Graduates to get 'job-focused' tourism training in Dubai

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Graduates to get job-focused tourism training in Dubai
Dubai College of Tourism Booth at the Arabian Travel Market.

Dubai - The college will also offer a 3-month training programme for employees in the tourism sector.

by

Sherouk Zakaria

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Published: Tue 25 Apr 2017, 4:41 PM

Last updated: Tue 25 Apr 2017, 7:12 PM

A new vocational tourism college will launch to train fresh graduates in areas of the hospitality sector and educate future tourism professionals starting September, it was announced on Tuesday.
Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), launched by Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), will offer courses in five faculties- Tourism, Events, Hospitality, Retail and Culinary Arts - to help young graduates learn trade and soft skills from established professionals in the industry.
College representatives said the 'job-focused' training will help give students a detailed introduction of the different fields in tourism through a one-year certificate or two-year diploma, to enable them decide the direction they would like their career to take.

DCT programmesFive vocational courses in Tourism, Events, Hospitality, Retail and Culinary Arts
Dubai Way that will train current employees in tourism sector on Dubai culture and history
Dubai Expert that will address challenges faced by foreign travel agents
DCT is now accepting applications for the September 2017 'Introduction to the Tourism Industry' Applicants can apply through www.dct.ac.ae.
DCT will accept the first intake of students in its foundation course titled "introduction to the Tourism Industry" from September 2017 onwards. The course will offer an introduction to each faculty, which will be available from January 2018 as in-depth certificate and diploma courses.
The opening of the institution is in line with Dubai Tourism's strategy that aims to welcome 20 million visitors to the city by 2020.
Essa bin Hadher, The General Manager of Dubai College of Tourism, said the college will help fill the vocational education gap in Dubai.
"Vocational education is lacking in Dubai. We can see the number of hotels and new attractions coming up and the gap created this has created," said bin Hadher.
"We have to fill this gap, which is human capital. Vocational education is required to assist in bringing students from schools to industry and give them the basic information about tourism."


Only one to three per cent of Dubai's students enroll in vocational education after high school, which leads to labour shortages within key industries in the future.
Dubai's tourism sector set to employ a workforce of more than 500,000 by 2020.
The college's programme, to be accredited by Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), will help nurture and hone the talent of Dubai's young people, both expat and Emirati, who want to study, work and succeed.
It will have an advisory board of key stakeholders within Dubai's tourism sector to help train students. It has also partnered with Australian vocational educational experts TAFE SA, whose advisors will be providing curriculum development support and teacher training expertise.
Training current tourism employees
The college will also offer a 3-month training programme for employees in the tourism sector.
The online-based Dubai Way will educate employees, sponsored by their companies, on customer service, marketing, communication and problem solving. Through a series of videos, it will cover different areas of Dubai culture, history, transport and safety to crisis management.
Michael Petrillose, Academic Director at DCT, said the video-based program will help unify the starting point of employees in the tourism sector.
"Unlike competing countries, Dubai has the challenge that many of its front-facing customer employees are from outside the city. The program will help educate them about the history, knowledge and customer service skills vital in the industry," said Peterillose.
The college will also offer Dubai Expert program that will address challenges faced by foreign travel agents.
 
 



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