Ordabayeva D. R., Tsay
E.N.
Almaty Management University, Kazakhstan
Personnel Issue in
Tourism Cluster of Kazakhstan
One of the main problems of Kazakhstan tourism industry relates to the
training of qualified specialists. Tourism cluster of Kazakhstan is young
enough and is in its developing stage. For that reason, the lack of
professionals in this field is a serious problem for the country. Kazakhstan
faces the problem of creating a competitive tourism platform to turn it into a
strong tourist power in the Central Asian region.
The urgency of this work is conditioned by the fact that currently the
tourism sector is a priority of not raw materials economic clusters in
Kazakhstan. To further its development it requires both a well-developed
infrastructure and skilled workforce to provide the consumer with a commodity
and service.
Recent situation shows that the number of people employed in the tourism
sector of Kazakhstan is rather small. To compare, in European Union tourism
occupies 13% of labor market. Annually, Europe creates about three million
workplaces in this area [1]. In Kazakhstan, only 114, 2 persons were employed
in the tourism sector in 2014 [2]. World tourism companies pay great attention
to training experts since human resources are of paramount importance for this
area of business.
In this
paper, main reasons of tourism staff problems in Kazakhstan and the ways of
possible solutions are considered.
Poor training of future professionals causes the first reason. Until
1992 in the former Soviet Union personnel training of hotel and tourist
agencies, operating under market conditions was neglected [1]. Therefore, in
the higher educational institutions of Kazakhstan teaching of managers in the field of tourism,
preparation of curricula and organization of the whole learning process were
carried out mainly empirically, without sufficient scientific educational base.
Shortage of qualified teachers and educational resources, poor infrastructure
did not contribute to preparing professionals.
The second reason is that too much academic professional education
cannot meet the realities of the modern world in which practical skills as well
as the ability to find contact with people, knowledge of the basics of
psychology and ethics, information technology and other related areas are
indispensable. Existing training programs do not meet the needs of the tourism
sector of the economy. As a result, graduates face the problem of
"rejection" of their knowledge by companies who need more competent,
possessing specific and practical skills employees. Thus, according to
research, currently tourism industry is provided with specialists only by 55%
[1].
The third reason - the lack of educational institutions for the training
of line staff. It is not just about management training in tourism and
hospitality industry, but also the preparation of line personnel, which is the
main labor force in the services sector. This type of personnel is in constant
contact with people, so full attention to their preparation must be paid.
Consequently, to achieve the most effective results it is extremely important to bring curriculum to the
claims of employers, improve exchange programs and expand the sector of
educational literature. Opening of
small hotels or restaurants at universities and colleges can help students to
get required practical skills. For example, hotels and restaurants are open at
higher educational institutions in the USA and Europe, where students spend
50-70% of learning time [1]. With that constant monitoring of the travel market
should be carried out in order to draw up training programs in compliance with
the requirements of employers. It is essential to raise the mobility of
students in accordance with Western standards.
Nursultan Nazarbayev in his article "Social modernization of
Kazakhstan: Twenty steps to a society of universal labor" stated: "It
is important to develop dual vocational education. Modern centers of applied
qualification will assist to overcome the shortage of personnel in most popular
professions ". Dual educational system is one of the most effective forms
of professional and technical personnel training in the world. It operates
successfully in such countries as Germany, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands
and Switzerland. Working closely with a prospective employer, educational
institution in the course of study takes into account the production demands
that are applied by hospitality HR to their potential staff. Thus, the problem
of the dual model of education as the association of business interests, future
specialists and state where graduates are provided with jobs is being solved.
Simultaneously, employers are procured with needed professional and technical
personnel.
At present, based on the prestigious hotel "Dedeman-Oskemen Tavros»
in Ust-Kamenogorsk, certified in compliance with international standards in the
hospitality industry, a pilot project on dual training is being implemented.
Implementation of such projects will produce a double effect: the hotel will
train graduates at the expense of government or improve the skills of other
employees of the hotel and issue certificates on studied specialty. At the same
time, the hotel will receive free labor, as most of the time students will have
practice.
Nowadays, the tourist market of Kazakhstan is developing at
a moderate pace. Over the past ten years, there have been many changes: more
than 1,847 placements were built. Hotel occupancy increased by two times. The
number of restaurants and catering enterprises grew up by ten times compared
with 2004 [2].
Despite the fact that the indicators continue to grow, there still exist
extreme need for qualified personnel capable to increase the flow of inbound
and outbound tourism in the country.
References:
1. Korablyev V. A. Tourism in Kazakhstan: status and problems // Bulletin
of the University "Turan". – 2000, ¹ 3-4.
2. http://www.stat.gov.kz/ Website Statistics Agency of the Republic of
Kazakhstan