The relevance of the curriculum of selected Hotel Schools in South Africa in preparing students to successfully operate a commercial restaurant

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relevance of the hospitality curricula offered by universities of technology in South Africa, as sampled by the Cape Town and Central University of Technology Hotel Schools, in preparing students to be able to open and operate commercial restaurants successfully. Data for this research was obtained through qualitative and quantitative mixed methodology research methods. Interviews were conducted with thirty eight restaurateurs in Western Cape and Free State to determine what skills and knowledge would be required for graduating students in Hospitality Management to successfully open and operate a commercial restaurant. The information obtained from the restaurateurs was used to compile a questionnaire that was used to measure the skills and knowledge of a third year graduate cohort sampled from the hotel schools of the Cape Peninsula and the Central Universities of Technology respectively. The results obtained revealed that overall, third year graduates did consider themselves to have the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to open restaurants successfully.. The main problem that arose from the research was that students in general lacked self-confidence and tended to struggle to obtain the necessary finances. Recommendations from this research suggest that the University of Technology hotel schools should consider introducing more entrepreneurship and incubation programs in order to stimulate students and empower them to be more confident in participating in entrepreneurial activities, like opening their own restaurants, helping them to survive and grow their business during the start-up period when they are likely to be the most vulnerable