People travel for many reasons: to visit places of interest, to experience the local culture, and to enjoy the local cuisine.
No matter the motivation, these activities form the backbone of the hospitality industry.
The hospitality industry is even a major contributor to some countries’ income.
Let’s dive into the details on studying Hospitality in Malaysia to better understand what it is all about and the career paths that you can take by pursuing this field of study.
What is Hospitality?
The word hospitality originates from the Latin word “hospes” which means visitor or stranger.
Hospitality means extending a welcome to travellers or offering a home away from home and to provide an enjoyable experience to all who participate.
It is often viewed as similar to that of tourism or travel since all three deal with travellers who spend money for the same purpose.
However, hospitality centres on the service aspect of travel rather than the end-product.
It is also a breeding ground for entrepreneurs as it also prepares you with all the necessary knowledge and skills if you wish to start your own business.
If you believe that you are enthusiastic about meeting people and providing good service, then hospitality is absolutely for you.
This field of study enables you to transform the industry with innovative ideas yet promises you exciting global opportunities.
Why Should You Study Hospitality?
People person
If you consider yourself an extrovert and love meeting new people, then this field of study is your best fit.
As the performance of the hospitality industry is measured through human experience and customer satisfaction, your interaction with people is paramount.
This is to guarantee customers’ satisfaction, pleasure and experience which will eventually lead to the customers spending their disposable income on hospitality services.
Enjoy travelling
Hospitality is absolutely for global-trotters who enjoy exploring new places.
If you love going places, this field of study is certainly for you.
It provides many opportunities for international career progression as the skills you acquire are globally appreciated.
Your experience and fascination in bringing the best service to guests can bring you to places all around the world.
Broad career field
Hospitality is a resilient and dynamic industry that has evolved exponentially due to technology and consumer demands.
Once you enter into this field of study, you will have a myriad of job opportunities that awaits you.
Travel agencies, tour operators, cruises, car rentals, hotels, Air BNBs, homestays, casinos, amusement parks, food and beverage (F&B), outdoor adventure tours, entertainment establishments and so on are some of the many sectors in the hospitality industry that you can choose from.
What Are the Hospitality Fields?
Hospitality is a broad field that involves overseeing the day-to-day administrative, operational and commercial activities of businesses in the hospitality industry.
The four common fields in Hospitality is per below:
Event Management
Event management involves overseeing a large team in order to create a successful event for your clients.
Its focus is on organising events and developing small to large scale events such as festivals, carnivals, conferences, celebrations, seminars, weddings, functions, concerts and even parties.
In an event management course, you will learn about planning, marketing, set-up, operation, clean-up and even post-event assessment skills.
Tourism Management
Tourism Management is a multidisciplinary field that includes all activities related to the tourism and hospitality industries.
It encompasses the management of a multitude of activities such as studying tour destinations, planning the tour, making travel and accommodation arrangements.
It also involves marketing efforts to attract tourists to travel to particular destinations.
Hotel Management
Hotel management is an area of the hospitality industry that involves overseeing the operations of a hotel.
It observes the operational aspects of a hotel as well as a wide range of affiliated topics.
The topics covered include accounting, administration, finance, information systems, human resource management, public relations, strategy, marketing, revenue management, sales, change management, leadership, gastronomy and more.
Culinary Arts
Culinary arts is a broad term that refers to the preparation, cooking, plating, presentation and service of food.
Simply put, culinary arts covers anything related to food.
This includes food preparation, menu planning, food styling or designing edible art, diet and nutrition, hotel kitchen and restaurant management and even food photography.
What Are the Popular Hospitality Pathways?
After completing your SPM or any equivalent qualification, you have a choice to either study Pre-University for 1 to 2 years or take up a Diploma in Hospitality for 2 years.
If you opt to do Foundation in Arts or any pre-university course first, you will complete your degree programme in 3 years.
However, if you opt for a diploma, you can either enter into the workforce immediately after graduation or continue your studies in Degree in Hospitality for another 2 years.
The period of study is shorter as you will enter the degree programme during the second year.
Hospitality degrees usually include a compulsory internship or practical training at hotels and fine dining restaurants.
Students may also pursue a Master’s Degree in Hospitality if they wish to do so.
So what does your pathway look like?
Diploma in Hospitality
To qualify for a diploma course, you only need to have 3 credits in SPM/O-Level, including a pass in Bahasa Melayu and History and a credit in English.
Diploma courses usually take between 2 to 2.5 years to complete and cost from RM 22,000.
You can enter the workforce immediately after graduation.
Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality
For degree courses, you will need to have 5 credits in SPM/O-Level qualification, including Bahasa Melayu and History, and the following pre-university course:
- STPM: min. 2Cs
- A-Level: min. 2Es
- AUSMAT/SACE: min. ATAR 55
- CIMP: min. average of 50%
- UEC: min. 5Bs
- Relevant Foundation: min. CGPA of 2.00
- Relevant Diploma: min. CGPA of 2.00
A pre-university course can take up to 2 years to complete and cost from RM 17,000.
Once you’ve completed your pre-university course, you can then move on to the degree course.
Degree courses take 3 years to complete and cost from RM 57,000.
Diploma students who want to continue their studies can do so with a degree course and they begin in Year 2.
Do note that different universities have varying qualification requirements for entry and different tuition fees for the programmes that they offer, respectively.
To learn more, you can contact a counsellor by using the Live Chat function.
What Are the Skills Required in Hospitality?
Communication
One of the most important skills needed in hospitality is communication skills.
Being able to communicate clearly and professionally through your speech, writing and body language is essential to good customer service in hospitality.
Another important component to communication is listening.
When dealing with customers, adopt a genuine warmth and interest in them by asking questions, listening to what they have to say and responding accordingly.
On the other hand, active listening while communicating with your team members will ensure work is completed satisfactorily.
Resilience
Resilience is defined as the ability to overcome obstacles.
In today’s dynamic and fast-moving hospitality industry, it is now recognised as a key competence to demonstrate in the workplace, particularly as a leadership skill.
Along with resilience also is the confidence in yourself that you can overcome the challenges.
Knowing that you can overcome the challenges will inadvertently calm yourself down.
Being resilient and staying calm at all times will make things easier on yourself too.
Initiative
Initiative is the ability to be resourceful and work without always being told what to do.
People with initiative demonstrate that they can think for themselves and take action when necessary.
When you use your initiative, you do things without being asked, solve problems that others may not have noticed needed solving and go out of your way to continue learning and growing.
You do extra research if required, ask questions and seek help if you need to.
In hospitality, that could be the difference between a decent experience and a great experience.
Top Hospitality Universities in Malaysia
Taylor’s University
Taylor’s University is No 1 in Malaysia, 17th in the World For Hospitality and Leisure Management from QS World Ranking.
Hospitality students participate in the weeklong KL Hotel takeover, where students perform operational and managerial duties with minor supervision.
Hospitality courses offered:
- Foundation in Arts
- Diploma in Culinary Arts (2+0) with Académie de Toulouse, FRA
- Diploma in Hotel Management (2+0) with Académie de Toulouse, FRA
- Bachelor of International Hospitality Management (Hons) (3+0) with University of Toulouse-Jean Jaures, FRA
- Master in International Hospitality Management (Coursework) (1.5+0) with University of Toulouse-Jean Jaures, FRA
UOW Malaysia KDU University College
UOW Malaysia KDU offers an optional 10-day study trip to IMI, Switzerland, for degree students (both Hospitality & Culinary).
Internships opportunities also are available with partners such as HOSCO, Hilton Worldwide, J1 Exchange Visitor Visa Program, Accorhotels worldwide.
Hospitality courses offered:
- Foundation in Arts
- Foundation Studies (Art & Technology)
- Diploma in International Hotel Management
- Diploma in International Hotel Management (2+0) with International Management Institute (IMI), CH
- Diploma in Professional Chef Training
- Bachelor of Hospitality Management (Hons)
- Master of Science in Hospitality and Tourism
SEGi University & Colleges
In 2020, SEGi University had shown an excellent performance for a first-time entrant as the university successfully emerged in the top 54% of the 2020 QS World University Ranking: Asia.
Up to 85% of SEGi graduates are employed within 6 months.
Hospitality courses offered:
- Foundation in Arts
- Diploma in Culinary Arts
- Diploma in Tourism Management
- BSc (Hons.) International Tourism & Hospitality Management (3+0) with University of Sunderland, UK
- Bachelor of Hospitality Management (Hons.) (3+0) with University of Central Lancaster, UK
Things You Need to Know About Hospitality Career
Hospitality is not merely about greeting customers or serving meals.
In fact, hospitality management is dynamic and ever-evolving.
Due to this diverse nature of the industry, a variety of hospitality positions exist and career prospects are limitless.
It is unquestionably one of the world’s fastest growing employment sectors which is also predicted to continue growing strong for the coming years.
Popular Hospitality-related Jobs
According to Payscale, the average annual salary for those working in the hospitality industry is RM 38,000 which is approximately RM 3,167 per month.
For example, a quick browse on JobStreet shows these hospitality jobs for fresh graduates:
- Hospitality Operations Executive
- Front Office Assistant (Genting View Resort)
- Barista (Costa Coffee)
If you want to learn more in regards to Hospitality courses, feel free to reach out to us on WhatsApp or message us on our social media.
We’ll be happy to assist you.