Employable:
- Suitable for paid work.
- Able to be used.
Skill:
- The ability to do something well: expertise.
- A particular ability.
(Oxford Dictionary, 2019)
The above dictionary definitions are useful starting points from which to consider what it means to be employable and skilled. However, it must be noted that in academic writing, using dictionary definitions is considered subpar. Acknowledgement of these is offered here to clarify the position from which people might usually understand the words, prior to academic analysis. This textbook conforms to these definitions as its aim is to enable successful paid employment via evidence of expertise.
Think Point 1.1 I’ll Wikipedia that!
In your usual search for definitions or information related to a particular topic, do you refer to Google, Wikipedia or another search website?
Do you find this information to be correct and factual? If so, how do you know?
Why do you think academic (textbooks or journal articles) sources of information are considered to be more valid in their factual claims? Do you agree that they are?
(See Chapter 15 on academic writing to consider this position further.)
In order to define employability and skills for tourism, hospitality and events management positions, it is important to clarify that these require vocational education and training, and that this differs to traditional training for non-vocational roles. That being noted, there are roles within tourism, hospitality and events companies which could be seen as non-vocational. Table 1.1 is offered to clarify this position.
Table 1.1 Vocational and non-vocational roles in tourism, hospitality and events
| Vocational roles | Non-vocational roles |
| Customer service agent in a tour operator | Finance officer |
| Chef at a hotel | Marketing executive |
| Medical doctor for an event | Lawyer |
Table 1.1 was created to clarify that, although the main routes into employment in tourism, hospitality and events require vocational education and training, there are some roles which can be completed from more traditional educational qualifications (like law, for example). This is an important distinction here and one which supports more generic use of this textbook. Although this textbook is aimed at tourism, hospitality and events management students, due to the varied working roles completed in these businesses it can be used by a range of students and working professionals who have not yet completed higher university or college education. It can also be utilised by new management entering these sectors who need to understand the types of professional development required in their staff.
To clarify employability skills for THE, this chapter will offer a review of generic employability skills, then outline vocational employability skills and finally move to the specific THE employability skills. This will enable readers to understand the wide array of generic transferable skills required for any successful employment, against the job specific vocational skills needed in THE industries. This enables clarification on the context within which the parts of this textbook are written.
Employability skills in employment and education
Employability skills are defined here through acknowledgement of employer requirements and linked to how education supports these. This is due to all education qualifications supporting transferable, job-specific skills for life, as required by all employers. To establish common skills required for employability, Hinchliffes (2013) data is offered in Table 1.2.
Table 1.2 Employer rankings of employability skills
| Rank (1 being most important) | Employability skill |
| 1 | Interpersonal skills |
| 2 | Written communication skills |
| 3 | Numeracy |
| 4 | IT skills |
Table 1.2 clarifies the ranking importance of specific employability skills as seen by a range of employers. This suggests that interpersonal skills and written skills are most important for employment and commercial/business awareness, and experience of the work environment is s...
