The document discusses the critical role of continuous professional development in the hospitality industry, highlighting challenges such as high staff turnover, inadequate training, and the need for skill differentiation in a competitive market. It emphasizes the importance of aligning vocational training with industry needs while suggesting strategies for effective training delivery, including in-house training and collaboration with outside providers. The Mediterranean Hotels and Restaurants Academy aims to bridge the gap between existing training programs and the actual demands of the hospitality sector.

1. “The Importance of Continuous Professional
Development skills in the Hospitality Industry”
INESP
Gil Antunes – CEO
Jul. 23th 2012

2. INESP
Training and Consultancy, Hospitality industry - Portugal & Brasil
•Study for the Confederation of Portuguese Tourism:
– 1) Emerging jobs in the hospitality industry; certification and
vocational training needs.
•Recruitment for hotels – assessment center in pre-opening
•Operations and H.R. planning consultancy - Hotel pre-openings
•Specialized Training for the hospitality industry, mainly hotel service and
operations - 4 and 5 star hotels
At the MHRAcademy
•Provider of vocational trainings, especially for operational areas in the
hospitality industry.
•Design of identity and promotional materials.

3. Presentation
The Importance of
Continuous Professional
Development skills in the
Hospitality Industry
And why it helps answering the current challenges
of the industry

4. Importance of Continuous Professional Development skills
Challenges - Industry
•Need for differentiation
•Need for originality and experiences
•“Democratization” of flight travel, makes us
compete with the entire world
•New, cheaper, destinations on the other side
of the Mediterranean

5. Importance of Continuous Professional Development skills
Challenges – Work Force
•High turn-over
•Low skill set
•Inadequate training
•Industry’s medium salary makes it hard
to attract real talent

6. EU - Hotels and Restaurants sectors
Comprehensive sectorial analysis of emerging competences
and economic activities in the European Union
Submitted to the European Commission. Oxford Research. 2009
“Today the Hotels and restaurants sector faces a number of
important employment and labour related challenges such as an
ageing European workforce, high staff turnover, skills shortages,
lack of training and a growing demand for flexibility and
multiskilling.”
“For the sector to be able to deal successfully with the challenges
of increased international competition and the many new
emerging consumer preferences, more focus has to be put on
raising the sector’s level of skills and competencies. The European
Hotels and restaurant sector must look much more into the
possibilities of competing in quality and within new emerging up-
scale niche markets”.

7. EU - Hotels and Restaurants sectors
Comprehensive sectorial analysis of emerging competences
and economic activities in the European Union
Submitted to the European Commission. Oxford Research. 2009
“Up-skilling should not only include traditional hospitality skills but
focus on combining these with new skills and knowledge within for
example ICT, health, environment and climate. Within hospitality
education, much more focus will also have to be put on the
teaching and training of social and intercultural skills as both
markets and workplaces become more international and socially
demanding.”
“The dialogue between the social partners in the Hotel and
restaurants sector in general needs to be strengthened not only to
improve working conditions and career structures, but also to
create the needed culture of life-long learning in the sector”

8. Importance of Continuous Professional Development skills
Why should we bother?
•Can’t have service excellence without it!
•You lose opportunities for efficiency gains and
cost cuts.
•Indispensable because of turn-over of staff in
the industry
•Vocational training not always up to the
challenge

9. Why we must bother
What do you mean, can’t have service excellence
without it?!
•Need consistency of service (SOP).
•Train newcomers due to high turnover
•Tourism operations are so specific, that you need to train
staff that have solid formal training (ex: e-commerce)
•Vocational training doesn’t prepare enough people for the
industry needs.
•Excellence of service needs regular training, and refreshing
for maintenance and upgrade of soft and hard skills.

10. Presentation
How to Guaranty
Continuous Professional
Development skills in the
Hospitality Industry?
Suggestions for the Hotel
industry

11. In-house vs Outside provider
In-house
•60% of your staff training can and must be done in-house
•New staff acculturation and training
•Regular performance appraisal that inform training needs
•Regular schedules of skills development in short, 1 hour, training sessions
•Each team can have a informal staff trainer
•Without regular training, you simply cant have a 5* service, it’s not possible.
Outside service provider training
•Essential in pre-opening
•Address serious performance problems
•Go the the next level
•Maintain level of skills and service
•Implement new standards of service

12. Why we must bother
Vocational training vs.
Industry Needs

13. Mediterranean Hotels and Restaurants Academy
A growing number of research studies, show
that there are large discrepancies between
formal training and employer demands in the
hospitality industry.
Many emerging jobs descriptions don’t have
vocational training paths.
The Portuguese example:

14. The Portuguese example
• We identified 29 job descriptions that are either
emerging or where the vocational training system
doesn’t deliver adequate training.
• Next step will be to cross compare and analyze, this
job descriptions in 8 other EU countries, and the
vocational paths (or lack thereof) that prepare
professionals for the hospitality industry.
• Preliminary research suggests that most of the
Portuguese data is also observed in other EU
countries, especially in the Mediterranean region.

15. The Portuguese example
Vocational training not always up to the challenge
Just a few examples
New and emerging job descriptions:
•Revenue and yield manager
•E-commerce and channel managers
•Web 2.0, social media, and online reputation manager
•Guest relations as mix of receptionist and concierge
•Environment and sustainability technicians
•Quality managers in tourism
Vocational training system, can’t cope with demand:
•Sommelier
•Green keeper
•Specialized maintenance technicians
•Health and wellness specialized technicians for hospitality

16. Mediterranean Hotels and Restaurants Academy
The Mediterranean Hotels and Restaurants Academy
aims to provide adequate answers for the industry, in
this scenario.
The Mediterranean Hotels and Restaurants
Academy, aims to help bridge the gap between
formal training and employer demands in the
hospitality industry, and be a reference in the region,
offering quality, innovative, and relevant training
solutions for the industry.

17. Mediterranean Hotels and Restaurants Academy
Some of the solutions that we will offer:
•Basic training in main operations areas for beginners or without formal
training:
– Waiters; receptionist, housekeeping
•Advanced training and Service excellence for concierges, guest relations,
f&b staff, housekeeping, security, etc.
•New trends in online distribution:
– E-commerce, social media, OTA, etc
•Best practices dissemination and technical training, especially in
management, service planning and branding, financial management,
marketing and sales.
•Technical training in building and equipment maintenance, security,
management of VIPs, crisis management, internationalization, etc.

18. Mediterranean Hotels and Restaurants Academy
Thank You for Your time.
Looking forward to visit Malta.
You will always be welcomed in Portugal.