The importance of management training in the hotel industry

M.Comm.The South African hotel industry is a labour intensive industry, with high staff turnover and a shortage of skilled labour. The introduction of the national grading system and an increase in tourists, both local and foreign, placed more pressure on hotels to improve the quality of their services. Improvement of quality service is linked to well qualified personnel. The question : "Does the country have the required labour force" thus arises. The answer is obviously In order to solve the above mentioned labour problem, management training and management development programmes are of cardinal importance. Top management in hotels must show more interest in and commitment towards management training and development. Training at colleges, technikons and universities is placed under the microscope to ascertain whether it meets the requirements of the industry. Most students have the necessary theoretical training, but practical training (in-service training) has to be improved. ix Affirmative action is implemented to satisfy the needs of the majority in the work force. The necessity of affirmative action and its implementation is investigated with the aim of affording the majority of the labour force the opportunity to be trained. The main aim of this study is to highlight the necessity of management training in a changing environment. It is important that hotel management identify these changes and take action accordingly in order to remain competitive