The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) and the ITS Student Council recently held a morning workshop on employability in the tourism industry at which great insight into work aspirations after they graduate was obtained.

Reginald Abela, ITS executive chairman, explained how important it was for ITS students to discuss with senior officials from the hospitality industry their career prospects.

Joseph Tanti, Head of Industry HR Development at the MTA told the workshop they should not overlook the fact that the very nature of hospitality and service is people! “Our biggest challenge is and will continue to be that of attracting and retaining the right people for the industry. Hospitality and tourism education must seek to provide quality people for tourism, while employers need to invest more in new and innovative approaches to the challenges we face in the management of our people.”

The seminar came to an end with Mr Tanti presenting the students with a copy of the ‘Tourism Human Resources Handbook’ which was published and compiled by the MTA.