Assessing the Impact of Skill Gap on Advancement Opportunities within the Hospitality Industry

“Assessing the Impact of Skill Gap on Advancement Opportunities within the Hospitality Industry“

Introduction

The skills gap remains to be a crucial problem for several employers within the hospitality sector. Work has also been covered in Malaysia in the engineering field on the Skill mismatch between graduates and industry needs within the actual field. There has been some work done in Kenya’s hospitality industry. According to Kabii et al. (2019), most training institutions created a skills gap by mainly focusing on supply-led training instead of demand training which led to most graduates in Kenya being taught skills and knowledge not matching up to what the employers need. The skill gap has created an increase in unemployment due to the lack of skills needed that students graduating do not hold. (Kamaruzaman et al., 2019, p.2). The skills gap in any country does present very negative impacts on each economy. The skills gap is also not just limited to one industry but exists within various disciplines like banking, tourism, marketing, research, I.T, and computer science. Moreover, the new term for skills gap is now known as “skills mismatch”. (Cappelli, 2015, p.252)

Over the years, one of the many arguments that have surfaced around skills gaps or skills mismatch would have been “Who is responsible for the skills level of job applicants” Cappelli (2015) states that it is the employer’s responsibility. (p.252) In the traditional work environment, employers have to internalize entry-level training for employees with the skills needed. In the hospitality industry, talent management and personal performance are crucial to influencing the success and efficiency in the hospitality sector, Manjnath et al. (2019).

Some may argue that a high competition rate among frontline workers in the service industry will positively influence the growth and development of skilled competition (Nikadimovs & Ivanchenko, 2020). Many working professionals in the hospitality industry experience producing poor customer service due to not being tech-savvy, which then lowers customer engagement. Profits also correlate with a lack of efficiency due to the technology skill gap. (The actual effects of the growing employee skills gap | 2021, para.4)

However, a skill gap can potentially lower the organization’s performance and Increase Company costs, as seen in hospitality today. Universities must work along hospitality professionals to realign what’s taught versus what is needed in the field. According to Wilson (2018) “The Inter-American Development Bank’s report: “Skill for Current and Future jobs in The Bahamas a significant gap exists between the labor needs in the Bahamas and the skills of the local workforce.” “(para.1). There was a serious struggle for Bahamian employers with allocating the right set of people with specific technical skills needed. Skills gap damages local opportunities, allowing talented overseas to thrive in the Bahamas. The skills gap also encouraged strong “tension between labor and immigration policies and purposeful practice. (Wilson, 2018, para.2)