Kerala Tourism has designed the courses and will award the certificates to participants, it will not be responsible for the execution of the training programmes. The actual training will be done by consultants identified by a committee set up by the department, he said. Both KITTS and IHMCT also have the option of offering some of the courses, he emphasised. Similarly, while the Kerala Government is paying for the expenses associated with developing and promoting ‘Let’s Learn’, it is not funding the courses, he explained. Instead, the fees ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 per participant will be paid by the company that is sponsoring each participant.

Four of the eight modules focus on the hospitality industry and include courses on front office management, guest handling and the food and beverage service. The segment on travel and tour operations will offer separate courses for travel counsellors, tour executives, mid-level executives and senior executives.

Besides sections on developing technical skills, the courses will also cover areas such as telephone etiquette, guest handling, communication and interpersonal skills, stress management and personal grooming. The module for senior executives from the travel industry will include sessions on leadership skills, crisis management and decision-making skills.

The learning methodology followed for most of the courses will include role-plays, group discussions, presentations and practical sessions.

Kerala’s tourism industry has responded quite positively to ‘Let’s Learn’ and there have been a number of enquiries, said Venu. “The demand is there, but it’s nascent,” he added.

The ‘Let’s Learn’ initiative could be a good tool as HR in Kerala’s tourism sector has been “found to be wanting,” said K. C. Chandrahasan, Managing Director, Kerala Travels. According to George Dominic, Executive Director, cgh earth, ‘Let’s Learn’ was an initiative that would be especially useful for junior-level staff. It would help bring in quality and standardisation, and over 20 cgh earth employees would participate in the programme, he said.

M. R. Narayanan, a hotelier and President, South Kerala Hoteliers’ Forum said that ‘Let’s Learn’ was a useful concept, but needed to be given a little time to catch on. The organisation has asked all its members to send at least one or two of their employees for the programme.

According to Kerala Tourism’s Venu, ‘Let’s Learn’ was an easy way for smaller hotel and travel companies to upgrade the skills of their employees. The idea was to offer the training module every year from June to August, which was a relatively less hectic period for the tourism sector. Based on the response to this year’s programme, it would be extended to more locations in Kerala and additional courses would be introduced. Also on the cards, were similar short-term training programmes for other sections of the tourism industry such as drivers and tour guides, he said.

More Stories on : Human Resources | Tourism | Kerala

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