Hospitality Education faces the greatest level of change seen in fifty years. The same is true for industry. The two need to work together

In recent months, there has been a growing discussion about the genuine need to change the emphasis not just in business but for higher education supporting the industry. There are many who argue that the model, in the UK, is broken and in need for a radical shake-up. It is true but it rarely helps being critical of what exists today; more a need for a realisation that the landscape has changed. This recognition has been slow to take place but is building. It should not be controversial to say that the UK Hospitality is a world-class and requires a world-class higher education system.

The industry has changed more subtly and radically than many realise over the past few years. If one looks back even a decade then it is does seem distinctly old-fashioned. There is a new student generation emerging, along with a changing industry, and it is understandably seeking a new narrative and approach.

To illustrate the point, In terms of the hotel sector alone, many believe it is naturally splitting into distinctly different sectors which include:

· Luxury

· Bespoke boutique

· Business and budget hotels

· Lodging, being close to nature

· Air B’n’B

One can argue that the division is sectors today has never been as clear cut, and moreover the demands from both the guest/consumer and from emerging generations are creating new areas of focus and narratives:

· A new Purpose which brings together a balance of Planet-People-Profit

· Responsible luxury - experiential

· Inclusivity

· Wellbeing and wellness,

· Smart advanced/ digital – automation, innovation and robotization

· Insightful data

· A social agenda

The above is naturally impacting on strategies and organisations in deeper ways than many have understood including:

· Traditional structures are being revised with less hierarchy, less “corporate”, closer to customer and product/service

· Stronger diversity and inclusion

· A stronger focus on the customer experience

· A change in job roles and functions - combination of professional, digital, and 21st-century skills

· A stronger external and social vision with greater interaction within communities and the environment.

· A change in the workforce - inclusive, more creative thinkers, more non-hospitality professionals, agile, digital savvy, risk-taking, entrepreneurial

This all begins to create a stronger new narrative and change which impacts on every aspect of a traditional business from leadership down to structure to job profiles to services to interaction with the guest. One can make an argument that this is the most major shift in thinking for over fifty years from the days when the world first became global with international brands.

It is natural therefore that a new approach to the development of talent is required to run alongside the changes taking place in industry. This will require industry and education to work closely together, to be supportive of one another and to become closely aligned.

It is no longer a question of whether a radical shake up is needed; more of how do we create the change as soon as is practically possible.