Developing Career Path in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry in the South West Region – The Public Sector Role

Proper understanding of the importance and good management of career development is necessary to enable employees give it their total support and to reap the advantages. Any tourism and hospitality organisation or business which is interested in developing the career paths of its workers improves the level of confidence and spirit, hence the output of its employees. There is therefore a huge responsibility on the part of each of the stakeholder namely: the employee, the manager and the employer in an organisation as far as career development are concerned. While hospitality and tourism has traditionally been an industry that emphasized hands-on experience, the competitive nature of the business now requires a combination of experience and higher education to build a successful management career. Career paths are sometimes part of the employee development process within organizations, in this case, an employee and a supervisor or the Human Resources representative should always discuss the career development of the worker within the context of their organization. It’s important to start thinking of career paths early as the choices made early on in a career can influence the opportunities available in the future. Training and development can play a significant part in the opportunities open to people and therefore the ways they can carve out their career path.

Keywords: Career, development, career path development.