The Managing Director of Ridge Royal Hotel in Cape Coast in the Central Region, Sheila Adjetey-Anum, has called for the establishment of a dedicated hospitality school in the country to train and equip hospitality workers with practical skills to improve service delivery.
She said existing university programmes often emphasise classroom learning at the expense of the hands-on training needed to meet international hospitality standards.
Speaking in an interview with Myjoyonline on the sidelines of the ongoing iNTTA Expo at Ridge Royal Hotel on Thursday, October 22, she said a specialised institution would complement existing university programmes by providing practical industry experience.
“Yes, universities like UCC and all that, they do actually offer tourism. But it’s not just theory we’re looking for. We’re looking for hands-on, practical training,” she said.
She explained that a dedicated hospitality school would give students first-hand experience in hospitality operations and prepare them for the demands of the job market.
“Hotel school isn’t taking away from the universities; but there’s so much difference between having a hotel school where you actually get training, not just theory, but also practice,” she added.
Ms Adjetey-Anum said such an institution would help workers understand professional service standards and enable Ghana’s hospitality industry to compete more effectively internationally.
“How do we get to meet their expectations when we don’t have institutions to support us in terms of training to get us where we need to get to?” she asked.
The call comes as industry stakeholders gather for the iNTTA Expo in Cape Coast, which is bringing together tourism and hospitality players, businesses and investors to explore opportunities for investment and growth in the sector.
The expo’s second day, held under the theme “From Vision to Transactions”, is focusing on investment opportunities across tourism, hospitality, energy, digital infrastructure, agribusiness and health tourism.