Under the current circumstance of globalisation, the hospitality industry has been expanding year to year, with the help of advanced technologies and the desire for more extravagant lives. There is no doubt that this industry shall be one of the dominant industries all over the world, having the largest number of employees. Therefore, there are evidences suggesting that more and more people are plunging into this industry.
Nevertheless, this tendency is going to end, since the Generation Z, people born after 1995, don’t seem to have huge interest in working in this industry. A reliable research was delivered recently, implying that the Generation Z are not willing to devote themselves into this industry due to different reasons. Great discussion has been raised, especially the one between Mr. Bradly Woods and a radio host. Several concerns have been put forward, which sounds relatively reasonable. As a current student of Hotel Institute Montreux, a Swiss hospitality school leading in the world, I would like to express some of my own ideas according to their opinions.
Obsession in social media
Some say the Generation Z have severe obsession in social media, I would not deny this fact but rather explain it in a different way. The Generation Z are born during the exploration of technology and information, exposed to the latest evolution, which means they adapt new items much faster than the other generations. In that case, Hotel Institute Montreux has thought one step forward, coming up with the idea of using online study material rather than traditional paper books. Not only it is environmentally friendly, but also provides an easy-accessing platform for the young. Students can get access to their textbooks under any circumstances, working on assignments and preparing for presentations in a more efficient way. Latest apps for presentations make the old-school PowerPoint seem to be simple and outdated, and it is much easier and more convenient to make presentation flies on I-pads. In one word, the rapid-growing technology is not disturbing the next generation but helping them.
Fear of face-to-face communication
It seems that the millennium has a stereotype on the Generation Z about how incapable of the young to communicate with people. Because of obsession in social media, Generation Z always lower their heads, focusing on their cell phones. Having missed so many chances to communicate with people, the Generation Z are deemed to be scared of face-to-face communication. This stereotype is actually correct, since most of the young people don’t like to communicate with others. Some of them are always focusing on video games, while others are interested in chatting on various platforms. Nevertheless, the only reason that they refuse to hospitality industry is they are not familiar with it. If they come to the Hotel Institute Montreux, a prestigious hospitality school in Switzerland, you will totally vary your aspects on working in this industry. The curriculum is thoughtfully arranged, covering a wide range of knowledge that you need for your future career. The school provides self-confidence building courses such as leadership and etiquette. Meanwhile, it also offers courses such as cultural diversity and conflict management, which help you know how to interact with people. What’s more, if you choose human resource management as your specialisation, you will have an opportunity to know the latest trend of managing people in a hotel, helping you understand the relationships between your colleagues and superiors. In total, our comprehensive courses will provide you with all the skills you need to work in this industry.
Being lazy
Some people believe that the Generation Z are kind of lazy since they don’t want to work. Well, I don’t quite agree to that. In order to stimulate the environment of working in the hotel, we have very strict service practical course. It is very tiring, starting for 6:00 am until the end of the day, but as far as I know, all the students in the school survive from that. All the students will appreciate this experience since we have learnt a crucial lesson about team building and motivation between each other.
Hospitality industry is really fun to work in, not only will you meet different people every day, but also you will have a great career considering the market prospect. Hotel Institute Montreux, as an extravagant representative of Swiss hospitality, has been supporting excellent graduates to this industry. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us online.
Survey
If you are a member of Generation Z, or if you are a parent of Generation Z, do you have interest in further information about our school?
Author: Mr Jiayue Chen, Hospitality Master student at Hotel Institute Montreux (China)