The most promoted among educational institutions of this kind are Swiss hotel management schools, which is not surprising. As noted by an expert from the CMC "Parta", it is Switzerland that is considered the birthplace of this type of education. We will not delve into the history of their creation, because much has already been written about it. Let us pay attention to the following facts.
Firstly, Switzerland has a large number of hotel management schools, whose main task is to train local residents. These are a kind of vocational schools. But it is precisely their structure of training, combining a semester or two semesters of study, then practice, then again study, that formed the basis of all educational institutions offering education in this discipline. At the same time, not all Swiss hotel schools that invite our compatriots to study there have been able to overcome the threshold of a vocational school and transform into a higher educational institution. However, schools where the majority are local students do not need this.
How to recognize which educational institution is more oriented towards working with international students? As paradoxical as it may seem at first glance, this can be found out on the website of the American New England Association of Schools and Colleges, because accreditation by this Association is a kind of mark of quality and recognition of merit. So, if you go to their website (www.neasc.org/roster/pssos.htm) and look at the list of foreign accredited members, we will see that out of five accredited Swiss hotel management schools, only three have bachelor's programs. These are Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, Glion Institute of Higher Education and Hotel Management School "Les Roches". Therefore, the second point to pay attention to is whether the hotel school offers its own degrees or limits itself to awarding professional qualifications in the form of a professional diploma.
Let us now make a small digression and turn to the structure of training. After a year of study (two semesters) and practice (one semester), the student receives a professional certificate (Certificate Hotel & Restaurant Operations). To obtain a professional diploma (Diploma Hotel & Restaurant Operations), it is necessary to study for another 3-4 weeks after the practice.
Most Swiss schools accept our students from the age of 17, so proper hotel management schools arrange the first internship after a year of study, when students turn 18 and have the right to work and receive payment for their labor.
Students who decide to continue their education (the presence of a degree plays a decisive role in what job you can apply for in the future) study in the fourth semester, do an internship in the fifth, and study again in the sixth. And the seventh semester is mainly devoted to seminars and writing a thesis. At the end (after 3.5 years of study), students are awarded a degree (BA in Hospitality).
And for future careerists in the hospitality industry who want to continue their education or change their already acquired specialty, it is no less, but rather more important to have master's programs at the school that end with obtaining an MA in Hospitality or MBA in Hotel Management.
In the United Kingdom, a country most popular among our students, there are also their own vocational schools where one can study the hotel craft, and they are called Colleges of Higher and Future Education. As their name implies, educational institutions of this type are mainly designed for local students who left school at the level of a secondary education certificate (if approximately translated into our usual concept) and did not study in the last two years in order to pass A-Levels and gain access to university education.
Therefore, the average age of students in colleges is 20. And the main task of educational institutions is to prepare students for professional work or admission to a university.
Many British colleges offer education in this specialty, most of them finish training students at the level of obtaining a professional qualification – Higher National Diploma, lasting two years. And the first qualification, preparation for which takes one year, is the Higher National Certificate. Some colleges also award a bachelor's degree in hotel management. Studying for a bachelor's degree takes three years.
To continue education at the master's level, you need to enter a university and after a year of study leave with an MA in Hospitality.
However, you can enter the university for the coveted specialty bypassing professional colleges. In England through foundation programs, and in Scotland with a good certificate and excellent knowledge of English - directly.
Which British university to prefer for studying in the specialty "Hotel Management"? To this question, one can give a simple and unambiguous answer: any. According to a report by the British government organization (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education), whose main task is to control the quality of teaching in higher education institutions, universities have even ratings for teaching hotel management. Therefore, it is worth choosing a British university from the standpoint: does it provide the opportunity for paid internship or not. If there is no internship, you will face overly theoretical training and corresponding employment.
The last country we will cover in this overview is Canada. And the main question here is: what to prefer - university or college. As the Canadians themselves claim, university teaches you to think, college teaches you to work.
Therefore, if you intend to work in international organizations in the future, for example, the World Tourism Organization, and engage in research, then choose a university. But if you dream of career growth in companies directly involved in the hospitality industry, then your path is to college. Moreover, in most Canadian colleges and many universities, you can get a bachelor's degree in hospitality management.
But a master's degree can be obtained in only two: in English - at the University of Guelph МВА in Hospitality and Tourism, and in French - at the Montreal campus of the Université du Québec à Montréal MSc en gestion et planification du tourisme.
In conclusion, we will touch on two important points: the average cost of tuition and employment prospects.
As can be seen from the table, studying in Canada is the most budget-friendly. Therefore, if you have limited funds, it makes sense to get a bachelor's degree at a Canadian college, and then satisfy your ambitions for a master's degree in any other country.
As for employment prospects, they are very high. According to the World Tourism Organization, last year the number of tourists exceeded 700 million people, and tourism revenues amounted to $474 billion. The hospitality industry is developing rapidly and needs, first of all, middle and senior managers.
As an example, we can cite the region of the famous Niagara Falls, where for a long time no hotels were built because Toronto is only an hour away, and tourists came only to admire the natural wonder. The authorities came up with a very clever marketing move – they built a $1 billion casino near the falls. The casino, in turn, pulls along the rest of the infrastructure: hotels, cafes and restaurants, cinemas, leisure facilities, fitness, hairdressers, etc. Today, at least 8.000 people are required to work in one casino.
A shortage of specialists in hotel management and banking in the country was also noted by representatives of local universities in Scotland. So the prospects for graduates of hospitality schools are quite good. The main thing is to develop your own education plan based on personal data, professional ambitions, and... the thickness of your wallet.