This text is part of the special Business Tourism booklet
Faced with a record labor shortage after two years of pandemic, the Quebec tourism industry must reinvent itself. One thing that the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) has clearly understood, which this year launched four new programs in hospitality management as well as an international intern recruitment program in collaboration with its partners.
“Student recruitment remains a challenge,” recognizes the senior director of university studies and research at the ITHQ, Jasmin Tanguay. “We have to charm the students because obviously they have a lot of opportunities on the job market. »
The pandemic has left questions about the industry behind. “Where is she going?” The fact that there are a lot of positions available makes people wonder if the hours are reasonable, if they can have a quality of life in this industry,” he reports.
Four new programs
The ITHQ can pride itself on not having waited to adapt its course offer to the new expectations of students. Since this fall, three short programs of 1er cycle have been set up, aimed at those wishing to specialize in reception and customer experience management. “The objective is to provide access to programs for people who do not necessarily have the traditional profile of the ITHQ, that is to say a student arriving from college, but who already has a job, for example” , explains Mr. Tanguay. The offer has also been adapted to be more flexible, with part-time courses in the evening.
On the menu, a five-course reception management program that addresses “the notions of quality and business performance based on customer satisfaction”. Another program, that of hospitality business operations management, allows the student to focus on business models that are changing a lot at the moment, “because we are in a context of innovation, post -COVID”, recalls the director.
The third short program, in management of the employee experience in hospitality companies, allows the employee to become “an ambassador to the customer” and to review the type of organizational dynamism within a company. “We are going to touch on issues on the question of diversity, inclusion, individual cultures within the organizational culture, etc. “, he describes.
Finally, a certificate in hospitality management and customer experience design has been developed, in the continuity of these three short programs, allowing students to add marketing thinking. In providing authentic and positive customer service, “the physical environments of the establishments where you are hosted also come into play,” he says.
Changing needs
The courses have been developed to meet the changing needs of the industry. “Entrepreneurship becomes very important, the ability to review the model inside, so to be an entrepreneur in your own business to initiate change. I think it’s one of the major challenges for the industry right now and it will no doubt remain so in the future, this ability to adjust, to review processes,” emphasizes the director.
If the return to normal will not be before 2025 for the tourism industry, there are many possibilities for creation. “This is the message we want to send with our programs, by laying a solid foundation in business and business management with a more human, more relational aspect, to participate in these innovations in the industry of tomorrow”, he concludes.
Since the pandemic, salaries have also increased by around 8%, also rejoices the executive director general of the ITHQ, France Dionne. According to her, this is a necessary adaptation to attract future executives, for example.
Recruit internationally
If the last two years have been very difficult for the tourism sector, the shortage had already started in 2019, indicates France Dionne.
The institute had already planned to launch an international trainee recruitment programme, which was finally able to take place this year. “We promoted internship opportunities in Quebec in French hotel schools,” she explains. The program was set up in collaboration with the Association hôtellerie du Québec, the Association Restauration Québec, the International Youth Offices of Québec and the Office franco-québécois pour la jeunesse.
In total, 16 French high schools spread over 10 regions of France took part, ie around forty student trainees who came to spend between three and six months on Quebec soil. “We found 22 employers in Quebec in 10 regions,” says France Dionne. It was also an opportunity to present to them what the Institute has to offer, to stimulate their interest in studying in Canada. “It was a success, the students were very happy, and the employers too,” she rejoices. The exercise will also be repeated in 2023, and recruitment work will begin within one or two months.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.