Education Pathway to Hospitality – The Art of Spreading Happiness

Think hospitality and immediately images of posh hotels and resorts come to mind.

However, the industry is more than that.

Often working behind the scenes, hospitality plays a big role even to the most minute detail.

If your passion lies in strategising the best experience and bringing leisure and recreation to the next level, then a career in hospitality is for you.

What is Hospitality?

Quite simply, the study of hospitality aims to create unforgettable experiences for guests.

Hospitality extends to three major areas namely hotel management, tourism management and event management which will be further explained below.

Why Consider Hospitality?

There is always a shortage of trained and qualified workforce in this field due to its continuous growth and sometimes demanding commitment required.

Start your own business on small or large scale.

After accumulating valuable experience, many start out their own tour services or even open their own boutique hotels.

Your experience and obsession in bringing the best service to guests can bring you to places all around the world, as the skills you acquire is globally appreciated.

Hospitality can be a fulfilling career especially when you fit into these traits required to be successful:

• Strong passion for creating memorable experiences for others.
• Love planning and executing fun and exciting itineraries.
• Able to work with different types of shifts (day and night).
• Able to multitask and adapt to emergency situations calmly.
• Strong communication skills while maintaining cheerful personality.
• Patience when dealing with clients/tourists/guests.

 

Fields of Hospitality

The study of hospitality generally covers three main areas:

1. Hotel Management – focuses on learning the management of the organisation, accommodation, food and beverage services, human resource and even profitability of the hotel or chain of hotels.
2. Tourism Management – focuses on planning and creating leisure and recreational experiences to suit the needs of travellers.
3. Event Management – focuses on creating and developing small to large scale events such as festivals, conferences, weddings, parties and concerts.

Here are two videos that capture the day-to-day roles and operations of managing a hotel:

A Day in the Hotel Industry

Assistant Hotel Manager: What I do?

 

What Does Your Pathway Look Like?

Below are the typical pathways to getting your hospitality degree:

Minimum Requirements for a Degree in Hospitality

To enrol in a degree programme in a Malaysian university, you will generally need:

Qualification	Minimum Requirement
STPM	2C
A-Level	2E
UEC	5B
SACE/AUSMAT	ATAR of 55
Foundation	CGPA 2.0
Diploma	CGPA 2.0

Do note different universities have varying requirements.

 

Which Private Universities Offer Hospitality Courses?

1. Taylor’s University

Available courses: 

• Hotel Management
• International Hospitality Management
• International Tourism Management

Estimated tuition fees per year: 

• RM24,000 (Foundation)
• RM33,000 (Degree)
• RM24,000 (Diploma)

You can read about Taylor’s courses here.

2. Berjaya University College of Hospitality

Available courses: 

• Hospitality Management
• Tourism Management
• Events Management

Estimated tuition fees per year:

• RM17,000 (Foundation)
• RM21,000 (Degree)

 

3. INTI International University & Colleges

Available courses: 

• Hotel Management
• International Hotel & Resort Management

Estimated tuition fees per year:

• RM18,000 (Foundation)
• RM24,000 (Degree)
• RM21,000 (Diploma)

 

4. KDU Penang University College

Available courses: 

• Hotel Management
• International Hotel & Tourism Management

Estimated tuition fees per year: 

• RM17,000 (Foundation)
• RM27,000 (Degree)
• RM18,000 (Diploma)

 

5. SENTRAL College Penang

Available course: 

• Tourism Management

Estimated tuition fees per year: 

• RM10,000 (Diploma)

You can read about SENTRAL’s Tourism Management course here.