11/02/12, 00:54:45 EST

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South Africa: 2010 Opens 80 000 Jobs in Tourism

allafrica.com

The three years ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa have opened up about 80 000 job opportunities in the local tourism and hospitality sector.

This is according to a skills audit by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT).

The audit indicated that over the next three years, the industry will require about 24 100 cooks and chefs, 23 500 waiters and waitresses, 15 000 cleaners, 7 800 cashiers and 8000 managerial staff.

Director for the School of Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Professor Daneel van Lill said one of the key challenges within the industry at present was that demand for staff far outstrips supply.

Speaking at the first ever international and national Tourism and Hospitality Colloquium, Tuesday, Prof van Lill said the hospitality training industry is set to undergo a major revamp.

This will have a key emphasis on quality training, to ensure that the country is sufficiently prepared with qualified people, systems and resources for 2010 and beyond.

"These challenges are common knowledge in the hospitality industry, but the Colloquium presented an opportunity for industry leaders to explore ways of overcoming this challenge," said Prof van Lill.

With the private sector and the public sector differing on how to address the skills shortage, the conference focussed on whether or not skills' training is a priority in South Africa.

They also discussed just how important it is to get skills training right, and, most importantly, what needs to be done to achieve effective training provision.

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management at UJ John Liuz said with all of the hotel schools in South Africa represented at the conference, it was an ideal opportunity for a concerted academic programme of action to promote and enhance the standing and credibility of the training institutions.

This was important he said, not only amongst the South African public, but also internationally.

"We are currently broadening our international links and are fortunate to have had representation from three leading international universities, namely Pennsylvania State University, College of the Bahamas and New York University," said Mr Luiz.

The tourism industry is to make up about 12 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the time the 2010 FIFA World Cup comes around, according to SA Tourism.

The industry currently contributes about 8.2 percent of the national GDP, which is a R79 billion contribution.

According to SA Tourism, on a monthly basis the country already deals with 650 000 travellers.

The body is expecting about 450 000 international travellers in the space of six weeks during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The conference, which was attended by over 180 high level local and foreign academics and business leaders, served as a platform for all parties to intensely debate key issues impacting on the hospitality and tourism industries.

This included global tourism and hospitality trends, the impact of tourism development, opportunities for capital investment, leadership and entrepreneurship, manpower requirements within the industry and major sporting events, such as the World Cup.

Speakers at the conference included World Travel and Tourism Council Advisor David Frost; Managing Director of Golding Hotel Investment Consultants Joop Demes, Nedbank Senior Economist Maganial Mistry, and Programme Manager for the Travel and Tourism Division of the National Business Initiative Darryn von Maltitz, amongst others.

Some of the panellists included, , Rick Taylor of the Business Tourism Company; Dr Ginger Smith from New York University; Katinka Schumann-Bester of the Industrial Development Corporation; Dr Bert Van Hoof of Pennsylvania State University; Dr Lincoln H Marshall of the College of the Bahamas; Monde Mkalipi of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Unit; and Professor Elsabe Loots from Monash University in South Africa.

An encouraging development for South African hotel schools has been the growing support from Industry leaders and significant investment by business.

The School of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, for example, has just received significant financial support from Sol Kerzner, Len Wolman of the United States-based Waterford Group, and Nedbank, among others.

 Printable Version  | published Oct 16, 2007