Beyond the classroom: student employability and intention to stay in the hospitality industry

Abstract

ABSTRACTEnhancing student competences in the classroom is essential for gaining employability skills and the development of hospitality employees, longevity in the industry, and consequently the service offered to customers. The current study examined competence training on hospitality undergraduates at a south-western university in the United States (N = 50) and data was gathered using pre- and post- test design. The findings of this study showed that the average scores for both competences increased after training which reinforced the notion of including emotional competence into the hospitality curricula. Additionally, student satisfaction was positively related to student intention to stay in the hospitality industry. Overall, knowledge gathered from this study is useful for hospitality educators and students as it increases students’ employability while possibly reducing soft skills on-the-job training for employers.