Hospitality opens doors to travel
While commerce and accounting graduates may have trouble finding entry jobs in their field, AUT University graduates in hospitality have a number of options open to them in a competitive but healthy industry.
“Hospitality is often the first to go into recession and the first out. It is affected by discretionary spending. When things tighten up, it gets hit first,” says David Williamson, AUT University programme leader and senior lecturer at the School of Hospitality and Tourism.
For graduates with a bachelor’s degree in international hospitality management (BIHM), there are many paths open to them depending on their majors, which can include accommodation, marketing, event management, food and beverage, and tourism.
“We have excellent relationships with the hotel groups and they often co-ordinate with us regarding transition into management trainee programmes,” says Williamson.
Students will often say they want travel to be part of their career. Students who do the BIHM can join graduate programmes with international hotel companies and be working in Sydney or Paris by their mid to late 20s, says the senior lecturer.
Those graduates who want to run their own businesses and seek out those opportunities will often work for successful restaurant or cafe operators when they finish their degrees until they gain the skills and knowledge required to launch their own ventures.
Another popular career choice is events management, running events such as the Auckland Lantern Festival and Pasifika festivals. Meanwhile, a number of graduates go on to become airline cabin staff.
Of course, not all students at AUT are there to do a bachelor’s degree. Hospitality students can do a wide range of courses from barista to patisserie classes. Also, some former chefs are doing PhDs in hospitality, says Williamson.
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