What's wrong with a career in hospitality?: an examination of student choice

This paper was funded through the Community of Practice program, part of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) Building Researcher Capacity initiative. It is concerned with the question of how better to align student course choice with labour market demand for skills and the reasons for students selecting some courses over others. A small number of student case studies in the hospitality industry are presented as examples of why a career in hospitality does not appear to be as popular to students as a career in events management. These case studies are also used to develop a model for decision-making, which identifies the various stages of the decision-making process and the types of information and assistance that are required at each stage or combination of stages. The need for greater involvement of external stakeholders is identified as important in ensuring that students make an informed decision when choosing a career path. A model representing the ideal situation for student decision-making on career choice is proposed. Show less