THIRUANANTHAPURAM: Gone are the times when professional courses like engineering and medicine alone were sought after. Now, new generation courses tailored to suit the needs of the tourism and service sector have been receiving overwhelming response from the student community, quite often bypassing the medical and engineering courses. ‘Level Next ‘, a Tourism Edu-Fair organised by Kerala Institute of Travel and Tourism Studies (KITTS) in association with Food Craft Institute, State Institute of Hospitality Management and Institute of Hospitality Management and Catering Technology here on Tuesday, received overwhelming response from students. “The career openings these courses generate are immense. Besides, the syllabi are scheduled after consulting with top industry experts,” said Sindhu S, coordinator of the MBA programme at KITTS. Apart from the MBA programme, more than a dozen of new courses are being introduced by KITTS, a government institute that was formed in 1988 with the sole intention of providing quality manpower to the flourishing tourism and hospitality business. The newly-offered courses include PG Diploma in Tour Operations, PG Diploma in Event Management, Diploma in Airport Handling and Customer Facilitation, Certificate courses in Guide Training, Guest Relations, Certificate courses in German, French, Spanish and Russian Languages, Communicative English & Personality Development, Front Office Operation, Food & Beverage Services, Food Production, Bakery & Confectionary, Hotel Accommodation Operation, House-Keeping, Global Distribution System etc. The duration of these courses vary from four weeks to two years. “The vacancies in the tourism sector are still lying unoccupied. The industry is frantically in search of human resources. Around two lakh vacancies will be created annually. Firms like Thomas Cook and Cox&Kings are keenly awaiting new recruits. The modern syllabus moulded by the academic committee of KITTS which also comprises of representatives from tourism sector helps in understanding the trends and needs of the tourism field,” said KITTS director U V Jose. The response of the industry towards youngsters is overwhelming. E M Najeeb, president, Confederation of Tourism Industry in Kerala, agrees that tourism industry is emerging from the early jolts it received during the economic recession. “Along with the ressurrection, it will increase the job opportunities,” he said.
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