In the lead-up to World Youth Skills Day on Saturday, July 15, experts are highlighting the need to equip youth with the necessary skills to find jobs in the tourism industry.

In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 15 as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, appropriate work and entrepreneurship.

This year, the theme is skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future, highlighting the essential role that educators play in providing skills for youth to move into the labour market and actively engage in their communities and societies.

According to a report from the Education Commission and UNICEF, published to coincide with World Youth Skills Day, it is estimated that only around 25% of the world’s youth are on track to learn the skills they need to get a job – either through education, employment or training.

Need for tourism’s educational reform in Africa

Tourism Update recently spoke to several educational and tourism industry leaders where they highlighted the need to address tourism’s educational imbalance in Africa.

As well as addressing the problems in the tourism education system, the educational experts called for more collaboration between educational institutions and the private sector.

Mamello Mofokeng, Co-Founder and CEO of sector-agnostic solutions agency, Saturated Africa, said: “There are private institutions that offer hospitality qualifications, for example, that give students the relevant skills or what they need to know. But the most important is to get practical skills – to learn by doing. As much as the institution can give learners what they need, it is up to them to get the practical training. They need to position themselves in a place where a qualified person is going to teach them what is relevant to the industry. In that way they will be able to grow.”

Maipato Mmako, Lecturer, Co-ordinator and Learning Development Facilitator at the University of Johannesburg, said: “We have to redo it [redesign tourism’s educational programmes] in a progressive way where the curriculum allows for new young people to get into this sector. In the curriculum that we need to do as institutions in redesigning it, let’s introduce core skills within the institutions so that by the time students graduate, they are market-ready. We also need to teach students to take initiatives themselves.

“It’s one thing to look at preparing these young people to go into the industry, but we also need to turn the tables around for the companies as well to be ready to receive these young students in their space. There has to be a balance.”

Tourism will be a major catalyst for job creation in the future, considering that Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 60% under the age of 25, and the proportion of young people is expected to grow in the decades ahead. Furthermore, tourism generates one in ten of the world’s jobs.

“Such a high number of young people is an opportunity for the continent’s growth – but only if these new generations are fully empowered to realise their best potential. It is thus especially important that young people are included in the decision-making processes and given appropriate opportunities and proper means to work and innovate the tourism sector,” Elcia Grandcourt, Regional Director for Africa at the United Nations World Tourism Organization told Tourism Update.

Hospitality & Service Management School

The IIE School of Hospitality & Service Management has been hard at work developing its educational offering by incorporating themes such as cultural thinking, problem solving and financial literacy into its teachings.

Courses such as their Advanced Certificate in Hospitality Management help students acquire skills sets to interpret challenges in the various hospitality departments, deliver services efficiently and effectively, solve problems and exploit opportunities to improve services.

Students also get to understand the legal requirements that have an impact on business and basic accounting principles.

Etresia Booysen, a senior lecturer at The IIE School of Hospitality & Service Management’s Rosebank campus, said: “Combining academics with practical experience is highly important to prepare students for the labour market in the hospitality industry. While academic knowledge provides a strong foundation of theoretical concepts and principles, practical experience offers invaluable insights into real-world scenarios, skills development, and industry-specific challenges.

“Our approach to student preparation goes beyond theoretical classes by incorporating practical demonstrations and hands-on experiences. As the flagship campus, we host a variety of events on-site, during which time the students actively participate and contribute to the operations, allowing them to apply their knowledge and skills in real-world scenarios.

“This practical exposure not only enhances their understanding of the industry but also hones their interpersonal skills, particularly in areas such as communication and teamwork. Moreover, these events serve as networking platforms for our students and, by working alongside industry professionals and engaging with event attendees, our students have the chance to establish valuable connections and build relationships with potential employers and industry partners.

“It is not uncommon for our students to receive job offers or internship opportunities during these events, illustrating the practical relevance and industry recognition of our programme.”

Here are nine key facts about the youth skills gap:

1. By 2030, there will be 78 million more young people, with nearly 40 million of them in low-income countries and requiring education and training.
2. According to the World Skills Clock, a partnership between UNICEF, the Education Commission, World Data Lab, and Generation Unlimited, which counts up in real-time, there are currently over 737 million youth without secondary education-level skills
3. Youth employment fell by 39 million in 2020 while 24 million young people are still at risk of not returning to school.
4. Young people lost jobs faster than other age groups in the first few months of the pandemic, because they were over-represented in the worst-hit sectors or had temporary or fixed-term contracts.
5. Over 30% of young women worldwide are not in employment, education, or training, while for young men it’s 13%.
6. More than 86% of apprenticeships were halted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
7. Around 600 million jobs need to be created over the next 15 years to meet youth employment needs.
8. According to a recent survey, 50% of 18- to 24-year-olds believe there will be no traditional employment in the future and instead they will promote their own personal brands and sell skills on a short-term basis to those who need them
9. The proportion of the world’s youth without digital skills is 63%.