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Careers in
Hotel Management
With hotels coming up
in record numbers to cater to the ever growing domestic and
international travellers, the demand for trained
professionals has multiplied in the industry.
The institutes providing training in hotel management are the
19 institutes under the National Council of Hotel Management,
the institutes run by hotel chains and finally, the private
institutes boasting of foreign affilations and exotic names.
For the student, the best bet is to try for courses offered
by reputed chains of hotels or institutes coming under the
National Council. Some private institutes are also good, but
most lack the infrastructure and faculty to run a programme
in hotel management, even when they are approved by the All
India Council of Technical Education(AICTE).
The most sought after are the courses run by reputed hotel
chains. The well-known institutes in this category are the
Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development at Delhi, the Taj
group's Indian Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) at
Aurangabad and the Welcomgroup Graduate Hotel Management
School in Manipal. Getting in these institutes is very
difficult, as the number of applications received are far in
excess of the number of apllicants. The Oberoi centre, it was
reported, got 23,000 applications for its course even without
advertising for it. The number of trainees taken by it was
90.
How to get in: The eligibility to enter a course in hotel
management is Class 12. Institutes coming under the National
Council offer a 3-year diploma course while private
institutes offer a 4-year Bachelor's programme.
There is an entrance test consisting of English, Reasoning,
General Science and General Knowledge. The test is of 2-hour
duration and is held around April every year. The test is
followed by a group discussion and interview, in which a
person's personality and confidence is seen. Private
institutes have their tests at different times in April/May
and the pattern of the paper is roughly the same. Academic
sessions usually start by July/August every year.
According to professionals in the field, what is required is
a good personality, a desire of meeting people, confidence,
and above all, flair. One must be an extrovert. A lot of hard
work is expected so a person not willing to put in effort
should look for a different profession. This is because
working in a hotel is never an eight-hour job and goes way
beyond.
Normally, there are 20-25% girls in a batch. Girls prefer the
Front Office and Housekeeping functions and some are taken in
sales as well. A reputed hotel also has a woman chef.
Depending on the merit that one is able to get in the test,
one may get the desired location from the 19 locations of
institutes under the National Council. One major disadvantage
is the lack of hostels at many places and some students are
forced to drop out if a hostel is not available in a
particular city.
Another option is to join a foodcraft institute after class
10 or 12. Such institutes exist in many States and provide
training in catering and food processing. Courses are
generally 6-18 months long and various craft-level courses
are offered. One can join a hotel in a junior level after
such a course and can reach a supervisory level in 6-7 years.
Training: There are four areas in which the training is
imparted: Front Office, Housekeeping, Food and Beverages and
Kitchen. Students are also taught law, economics, accounts,
management and a foreign language and are thus fully equipped
to manage all aspects of a hotel. Sales and marketing are
taught during the third year. The course provides an all
round training in hotel management, combining practical
learning with classroom lectures.
Practical training forms part of the curriculum. For example,
institutes have a fully equipped kitchen and even a
restaurant in which they are trained. The institutes also
have their own labs for housekeeping. Apart from this, in
their second year, students are required to go for a 22-week
practical training at a hotel. This helps them relate to the
practical side of working in a hotel and to gain an insight
as to which area they would like to work in, after their
graduation.
Promotion avenues exist in each of the four areas. From Front
Office trainee, one can go on to becoming a manager and later
be promoted to a General Manager. Housekeeping is an area
which does not demand odd hours and is ideal for girls and
one may go on to become a manager. In the kitchen, one can
hope to become a chef, which is a managerial position, after
10-15 years. Similarly, in Food and Beverage section, a
managerial position can be achieved, depending on
performance.
Salaries: After completing the diploma or the bachelor's
course, a graduate is usually taken as a trainee. Starting
salaries range between Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,500. After successful
completion of training, they may be absorbed in positions
with salaries range between Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,500. After
successful completion of training, they may be absorbed in
positions with salaries ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 11,000
plus perks. Salaries would, of course, vary from chain to
chain.
After this, the sky is really the limit. Depending on
performance, a person may expect regular promotions. A chef,
for instance, is a highly paid professional and many chains
pay Rs 40,000 a month to their chefs.
Choosing an institute: Students often ask which institute to
choose. One should try to get into chains of reputed hotels
because one can get exposure to a working hotel and imbibe
the exacting levels of service. Institutes under the National
Council are also sought after. Finally, there are private
institutes. Before joining, one can make inquiries about the
infrastructure, the kind of jobs that its graduates have got
and the faculty at the institute. As private institutes are
very expensive, such questions will prevent frustration later
on.
Though a career in hotel management is a lucrative one, one
should enter only if one is sure of having the aptitude.
Finally, there is the joy and satisfaction of providing the
best to the guest and making him confortable. Many hotels
take pride in making their guests comfortable and providing
services which go beyond the ordinary. In the long run, a
hospitality professional must have this tendency, which will
take him a long way.
Address of Institutes in India:
National Council for Hotel Management and Catering
Technology, Library Avenue, Pusa Complex, New Delhi - 110012.
Advertisement for admission is published in January every
year and written test is conducted in April.
Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Valley
View, Manipal - 576 119.Advertisement for admission is
published in February and written test is held in April/May
every year.
Indian Institute of Hotel Management (Taj Group), Rauza Bagh,
Aurangabad - 431001. Advertisement for admission is published
in February/March every year.
Institutes Abroad:
The Hotel and Tourism School, Les Roches, CH 3961 Bluche,
Crans Montana, Valais, Switzerland.
Leeds College of Technology, Calverly Street, Leeds,
Yorkshire, UK.
Cornell University School of Hotel Management and
Administration, Statler Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
Michigan State University School Hotel Restaurant and
Institutional Management, 424 Eppley Centre, East Lansing,
Michigan 148822, USA.
Apart from these, there are private institutes in India,
which are approved by All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE).20
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