Journal of Vocational Education and Training
ISSN: 1363-6820 (Print) 1747-5090 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjve20
Tourism degree internships: a longitudinal study
Graham Busby
To cite this article: Graham Busby (2003) Tourism degree internships: a longitudinal study,
Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 55:3, 319-334, DOI: 10.1080/13636820300200232
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820300200232
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Journal of Vocational Education and Training, Volume 55, Number 3, 2003
Tourism Degree Internships:
a longitudinal study
GRAHAM BUSBY
University of Plymouth, United Kingdom
ABSTRACT This case study briefly reviews the development of tourism
degrees in the United Kingdom before considering the experiences obtained
by students on year-long internship programmes over a period of 8 years.
Verbatim confidential comments, from students, are provided and specific
transferable skills discussed. Whilst some skills can be developed during
the course of an academic programme, it is argued that the internship
period can provide a wider range and help clarify career intentions.
Tourism was introduced at first-degree level, in the United Kingdom, in
1986. Growth during the 1990s was truly remarkable (Airey & Johnson,
1998; 1999), partly because of low resourcing costs (Busby, 2001).
However, it is not easy to identify exactly how many awards exist because
modularisation permits a wide range of titles. A search of the UCAS
(Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, 2003) website
(www.ucas.ac.uk2003), for autumn 2003 entry revealed over 950
programmes that incorporate the term ‘tourism’ in the title. To illustrate
the diversity of award titles, some examples of first degrees incorporating
Tourism in the award title are:
• Golf Tourism (University of Abertay Dundee);
• Adventure Tourism Management (Birmingham College of Food,
Tourism & Creative Studies);
• Mathematics & Tourism Studies (Bolton Institute);
• Tourism & Leisure Studies with Religious Studies (Canterbury Christ
Church University College);
• Tourism Management with Landscape Design (University of
Gloucestershire);
• English & Creative Writing with Tourism Management (University
College Chichester);
• Biology & Tourism (University of Derby);
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Graham Busby
• Third World Development with Tourism (University of East London);
• Performing Arts and Tourism & Heritage Management (King Alfred’s
Winchester);
• Ancient History with Cultural Tourism (University of Wales Lampeter);
• Sport Tourism (University of Luton);
• Tourism Management (University of Plymouth).
According to Fayos-Solá (1995, p. 16), ‘rigid tourism systems reflect the
inertia of the past’ and, therefore, degree programmes should incorporate
the contemporary requirements of tourism employers. However, it is
unlikely that the growth of new tourism titles in the last few years is a
response to this request; much more likely, it is the response by higher
education institutions (HEI) to meet target student numbers. What should
be kept in mind is that the specific curriculum design will affect the
student experience; different curriculum framings result in students
graduating with a range of ‘perspectives, attitudes and competences’
(Tribe, 2002a, p. 340).
Of the 978 courses, for autumn 2003 entry, 346 include Tourism
Management in the title. It is particularly these students who should be
able to ‘demonstrate vocationally relevant managerial skills and
knowledge by exposure to professional practice’ according to the Quality
Assurance Agency’s Benchmark Statement (QAA, 2000, p. 7). The tourism
internship is the obvious means of inculcating these vocational skills and
some of the statements made by students during the experience, cited
below, suggest this is the case. Evans (2001, p. 28) agrees, stating that for
students at the University of Northumbria, ‘the placement experience
provides a practical foundation for the fourth ... year of study, which
attempts to find solutions to real business problems’.
Any review of tourism degrees must consider the inclusion or
otherwise of a period of practical training – otherwise known as a
sandwich placement or internship – which provides an appropriate
vocational aspect (Richards, 1995; Cooper & Shepherd, 1997). According
to Airey & Johnson (1999, p. 230), the inclusion of internships may
suggest ‘the business orientation of individual courses’, although Busby
et al (1997) suggest that this may not be so. Internships vary in duration
from 12 weeks to 12 months and appear to be an optional component of
social science-based awards, as well as business management-type
tourism degrees in the United Kingdom. A review of United Kingdom
tourism degrees, with entry in 2001, indicated that 23% provided 1-year
placements (Busby & Fiedel, 2001).
Having outlined the background to the development of tourism
degrees, this case study reviews the concept of the internship with
emphasis on one named tourism management degree in Britain,
considers some of the literature on ‘transferable skills’, reviews the
results of an ongoing, longitudinal survey of United Kingdom-based
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TOURISM DEGREE INTERNSHIPS
internship students and considers whether the experience enables the
degree to conform to the Silver & Brennan (1988) typology.
The Concept of the Tourism Internship
This article builds on previous work (Busby et al, 1997; Leslie &
Richardson, 2000; Busby 2002; Collins, 2002) by reviewing internships on
one particular undergraduate tourism course in Britain over a period of 9
years. Students on the University of Plymouth’s BSc Tourism
Management have the option of spending 48 weeks undertaking one or
more placements. In the United Kingdom, the term ‘sandwich placement’
is used, indicating that it comes between the first and final years of a
degree, although the term ‘internship’ appears to be growing in
popularity and is used interchangeably here. The aims of the internship,
stated in the Student Guidelines, are as follows:
• to experience employment and, where appropriate, accept
responsibility for the completion of tasks and the supervision of
others;
• to develop key graduate attributes and skills;
• to acquire further practical skills and experience;
• to obtain an insight into management and management methods;
• to gain greater maturity and self-confidence;
• to be involved in the diagnosis and analysis of problems;
• to develop attitudes and standards appropriate to career objectives.
Implicit within these aims is the process of producing graduates with
sound vocational skills – what Tribe (2001, p. 444) terms ‘implicit
adherence to business values’. More recently, Tribe (2002b) has also
suggested that the placement is one way of incorporating an ethical
tourism element in the curriculum and it can significantly assist in
inculcating an awareness of sustainable issues vis-à-vis commerce
(Busby, 2003). Nonetheless, commercial values remain to the fore
(Collins, 2002) and are illustrated by Leslie & Richardson (2000) in their
review of the benefits for the three stakeholders involved, that is
students, industry and institutions. A simple count of the advantages
does not show the benefits residing primarily with any one of the
stakeholders because of the difficulty of measuring the ‘weight’ of each.
However, for curiosity, if nothing else, it is worth noting that Leslie &
Richardson (2000) identify six advantages for students, eight for industry
and three for institutions. As Busby et al (1997) have previously
observed, the advantages are what would be expected: broadening
knowledge, creating awareness and influencing career choice being
benefits for students. The advantages of placement students to industry
are overtly commercial, being the avoidance of ‘turnover’ problems,
availability of committed individuals, potential contribution, and suchlike,
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Graham Busby
also remarked on by Fell & Kuit (2003). For institutions, there are indirect
benefits arising from contacts with industry personnel, the possibility of
industry inputs into course development, and increased liaison leading to
improved course provision (Leslie & Richardson 2000).
Despite the advantages to the various stakeholders, there is no
escaping the fact that good internships are both expensive and difficult to
acquire and monitor (Teixeira & Baum, 2001; Collins, 2002). For Teixera &
Baum (2001), the single biggest connection between universities and
industry is considered to be the internship. At the University of
Plymouth, data now exists for Tourism Management internship
employment over a period of 9 years; this permits analysis of trends by
sector, salary and skills acquired. The internship was made an optional
component of the degree in 1998; however, undergraduates have always
been advised of its value in terms of rapid employment after graduation.
Empirical studies of graduates from a number of United Kingdom
institutions confirm that placements are a key factor in securing relevant
employment (Purcell et al, 1999); see also Kiely & Ruhnke (1998) with
regard to business studies degrees. The extensive survey by Harvey et al
(1997, p. 2), of employers and graduates, found that ‘if there was to be a
single recommendation to come from the research, it would be to
encourage all undergraduate programmes to offer students an option of a
year-long work placement’.
The effect of making the internship optional is noticeable, with many
in the first cohort to be provided with the choice (1999/2000) electing not
to undertake one. It appeared that numbers were recovering (see Table I);
however, out of a reduced potential 23 placement students, only two
made this choice in 2002 and five in 2003. The advent of tuition fees, with
half the normal amount being payable when on placement, has
undoubtedly affected this, an observation also made by Fell & Kuit (2003).
Furthermore, some students have elected to undertake a form of ‘gap’
year between the second and final years, suspending their studies and,
therefore, not being liable for the tuition fee element. At this juncture, it is
worth elaborating that the internship was made optional in order to fall
into line with other HEIs. The point to be made here is that there has
been no difficulty in ‘obtaining a varied range of placements to meet the
total required’ (Leslie & Richardson, 2000, p. 492), although it has been
time-consuming from the staff input perspective. It is also worth noting
that students frequently have unrealistic expectations as to the nature of
vacancies (Cave, 1997).
In terms of remuneration, there is recognition, by some students,
that a lower-paid internship with a nationally renowned employer looks
good on a curriculum vitae, suggesting a certain level of instrumentalism
(Silver & Brennan, 1988) on the part of a few. To those individuals, the
year out is clearly vocationally oriented, rather than simply fiduciary. The
internship provides the procedural knowledge that Tribe (1997, p. 639)
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TOURISM DEGREE INTERNSHIPS
identifies as a hallmark of ‘the professional practice of tourism
management’.
Total
UK
Overseas
1995/96
25
22
3
1996/97
33
26
7
1997/98
35
29
6
1998/99
34
24
10
Total
UK
Overseas
2000/01
22
21
1
2001/02
27
16
11
2002/03
2
1
1
2003/04
5
2
3
1999/00
19
15
4
Table I. Numbers on placement from BSc (Honours) Tourism Management.
Notes:
In the occasional case of a multiple placement, the location of the longest
employment has been counted; for example, 4 months in a United Kingdom
location and 8 months in Florida.
The second-year cohort size, which provides the placement students, has not
changed significantly over the 9 years, typically between 29 and 33.
Transferable Skills
Many of the skills acquired during the internship are ‘transferable’. These
have been identified by Hitchcock (1987), Greenan et al (1997) and the
Dearing Report (1997), amongst others. Gibbs et al (1994) identify 12
transferable skills, although all but ‘entrepreneurship’ are subsumed
within the following: team-working, communication, interpersonal,
problem-solving ability, organisational, information technology,
numeracy and learning how to learn. It is suggested that these skills are
essential for employment (National Board of Employment, Education and
Training [NBEET], 1992; Bridges, 2000) and, arguably, the internship is
the most appropriate vehicle for their acquisition. Certainly for the
development of practical skills, the internship is crucial (Purcell & Quinn,
n.d., p. 11). The study of tourism courses across nine institutions,
undertaken by Leslie & Richardson (2000), indicated limited skills
development in information technology, presentation and writing,
whereas customer relations and oral communication were well
developed; as they point out, this almost certainly reflects the high
proportion of students working in an operations environment. With
regard to information technology, it is how graduates ‘identify or develop
creative uses’ for it that matters (Daniele & Mistilis, 1999, p. 145).
Ultimately, the ‘process knowledge’ (Tribe, 1997, p. 647) acquired during
the placement experience is considered to be a critical component of the
tourism management skills base.
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Graham Busby
A key point to be considered here is that transferable skills can be
allocated to a point on a continuum: from those skills that are very
general in nature, through those ‘somewhat specific to the discipline’
(Gibbs et al, 1994, p. 5), ending in those totally discipline-specific. For
example, Spanish oral communication on a Hispanic Studies degree will
form part of the discipline as much as being a skill. The internship has,
undoubtedly, worked to both confirm students’ intentions to enter the
tourism industry and to persuade others to enter alternative employment
sectors (a point also made by Purcell & Quinn, n.d.; Charles, 1997;
Waryszak, 1997). Whether the student enters the tourism industry or not,
the internship experience will have been valuable and a number of
transferable skills will have been acquired, some possibly subliminally.
The Longitudinal Study and Results
Data has been acquired from internship information sheets, completed by
interns at the beginning of their employment and through use of an
elementary, confidential, postal survey mailed several months later. The
latter has only been mailed to those on placement in the United Kingdom.
With regard to validity of the data, the aspect of confidentiality was
considered to eliminate ‘subject bias’ (Robson, 1993, p. 67), that is,
respondents would not make comments they believed would please the
placement officer, this author, and yet there would still be ‘open dialogue’
(Tribe, 2001, p. 443). The longitudinal survey has operated since the
1997/98 academic year and does not purport to be sophisticated in any
way. Whilst the findings are representative of the Plymouth placement
cohort, this may not be the case for those from other university
programmes.
One of the trends to manifest itself since the previous published
research (Busby et al, 1997) is the marked increase in the salary range
between the lowest and highest paid (bonus payments have never been
included in the mean figures, although £300 per month is not unusual). It
would appear that a relatively small number of undergraduates are
prepared to accept posts that pay significantly below the norm if the
employer is nationally renowned, and the placement is sensibly
structured with emphasis on variety and responsibility. At the other end
of the spectrum, employment in travel technology can be financially
rewarding.
Perhaps, the key finding from the postal survey has been the extent
to which undergraduates believe their level of confidence has increased.
A greater level of familiarity with technology is also reported, although
this can be widely interpreted; for example, it can indicate GDS (Global
Distribution System) expertise or survey software practice. At this point,
it should be stated that comments made by the placement students are
considered to be both ‘reliable’ and possess ‘construct validity’ (Robson,
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TOURISM DEGREE INTERNSHIPS
1993, p. 68). Table IIa presents the results for the skills identified earlier;
‘learning to learn’ has not been mentioned specifically by any respondent
and cannot be readily interpreted from any of their comments despite its
‘essential’ status (Harris et al, 1997, p. 277). Table IIb refers to an attribute
arising from the experience, namely, increased confidence; ‘enhanced
confidence’, as a result of the year-long placement, has also been
reported in the literature (Kiely & Ruhnke, 1998; Curtis & Shani, 2002).
Number of
respondents
Team-working
Communication
Interpersonal
Problem-solving
ability
Organisational
Information
technology
Numeracy
1997/
98
17
1998/
99
14
1999/
2000
7
2000/
01
8
2001/
02
10
2002/
03
1
6
8
13
3
6
8
11
4
3
4
2
2
2
3
5
2
2
5
7
2
1
1
1
0
9
9
7
7
3
6
4
3
3
7
1
1
0
4
0
1
0
0
Table IIa. Skills acquisition as notified from survey of
United Kingdom-based placements.
Increased
confidence
1997/98
7
1998/99
4
1999/00
4
2000/01
1
2001/02
7
2002/03
0
Table IIb. Number of respondents citing increased confidence.
This is a salient point at which to refer to some verbatim written
comments from students whilst on placement. Given the plethora
available, these represent but a small sample. The first question asked
students what they had learned as a result of the placement, whilst the
second asked what skills and attributes they considered they possessed
as a result of the experience. The comments from students between 1997
and 2002 are now considered.
From the 1997/98 academic year, one student observed: ‘Learn as
much as you can about everything (especially in managerial positions) to
understand the functions of different departments. Be flexible and have
self-confidence in you’re [sic] own ability, as this tends to be picked up on
by colleagues’. This was in response to the first question and suggests
that the value of the placement experience had been realised within a
short period of time. From the perspective of what attributes and skills
had been acquired, the same respondent commented that s/he had
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Graham Busby
‘Overcome my technological phobia especially new programmes by
entering into training courses including Powerpoint/Excel/Quattro Pro’.
The employer clearly considered it worthwhile to invest in essential
software skills training, but what was rather more impressive was the
recognition that higher level training could be rewarding, for this
respondent stated, ‘Training certificate in market segmentation and
knowledge of a “new” database to be launched next year’. Given the cost
of industrial training, it is reassuring to note that at least some placement
students are considered as a valuable resource. Finally, from the same
respondent, there was ‘Increased realisation of the importance which a
placement plays on future job prospects ... and career in general’. If only
second-year undergraduates could hear this when they contemplate
whether to undertake a placement or whether to go straight into the final
year.
Learning as much as you can was a point echoed by a 1998/99
student who stated that the placement provided a ‘Brilliant insight into
the industry itself. Gained large amount of product knowledge through inhouse supplier presentations (hotels, DMCs, etc.), visits to properties and
World Travel Market. Have learned about all elements and details that go
into preparing and running programmes’. During the first and second
years of the degree programme, students can be made aware of the
structure of the industry, although what, undoubtedly, clarifies the
complex picture is undertaking a placement. For the 1998/99 respondent,
s/he also ‘Made lots of contacts in the industry (very useful!)’, echoing
the point made by Busby et al (1997) and Leslie & Richardson (2000) that
a placement can influence prompt employment upon graduation. To paint
a fair picture, this same respondent also noted that they gained a ‘Good
insight into “company politics” (not always pleasant)’. Amongst the skills
acquired, this individual thought it necessary to add ‘how to work under
pressure (long hours!) and to tight deadlines – especially on site’, raising
the issue of how the vast majority of employers treat interns as ‘normal’
employees, thereby presenting a real-world experience, if not what the
individual originally expected.
One of the respondents in 1999/2000, advised that they were
working in the airline industry, in customer services. Whilst the insight
into many departments is experienced by most interns, seeing ‘many
changes and a lot of restructuring ... has not only taught me that the need
for change is a necessary requirement of any business to be successful
into the future, but also to expect changes and to work with them’.
Nonetheless, not many interns experience restructuring during the 12
months out. Besides the fairly stock response of improving IT skills, this
individual stated that he had learned ‘how to create web pages using
Microsoft Frontpage – as one of my projects, I have had to design and
produce an intranet page for our department. I must also have a
procedure so that future employees can update and maintain the site’.
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TOURISM DEGREE INTERNSHIPS
This sense of creating an ongoing project is not experienced by many on
placement, which is disappointing because it would surely instil a longer
lasting interest in the organisation. This individual went on to remark that
another skill gained was the ability to produce ‘ad hoc reports for
managers when asked’.
The following statement, from a 2001-02 intern, addressing what
s/he had learned, yet again confirms the published literature: ‘A better
idea of what I want to do after my degree. In general, how a department
works and the roles of different people within an organisation’. Besides a
range of specific software being cited, the student believed ‘The ability to
work on various tasks at once (multi-tasking) has increased’. Another
skill, fairly frequently cited, as Table IIa indicates, was ‘Greater
experience working with different people (inter-personal skills)’.
A point made by this author to students during the second year of
study is the need to pay attention to detail and it was, therefore,
refreshing to note that one of the 2002-03 interns considered ‘the main
thing really is attention to detail!!’ Detailed knowledge about one
component of the tourism industry is commonly acquired and this
individual was no exception: ‘I’ve a better understanding of ATOL and
how it works’. ATOL is an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence and refers to the
Civil Aviation Authority’s financial bonding scheme that provides
consumer protection for package holidays. This individual typifies the
observation from Fell & Kuit (2003, p. 217) that a level of maturity can be
instilled, ‘often lacking before the event’, as the verbatim quote
recognises: ‘I think I have just learnt so much more about how things
really run in this type of environment, the business process ... I think I
have grown up a bit since being here’. Whilst the norm is for students to
provide an equally weighted response to both questions, this
commentator provided much more of a discussion on the skills acquired.
Interpreting the comments, it seems that this may be due to the
organisation being quite small, thereby enforcing the use of a range of
skills and the emphasis, again, on maturity: ‘You will probably see a
difference in me next year, being on placement has done me some good’.
Discussion
Sector representation, in proportionate terms, remained reasonably
constant, year-on-year, up to 2001-02. However, during this period, the
numbers employed in some fluctuated; for example, in 1997-98, there
were five internships at the British Tourist Authority/English Tourist
Board, whereas airline placements are never more than one or two in
each year. A criticism of the data is that the results do not identify
whether particular skills are predominant in one sector compared to
another. This issue was considered before the first mail-out, with the
conclusion that requesting identification of sector might result in
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Graham Busby
students not responding because it would enable the author to identify
the individual. The benefit of confidentiality has been that some
comments have been made that would not otherwise have occurred –
there is no doubt that the students consider they can be very open with
their remarks.
In his review of employer involvement in higher education, Cassells
(1994) – from the University of Northumbria – identified three levels:
arm’s length relationships, partnerships and strategic alliances. Despite
having had placements with some organisations for many years, it is
difficult to classify any as strategic alliances, if only because the dynamic
nature of the industry can mean that budgets permit recruiting a student
one year and not the next. With perhaps five or six organisations only, it
is possible to state that there is a partnership ‘where employers and
educators really want to develop the relationship to the benefit of both’
(Cassells, 1994, p. 3). However, the remainder are hardly kept at ‘arm’s
length’, there is simply less regular contact and involvement. What
should not be underestimated is the amount of time any level of liaison
requires.
In terms of skills acquisition, the first three skills identified in Table
IIa conform to those considered important by 122 Business Studies
graduates surveyed by Athiyaman (2001, p. 7), although they considered
that the university in question did not help them to acquire the skills
needed in employment; the ‘statistically significant deficient skills
include: oral communication, leadership, interpersonal, teamwork,
supervision and negotiation’. Whilst the number of respondents is small,
the percentage of Plymouth students citing acquisition of three of these
skills has remained fairly constant. This is reassuring, since O’Halloran
(2001, p. 102) has also drawn attention to the growing awareness,
nationally, that students feel ‘aggrieved at the limited level of preparation
for work they are receiving during their H.E. experience’.
Tourism management undergraduates at the University of Plymouth
who do not undertake an internship might still be expected to possess
some of these skills as a result of assessment methods during their
studies; for example, group presentations – a feature of other institutions
as well (Bowen, 1996). The internship, however, does reinforce the
student awareness of the importance of these skills, as some of the
verbatim comments, above, indicate. A Delphi survey by Yale & Cook
(1995), of 57 tourism industry experts in the USA, indicated the following
skills as critical requirements for potential employees: listening skills,
interpersonal skills, business-writing, and presentation skills; the
internship period was considered to be an excellent opportunity for
organisations to observe and select the best talent. Some internship
providers have used the opportunity to select staff for employment after
graduation.
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TOURISM DEGREE INTERNSHIPS
Some interns occupy responsible posts, although most will not be
faced with significant problem-solving duties – a skill that will be
developed after graduation in most cases and one sought by United
Kingdom employers (National Statistics, 2001). On the other hand, it is
conceivable that respondents are not necessarily aware that they ‘solve
problems’ in their everyday duties – meaning that identifying the solution
to specific difficulties is taken for granted. Anecdotal evidence suggests
this is possible: it can range from dealing with an overbooking in tour
operation to guest complaints for a front-of-house placement student.
As suggested by Elias (1992), the internship does provide the
opportunity for students to confront theory with practice; in other words,
the undergraduate programme appears to achieve a ‘balance between
vocational and theoretical content’, as recommended by Airey (1996,
p. 17). It is during the internship that the student begins to reflect on the
vocational–educational balance and, as the quoted 2002-03 respondent
indicates, becomes aware that they have ‘grown’. Most students do
reflect upon their experience since they readily discuss principles and
ideas, formulated as a result of the placement, at the debriefing held at
the beginning of the final year. Gibbs et al’s (1994) experiential skills
learning cycle captures the process entirely whereby students are said to
do, reflect, form principles, plan and do again. It is also suggested that
much tacit knowledge (Symes & McIntyre, 2000) is acquired.
With their typology of degrees, Silver & Brennan (1988) proposed a
range from A to H, whereby Type A represents the sole regulation to
employment and completed training (medicine, for example) and Type H
degrees provide non-relevant training with graduates competing in an
open job market. In as much as the sandwich placement is viewed as a
vehicle for obtaining employment after graduation by many, if not all, it is
suggested that the University of Plymouth BSc Tourism Management
conforms to either Type G or F. Type G degrees apply to open market job
conditions where there is an employment-relevant educational base,
whereas Type F awards relate to partial regulation by the industry,
including the public sector and with an educational base for training.
With the Type F degree, the professional and academic aspects
revolve around a common subject, ensuring relevance. An example of this
type are Tourism Officer posts with local authorities for which
advertisements increasingly specify a tourism degree (Busby, 2001) – is
this, itself, an early indication of professionalisation? After all, a
‘professional institute’ – the Tourism Management Institute – was
established in 1997 (www.tmi.org.uk). If an increasing number of local
authority tourism officers possess a tourism degree, Wells (1996, p. 27)
will have been proved correct in stating that HEIs ‘appear to be ably
positioned to shape the attitudes of future professionals’; this almost
certainly is a truism for other sectors as well. Whilst most
undergraduates in the second year of BSc Tourism Management do not
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Graham Busby
have a clear idea of career intentions, those who show an interest in the
public sector are encouraged to apply for placements with local
authorities and QUANGOs (quasi-autonomous national government
organisations), such as the British Tourist Authority, as such experience
can provide the necessary competitive advantage after graduation. Two
students on placement, in consecutive years, with the BTA were recruited
after graduation and the same applies to two individuals with the South
East England Tourist Board.
Conclusions
Several years ago, Bowen (1996, p. 120) suggested that for many British
HEIs, omission of an internship programme might be seen as ‘a critical
weakness’, for it certainly reduces the scope for students to acquire a
wide range of skills. Undoubtedly, the advent of tuition fees and the
increasing size of student debt has resulted in fewer students undertaking
an internship despite clear evidence that those who have included this
element in their degree obtain employment quickly after graduation.
Another reason, as Busby (2001, p. 39) notes, is that ‘whilst salaries are
not particularly low, they do not sufficiently entice the student’ despite
the Dearing Report (1997) emphasising the difference that internship
makes for graduates. At a time when the number of graduates is
increasing, there has been a reduction in the number of well-qualified
school leavers and this has increased ‘employer take-up of graduate
relative to non-graduate staff’ (Mason, 2001, p. 9). With an increase in the
supply of graduates, a substantial internship can help differentiate
between applicants from an employer’s perspective. Reviewing the
content of most placements over the last 8 years leads this author to
suggest that they undoubtedly help inculcate the vocationally relevant
skills and knowledge referred to in the QAA benchmark. Whilst many of
these skills are transferable, there is also the opportunity to acquire
specific detailed knowledge, as in the case of the intern commenting on
ATOL documentation. Furthermore, as the student comments suggest, a
level of maturity is instilled and confidence increases.
Teixeira & Baum (2001, p. 102) referred to the difference in returning
students who had undertaken an internship compared to those who had
not as ‘dramatic’. This difference is manifest when it becomes apparent
that reflection on the experience leads to a critical evaluation of the
tourism business as advocated by Tribe (2001). For example, with
reference to the Sustainable Tourism module, the opportunity for debate
is further enhanced by some students having been employed by FTO
(Federation of Tour Operators) members and others with AITO
(Association of Independent Tour Operators) and, therefore, the potential
corporate diversity of view vis-à-vis sustainability (Curtin & Busby, 1999;
Busby, 2003).
330
TOURISM DEGREE INTERNSHIPS
Accepting what Tribe (2001) refers to as a positivist approach to
curriculum design, every effort should be made to encourage students to
undertake an internship. ‘Learning by doing reinforces classroom
understanding by contextualising knowledge’ (Clark & Whitelegg, 1998,
p. 326). To that end, the internship is the nexus between academic and
vocational content. It might also eliminate the matter of chance involved
in employment destination observed by Hing & Lomo (1997).
Correspondence
Graham Busby, Faculty of Social Science & Business, University of
Plymouth, Newton Abbot TQ12 6NQ, United Kingdom
(g.busby@plymouth.co.uk).
Note
An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the ‘Rethinking of education
and training for tourism’ conference, University of Zagreb, April 2002.
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