Abstract:
Any industry's growth and development is dependent on professional development. It
helps to build the technical capacities of employees on the professional practices and
tenets of the industry to ensure that the needed quality of service is maintained. This
research is aimed at determining the needs of hotel staff in the Ho Municipality in terms
of professional growth. It aimed at examining the professional background of hotel
workers, training programmes organised to boost the professional development of hotel
workers, training needs of hotel workers, and operational challenges of hotel workers.
The quantitative analysis methodology was used to direct the study. A total of 200 hotel
employees were chosen at random for the analysis. The findings were evaluated using
descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and means, as well as inferential
statistics such as the chi-square test of freedom. The study found that most (63.5%) of
the workers in the hotel sector in the Ho Municipality did not have academic
specialisation in the industry and did not receive any professional training (65.5%)
related to the industry prior to their engagement in the sector. Some of the training
programmes organised for the workers were on room designs, bed laying, towel folding,
and cooking different dishes. In as much as the training programmes had critical effects
on the professional development of the workers in the hotel sector, the study further
found that the workers still had some technical weaknesses, including lacking
administrative skills, inability to prepare some continental cuisines, lacking
professionalism for the hotel sector, and lacking self-confidence in their lines of duty.
The study recommends that hoteliers through the regional association and in
collaboration with the Regional Office of the Ghana Tourism Board should develop
regular training programmes for hotel workers.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM EDUCATION,
FACULTY OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, submitted to school of Graduate
Studies, University of Education, Winneba in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
the award of a Master of Philosophy degree in Catering and Hospitality.
OCTOBER 2021