Training in Hotel Industry

Training in Hotel Industry is not new concept and it is still developing. This part depicts theory of training, how to categorize kinds of training and measure the effectiveness of training.

At the end, the overview of training in Vietnam is presented.

2.2.1 The Theories of Training

Training can be defined as a process of learning that involves the acquisition of knowledge, concepts, rules, sharpening of skills, or changing attitudes and behaviors to enhance the performance of staffs (Naukrihub, 2013). As far as Mcclelland’s opinion (2002), training, basically, is an activity that aims to change people behavior. From any aspect, training always mentions to the change, change is objective and process also. In hotel industry, business leaders soon recognize that relying only on human resources from education system is not enough, but the existence of training programs is very imperative, because training is critical to improve employees’ skill, organizational performance and survival (Schuler, 2001).

In modern hotel business, the most important factor is competencies of people, or so-called the employees’ qualities. They are skill, knowledge and mindsets that can impact on hotel’s development and survival. In a recent study, James Malitoni and Jarvis Baluti (2014) found that the training programs improve employee’s knowledge, skill and behavior. Training aims to enrich employees’ knowledge, instructs them how to apply what they learned to reality, improves employees’ behavior and motivates their working spirit. By training, employees can improve their technical as well as problem solving skill, so they will get confidence and motivation, have an orientation in career to make work become simpler and more interesting.

Also, training inspires workers by granting them all necessary information and helping them to understand how important their jobs are. On the other hand, training makes an opportunity to gather people in institution then helps everyone to be more united. When organizations train their employees, by forming and providing collectively unanimous atmosphere, the team spirit collaboration may be built among employees and with management team (Train, 2009).

Therefore, training is essential in many ways.

Training can be seen as a key element in human resources practices and policies (Nickson, 2007). An organization needs adequate training programs if it wants to be competitive.

Training is an operational and integrated function that assists in shaping a unique workforce by sculpting employees’ skills and developing professional qualities (Collins, 2007). Especially, working in hotel industry requires employees not only have deep knowledge in academic theory, but also practice in different circumstances, turn up with initiatives, be ready to diverse problems and know how to sort them out.

According to the research of Joseph Kennedy (2009), to be effective, training should follow the following guidelines:

 Training should be stuck to the organization’s culture and goals.

 Training should be perceived by trainees as important part of work.

 Training should be relevant to the demand of the trainees.

 Training should be attached to the workplace.

 Training should be applied but based on learning principles.

 Training should be supported and reinforce.

Moreover, evaluating the effectiveness of training programs is very important. There are many approaches that have been developed to evaluate training programs. Of these, Kirkpatrick Four Levels of Evaluation created by Donald Kirkpatrick is arguably the most widely adopted method (Kirkpatrick 1978, 1994). Four levels of evaluation are:

 Reaction evaluation - a measure of satisfaction about how the trainees feel, their personal reactions to the training, e.g. Do the trainees like training? How do they think of training?

 Learning evaluation - a measure of learning about how much the knowledge or intellectual capability of trainees are increased after the training.

 Behavior evaluation - a measure of behavior about in what extent the trainees apply and change their behavior, this can be immediately or lately depending on the situation

 Results evaluation: a measure of results about the impact on the business from improving performance of the trainees.

2.2.2 Types of Training

There are many ways to categorize training, by location, targeted group or by objective.

This study focuses on sorting training by objective. According to the study of John (2007), training can be divided into:

 Apprentice training: To provide general information of organization and basic skills in work. Apprentice training can build up relationships among trainees. It also helps trainees to develop the good behavior and attitude in work.

 Certification training: Employee would get professional certificate after this kind of training. By using theoretical and practical test, it aims to motivate employees when they pass the tests, and improve their skills as well.

 Simulation training: To improve the way works get done and enhance the efficiency by simulating practical situation and this kind of training exists habitually.

 On-the-job training: To train employees the best way to complete the tasks in the most effective way. In this kind of training, employees would be taught about rules, principles, manners and techniques.

 Language training: Depending on departments, tasks or positions, language requirements are also different.

 Hotel services and administration training: Focus on a specific subject of administration and services, such as customer service, communication skills, public and guest relations, sales and marketing, etc.

 Cross training: To enhance the relationship between different departments and ensure the knowledge sharing inside organization.

2.2.3 Training in Vietnam

In Vietnam, authority has determined education as a top priority because human resources are recognized as the most important factor to accelerate the industrialization and modernization process as well as play a basic role in social development and rapid, sustainable economic growth (MPI, 2001). Vietnam has currently about 284 institutions in the field of tourism and hospitality, including 62 universities, 80 colleges, 117 secondary training schools, 2 training companies and 23 vocational training centers.

Training is identified as the most efficient tool to level up the competitiveness of Vietnam, both in micro and macro economy (Quang, Van der Heijden & Rowley, 2010). There have been many projects launched for employee training, such as a seven-day training course that aimed to improve fundamental functions (World Bank, 1997), a five-day training course trained about business regulations and laws, strategies, etc. (Judge & Levine, 1997), or a fourteen-days course focused on consulting and marketing (Gross & Weintraub, 2005). Another program called High Impact Tourism Training (HITT) was sponsored by the EU in 2011 to seven countries in Asia and Africa, including Vietnam. The most recent project is ESRT – Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development, which aimed to strengthen organizational and human capacity as well as protect and enhance the natural and cultural resources of the country (Vietnam Responsible Tourism Program, 2013).

However, regardless of these efforts, the result is still modest. Contemporary workforce in hotel industry has not met the requirement, although the number is continuing to growth, the quality is very low. Filling this gap is not easy, because it relates to whole education systems and managerial mechanism. This is why doing this study makes important significance.