Hospitality management: courses, careers, jobs and salaries in Ghana
Have you ever imagined how many opportunities are available for you as a hospitality manager? When one hears about hospitality management, the next thing that comes to an average person's mind is hotel work. However, guess what? The course goes beyond rendering services in restaurants and hotels. The world of hospitality management is vast, and more so, there are so many opportunities that are embedded in the discipline in case you want to consider it.
Source: Depositphotos
In recent times, the hospitality industry has maintained steady growth, hereby giving lots of individuals the opportunity to acquire training in the industry. If you find it interesting meeting people and servicing their needs, then you will do well in hospitality management. When people vacate to new places or visit new places for tourism purposes, they surely need places where they could stay and feel at home. Hence, this becomes one of the opportunities that you have to render quality services to these people.
What is hospitality management?
One of the critical things that people want to know is what hospitality management is all about. While most people think of the field in terms of working in hotels, restaurants, and other related companies, there is more to what a hospitality manager does. While hospitality management entails overseeing the smooth running of a hotel or resort, it is the responsibility of one who manages a hotel, resort or what have you to ensure that the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. In the process of achieving this, his or her sole aim is to make sure that the guests feel at home.
As a manager in the industry, you have to ensure that the laid-down rules and regulations of the hotel or casino, as the case may be, where you manage, are strictly adhered to. Efficient and profitable running of the establishment that you maintain should be core to you. This tells you that while you make sure that you efficiently manage the resources at your disposal, your guests should also enjoy quality experience at the same time.
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Hospitality management courses in Ghana
If you are considering pursuing a career in hospitality management, obtaining a degree is very important. While some higher institutions of learning offer the course, there are some other colleges that focus exclusively on how to manage a hotel, resort, casino and others. So, whichever you decide to go for, the most important thing is that you get to know about their requirements for admission.
While you bear that in mind, below are some of the colleges and institutions that offer courses in Hospitality management.
1. Aptech Aviation & Hospitality Academy
This college offers various exciting courses that you can take part in while building a career in hospitality management. Specifically, they provide courses in hospitality, travel and tourism, and event management, among others. With the right education and training, getting an opportunity to work in a hotel, a cruise ship, vacation resorts, and even industrial catering or other similar areas becomes so easy.
2. Hospitality Management
You can acquire training in hotels management from the International Travel Tourism Institute, Accra. Interestingly, there are other courses like Intermediate Hospitality Management and Front Desk Management and Customer Service which will help you to perform better as a hospitality manager, in case you apply for them.
3. School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management (SHORT MGT)
This college is acclaimed to be the first private professional hospitality Training Institute based in Ghana. The SHORT MGT is affiliated to foreign institutions which are Stratford University (USA) and the College of Business, Chicago State University (USA). So, for whatever training that you need to get certified in hospitality management, you can always visit the college. They offer certificate, diploma, and degree programmes in hospitality Management.
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4. BSc. Hospitality Management
If you are hoping to get a degree programme in this field, then you may want to consider the University of Energy and Natural Resources. The institution aims at having their students able to analyse, plan, design, manage, as well as evaluate and execute hospitality managerial activities. Apart from that, they ensure that the students have a systematic understanding of various intricacies of hospitality management which include the moral, legal, ethical, and safety concerns of the industry.
Source: Depositphotos
5. The Hotel Industry Diploma
Enrolling for this course at New Skills Academy grants you the opportunity to learn about the position of a hotel receptionist and a hotel manager. Although the accreditation is from the UK, students have the opportunity to learn based on international standards.
Having considered some of the programmes that you can enroll in hospitality management in Ghana, it will not be a bad idea considering some of the job opportunities that are associated with the industry. This will help you to give you an idea of the places you can apply to after you get trained in the field.
Hospitality management careers
It had been said already that the hotels management industry is fast expanding, and as a result of this, those who are trained in the field tend to be highly employable. With the skills that you acquire, you will be able to apply them in events, hotel, and conference management. Apart from that, you can work as a sales and business developer. Specifically, the following are some of the opportunities that are open to you:
- Accommodation manager;
- Catering manager;
- Chef;
- Event manager;
- Food and Beverage Manager;
- Golf/Country Club Manager;
- Menu Design Consultant;
- Menu Planner;
- Public Relations (Hospitality);
- Fast food restaurant manager;
- Hotel manager;
- Public house manager;
- Restaurant manager.
Hospitality management jobs
As a hotel and restaurant manager, you can always apply to organisations that are within the tourism and leisure sector, and you can even work in the entertainment sector. Moreover, corporate organisations such as universities, transport, and hospitals are constantly requesting the services of hospitality managers. As such, you can also apply to places like:
- The Airline Group Limited;
- Best Western Premier Hotel;
- Labadi Beach Hotel;
- International Travel & Tourism Institute (ITTI);
- Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services (GAFMS);
- Halifax Amalgam LTD;
- Papaye Fast Food Ltd (Aburi);
- Golden Bean Hotels Limited, Nhyiaeso.
Hospitality management salaries in Ghana
As for how much a hospitality manager receives in Ghana, there is no fixed salary for them. If you work as a hotel and restaurant manager, your monthly allowance can range between GHS 875 and GHS 1793. However, what is important to note is that how much you get paid is influenced by some factors such as your year of experience, the degree or certificate with which you are applying to the organisation, the kind of organisation that you work with, and the location of your organisation.
More so, your position as an employee is another critical thing that is put into consideration when determining how much you would get as your pay.
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Duties of a hospitality manager
Being a manager in this industry demands a lot, which is why having a good understanding of the job functions are essential. As one trained to manage any establishment in this industry, you are usually expected to perform the following tasks:
- Hire, train, and schedule members of staff working under you to different activities;
- Investigate complaints lodged by any customer and correct whatever may be wrong;
- Coordination of the front-office activities, the setting of room prices, and keeping track of budgets as the case may be;
- Monitor the totality of customer comfort concerning the rooms, dining experiences, recreation facilities, security, and maintenance;
- Integrate the various departments to ensure that they accomplish the overall goals of the organisation;
However, if you are going to succeed as a hospitality manager, there are specific skills that you should possess. These skills include the following:
- Ability to analyse and interpret Information;
- Good interpersonal and communication skills;
- Able to conduct researches and plan;
- Good relational skills with different cultures/groups of people;
- Be a good counsellor and be able to resolve conflicts;
- Critical thinker and insightful;
- Excellent leadership and delegation skills;
- Ability to motivate others to work and ensure compliance of the laid-down rules.
There is so much to hospitality management other than what the average person knows the industry to be about. As a fast-growing industry, there is virtually no sector where the services of a hospitality manager are not needed. More so, as trained personnel in the industry, there are so many opportunities that are open to you. So, if you decide to get certified in this field, it will not be a bad choice at all.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
