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Education Plus
Offering a flying start to dream careers
S. ANIL RADHAKRISHNAN
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Know more about the innovative programme in air-hostess training and travel and hospitality management that is being launched by the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies.
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Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar
Top draw: A view of the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
The demand for trained professionals has soared with the phenomenal growth being witnessed in the travel, tourism, aviation and hospitality industries. The boom has raised the hopes of thousands of students in the country who dream of pursuing a career in the hospitality and aviation industries.
In Kerala, it has been predicted that the number of jobs in the tourism and travel sectors will grow to more than 22 lakh by 2013. Taking this as the base, the tourism sector in the State is expected to create another seven-lakh jobs in the five-year Plan period ending 2012. A challenging career, fat pay packets and glamour attract the young to these sectors. But a lack of skilled and trained manpower matching international standards is one problem facing the aviation, travel, tourism and hospitality sectors.
KITTS initiative
The Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS), a premier centre for tourism studies functioning under Kerala Tourism, has been in the forefront of shaping competent professionals in the tourism and travel sectors for nearly two decades.
KITTS has tied up with the Ashok Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Management (AIH&TM) of the Government-owned India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) to start an innovative programme in air-hostess training and travel and hospitality management to cater to the needs of the industry.
Started in 1971 as an in-house Manpower Development Centre of the ITDC, AIH&TM is, at present, handling multidimensional activities, including hospitality-related training and consultancy and educational and career-oriented courses.
It has successfully designed and conducted customised hospitality-, travel- and tourism-related training programmes. It also offers professional expertise in hospitality education consultancy to the private sector. One of its recent ventures is the air-hostess training programme conducted in various parts of the country. Being jointly organised by AIH&TM and KITTS, the one-year diploma course in air-hostess training and travel and hospitality management will feature four career-oriented modules.
In addition to providing basic knowledge as well as practical and operational skills, the course lays special emphasis on personality development. “It is a multi-skilled training programme capable of moulding versatile and flexible professionals who can adapt to any kind of career in the wider sector of tourism,” Director of KITTS V. Rajeevan told The Hindu-EducationPlus.
The training module has been planned to provide essential skills related to the aviation, hospitality and travel sectors. The modules will be delivered through theory sessions, lectures, training films, role-plays, simulated exercises, discussions and practical training.
Each of the three modules related to various sectors of the tourism industry will be exposed to the students through practical training for three weeks each. Thus, the participants, after completion of the programme, will have worked in a hotel or resort, a travel or tour operations agency and gone through an elaborate in-flight training phase in Mumbai. The in-flight training phase will be residential. The participants will get an opportunity to absorb practical skills related to the cabin-crew functions.
Tourism being an intensively people-oriented industry, professional effectiveness is enhanced significantly by social skills. Taking into account this, the students will be trained in behavioural skills such as transactional analysis, emotional intelligence, stress management and body language. Besides, intense training in social etiquettes and telephone skills has been included in the module. Training in first aid, swimming, basics of self-defence, personal grooming and public speaking has been included as part of the personality development module. “It is a three-in-one course offering immense opportunities. All the modules are inter-related and the much-needed soft skills for the hospitality industry have been included in the module,” says H.A. Munaff, Course Consultant, KITTS, and Chairman, Board of Airline Representatives, Kerala.
Those who have passed Plus Two or a degree course, possess good command over English and are below the age of 30 can apply for the diploma course. In the case of air hostess and flight purser, the applicants should be single and aged 18 or above but 23 or below.
The selection will be based on an aptitude test consisting of a written test, a communication skills test and personal interview. The intake of students for the first batch will be 50 and the course fee, Rs. 80,000. KITTS has plans to set up a simulator and a full-fledged wing for providing training to air hostess and in-flight services on the new premises, Mr. Rajeevan said.
For the first time since its inception, KITTS has decided to offer internationally recognised basic and advanced skills programmes of IATA, UFTA and FIATA. These programs will be conducted on the KITTS premises at Thycaud, in association with Speedwings, Kochi, an approved agency.
Mr. Rajeevan said these courses were not offered earlier owing to the non-availability of certified trainers who were more inclined to conduct private tuitions.
The training programmes shall be launched during April or May and are expected to cater to a larger group of participants.
On the successful completion of the programme, the participants will be awarded certificates by the agencies concerned. It will enable them to earn primary jobs in the travel market.
Almost all the career-oriented programs launched by KITTS till date had been for graduates. To cater to the demand from undergraduates, KITTS will introduce a one-year diploma course in travel, tourism and hospitality.
The multi-skilled training programme will enable the participants to choose a suitable career from the larger canvas, he adds.
It will enable them to comfortably migrate from one sector to another. The diploma course for under graduates will be a programme of three semesters, each focussing on travel, tourism and hospitality, respectively.
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