Training Needs Analysis
of the Tourism Sector
- Final Report -
Prepared for:
Enhancing Employability and Resilience of Youth Project (MEERY; P163818)
March 2020
Submitted by
Kai Partale
Zur Mark 24
65719 Hofheim
Germany
DISCLAIMER
This report has been produced with the assistance of the World Bank under the Ministry of Higher
Education and the Ministry of Economic Development. The contents of this publication are the sole
responsibility of the project “MEERY” and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the World
Bank.
INTENDED USE
The report is designed as a practical resource to assist the MoHE with the planning and development
of education and training where increased competitiveness and actions for implementation to achieve
the SAP Goals are formulated. Additionally, separate inception and research progress reports have
been prepared to support the development of findings and recommendations.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to the many stakeholders from the tourism industry, government and departments and
education and training providers who supported in the initial phase with information sharing to prepare for the further development of the Training Needs Analysis Report.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
2
Table of contents
1.
Introduction
11
1.1
Background
11
1.2
MEERY project context
11
1.3
Purpose of the study
11
2.
Tourism development in the Maldives
13
2.1
Sector description in brief
13
2.2
Tourism performance - arrivals, markets and trends
15
3.
Manpower in the tourism industry in the Maldives
18
3.1
Employment and the tourism labour Market
18
3.2
Employment of expatriates in tourism
21
3.3
Challenges for tourism education and training
24
4.
TNA methodology
26
4.1
Data collection
26
4.1.1
One-on-one interviews
26
4.1.2
Executive industry surveys
27
4.1.3
Focus discussion groups
29
4.2
Research limitations
30
5.
Analysis of the tourism sector
31
5.1
Resort sector
31
5.1.1
Employment
31
5.1.2
Recruitment, turnover and training
35
5.1.3
Evaluation of current skills levels and training needs
38
5.1.4
Key emerging skills areas
40
5.1.5
Future challenges
42
5.2
Guesthouse sector
43
5.2.1
Employment
43
5.2.2
Recruitment, turnover and training
45
5.2.3
Evaluation of current skills levels and training needs
47
5.2.4
Key emerging skills areas and challenges
48
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
3
5.3
Hotel sector
51
5.3.1
Employment
51
5.3.2
Recruitment, turnover and training
52
5.3.3
Evaluation of current skills levels and training needs
55
5.3.4
Key emerging skills areas and challenges
57
5.4
Travel Agency sector
58
5.4.1
Employment
58
5.4.2
Recruitment, turnover and training
59
5.4.3
Evaluation of current skills levels and training needs
62
5.4.4
Key emerging skills areas
63
5.5
Tourism sub-sector findings
65
5.5.1
Transport Services and Safari Vessel
65
5.5.2
Restaurant and Food
66
5.5.3
Diving and Water Sports Tourism
66
5.5.4
Nature and Cultural Tourism
67
5.5.5
Crafts, Souvenir and Tourist Retail
67
5.5.6
Spa and Wellness
68
5.5.7
MICE
69
5.6
Conclusion and implications for tourism skills
70
6.
Analysis of education and training in the tourism industry
71
6.1
Framework conditions
71
6.2
Profile of institutions
76
6.3
Education quality and staffing
79
6.4
Marketing and finance
83
6.5
Conclusions and implications for tourism education & training
86
7.
Entrepreneurship
87
8.
Summarized findings of pilot regions
89
8.1
Greater Malé
90
8.2
Addu City
92
8.3
Lhaviyani Atoll
95
8.4
Fuvahmulah (Gnaviyani Atoll)
98
9.
9.1
Conclusions and recommendations
Implications on skills/training needs and manpower
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
101
101
4
9.2
Labour force and tourism development
103
9.3
Determining of education and training requirements and gaps
107
9.4
Transfer of TNA results to policy and practice
111
Annexes
114
References
114
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
5
List of Tables
Table 1 Occupational groups categorised in skill level groups
20
Table 2 Survey distribution protocol
28
Table 3 FDG implementation protocol
29
Table 4 Summary of resorts responded on employment /vacancies to TNA survey / MoED survey 34
Table 5 Maldives National Qualifications Framework (MNQF)
71
Table 6 Qualifications framework – transition from TVET to Higher Education
72
Table 7 National Competency Standards for tourism occupations, Certificate Level III & IV
72
Table 8 Proposed qualifications based on tourism sector approved programmes
by MQA and such offered by institutions
74
Table 9 Tourism sector approved programmes (MNQF level 7 and above)
76
Table 10 Enrolment, graduation and drop out
at tourism education and training institutions 2016-18
77
Table 11 Average student fees charged for offered programmes in MVR
84
Table 12 Greater Malé registered population and expatriate employment
as of 31st Dec 2018 and resident population employed in tourism, Census 2014
90
Table 13 Workshop findings in Malé on training, entrepreneurships and youth employment
91
Table 14 Addu City registered population and expatriate employment
as of 31st Dec 2018 and resident population employed in tourism, Census 2014
93
Table 15 Workshop findings in Addu on training, entrepreneurships and youth employment
93
Table 16 Lhaviyani registered population and expatriate employment
as of 31st Dec 2018 and resident population employed in tourism, Census 2014
95
Table 17 Workshop findings in Lh. Hinnavaru on training, entrepreneurships
and youth employment
96
Table 18 Fuvahmulah registered population and expatriate employment
as of 31st Dec 2018 and resident population employed in tourism, Census 2014
98
Table 19 Workshop findings in Fuvahmulah on training, entrepreneurships
and youth employment
99
Table 20 Manpower needs of resorts, hotels and guesthouses by 2023
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
102
6
List of Figures
Figure 1
Model of the tourism value chain of Maldives
13
Figure 2
Maldives top 10 source markets, 2019
15
Figure 3
Economic contribution of travel and tourism
15
Figure 4
Key supply and demand performance of Maldivian tourism
16
Figure 5
Resident population, Maldivians and foreigners employed in tourism sector
18
Figure 6
Tourism intensity on population/workforce
19
Figure 7
Expatriate employment by industry
21
Figure 8
Total categorised expatriate work permits of the 'Hotel and Restaurant'
and ‘Tourism’ industries
22
Share of HOTEL & RESTAURANT expatriate work permits/employment
by occupation families
23
Figure 10 Share of TOURISM expatriate work permits/employment by occupation families
23
Figure 11 Constraints chain of the tourism sector
25
Figure 12 Share of persons employed in resorts, local/foreign, gender
31
Figure 13 Share of persons employed in resorts, local/foreign, rank
31
Figure 14 Share of persons employed in resorts, department, staff per department
32
Figure 15 Share of persons employed in resorts, local/foreign, department
32
Figure 16 Share of persons employed per department in resorts, level of qualifications
33
Figure 17 Share of expected vacancies per department in resorts in the coming year
34
Figure 18 Employment opportunities in the resort sector, youth/women
35
Figure 19 Most frequently used recruitment sources of resorts, rank
36
Figure 20 Key jobs with difficulties recruiting Maldivians for resorts
36
Figure 9
Figure 21 Key occupations in resorts of growing importance with difficulties to find qualified staff 37
Figure 22 Turnover rate of employees’ previous year, rank
38
Figure 23 Influence on turnover decision of resort staff
38
Figure 24 Technical skill levels of newly hired or current staff in resorts
39
Figure 25 Key areas for training and retraining needs of current workforce, resorts
40
Figure 26 Emerging skills to develop in students, resorts
41
Figure 27 Relevance of green skills in the resort sector
42
Figure 28 Share of persons employed in guesthouses, local/foreign, gender
43
Figure 29 Share of persons employed in guesthouses, local/foreign, rank
43
Figure 30 Share of persons employed in guesthouses, local/foreign, department
44
Figure 31 Share of persons employed per area in guesthouses, level of qualifications
44
Figure 32 Employment opportunities in the guesthouse sector, youth/women
45
Figure 33 Key jobs with difficulties recruiting Maldivians for guesthouses
46
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
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Figure 34 Influence on turnover decision of guesthouse staff
47
Figure 35 Technical skill levels of newly hired or current staff in guesthouses
47
Figure 36 Key areas for training and retraining needs of current workforce, guesthouses
48
Figure 37 Emerging skills to develop in students, guesthouses
49
Figure 38 Relevance of green skills in the guesthouse sector
50
Figure 39 Share of persons employed in hotels, local/foreign, gender
51
Figure 40 Share of persons employed in hotels, local/foreign, rank
51
Figure 41 Share of persons employed in hotels, local/foreign, department
52
Figure 42 Share of expected vacancies per department in hotels in the coming year
52
Figure 43 Most frequently used recruitment sources of hotels, rank
53
Figure 44 Key jobs with difficulties recruiting Maldivians for hotels
53
Figure 45 Turnover rate of employees’ previous year, rank
54
Figure 46 Influence on turnover decision of hotel staff
54
Figure 47 Key occupations in hotels of growing importance with difficulties to find qualified staff 55
Figure 48 Employment opportunities in the hotel sector, youth/women
55
Figure 49 Technical skill levels of newly hired or current staff in hotels
56
Figure 50 Key areas for training and retraining needs of current workforce, hotels
56
Figure 51 Emerging skills to develop in students, hotels
57
Figure 52 Relevance of green skills in the hotel sector
57
Figure 53 Share of persons employed in travel agencies, local/foreign, gender
58
Figure 54 Share of persons employed in travel agencies, local/foreign, rank
58
Figure 55 Share of persons employed in travel agencies, local/foreign, department
59
Figure 56 Employment opportunities in the travel agencies’ sector, youth/women
59
Figure 57 Most frequently used recruitment sources of travel agencies, rank
60
Figure 58 Key jobs with difficulties recruiting Maldivians for travel agencies
60
Figure 59 Key occupations in travel agencies of growing importance with difficulties
to find qualified staff
61
Figure 60 Influence on turnover decision of travel agencies’ staff
61
Figure 61 Technical skill levels of newly hired or current staff in travel agencies
62
Figure 62 Key areas for training and retraining needs of current workforce, travel agencies
62
Figure 63 Emerging skills to develop in students, travel agencies
63
Figure 64 Relevance of green skills in the travel agencies’ sector
64
Figure 65 Factors influencing the quality of training programmes
80
Figure 66 Solutions to improve the quality of training programmes
80
Figure 67 Qualifications of graduates from institutions responding to industry’s skill requirements 81
Figure 68 Importance of training areas for your teaching staff
81
Figure 69 Statements on green skills in the tourism education and trainings institutions
82
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
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Figure 70 Obstacles to accessing staff development training at institution
82
Figure 71 Factors influencing turnover decisions of teaching staff
83
Figure 72 Marketing initiatives to promote tourism education and training programmes
84
Figure 73 Sources of funding for students undertaking tourism programmes
84
Figure 74 Readiness of locals to become entrepreneurs in the tourism sector and its sub-sectors 88
Figure 75 Perception of youth on work in tourism
89
Figure 76 Perception of women on work in tourism
90
Figure 77 Attractiveness of jobs in tourism – Greater Malé
92
Figure 78 Interest to work in job areas – Greater Malé
92
Figure 79 Attractiveness of jobs in tourism – Addu City
94
Figure 80 Interest to work in job areas – Addu City
95
Figure 81 Attractiveness of jobs in tourism – Lhaviyani
97
Figure 82 Interest to work in job areas – Lhaviyani
98
Figure 83 Attractiveness of jobs in tourism – Fuvahmulah
100
Figure 84 Interest to work in job areas – Fuvahmulah
100
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
9
Abbreviations
ATA
GAM
Association of Travel Agents
Guesthouse Association of Maldives
GoM
HRD
Government of Maldives
Human Resources Development
ILO
LAM
MAHRP
MATATO
MATI
MEERY
MICE
MIRA
MMPRC
MNU
MoED
MoHE
MoT
MQA
NBAM
NBS
OTA
PMU
TEAM
TNA
TVET
TVETA
UNWTO
WTTC
International Labour Organization
Liveaboard Association of Maldives
Maldives Association for Human Resource Professionals
Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators
Maldives Association of Tourism Industries
Enhancing Employability and Resilience of Youth
Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions
Maldives Inland Revenue Authority
Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation
Maldives National University
Ministry of Economic Development
Ministry of Higher Education
Ministry of Tourism
Maldivian Qualifications Authority
National Boating Associations of Maldives
National Bureau of Statistics
Online Travel Agency
Project Management Unit
Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives
Training Needs Analysis
Technical Vocational Education and Training
Technical, Vocational Education and Training Authority
United Nations World Tourism Organisation
World Travel & Tourism Council
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
10
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
The tourism sector in Maldives contributes substantially to the country’s GDP through the creation of
employment and exports. Tourism’s reliance on human resources and local suppliers generates enormous income earning potential for the country and those living in or near major tourism resort islands
or are engaged in other economic activities related to tourism. The positive influence of tourism on
other service industries underlines its strategic importance. Tourist inflows foster services such as in
the transport, food industry, and water sports activities that are of interest to tourists.
Although the tourism and hospitality sectors have been growing annually, there is a massive shortfall
of local manpower for tourism services compared with the increasing number of tourists.
The key to sustained and sustainable growth of Maldives tourism sector is internationally competitive
and flexible enterprises built on the quality of their products and services and delivered by a workforce
that is trained to a high standard and able to develop and grow within the workplace.
Modernising human resource systems in tourism is a key to enhance quality in enterprises, their products and their services that are provided to tourists and the public sector which works with them.
Tourism is an ever-changing sector in terms of customer expectations, markets, products, technologies
and services and anticipating and coping with these changes is a crucial challenge for tourism in the
Maldives.
1.2 MEERY PROJECT CONTEXT
As the recent development pattern in the Maldives shows an imbalance between labour demand and
supply, which the Government of Maldives (GoM) has realised, it is implementing the “Maldives: Enhancing Employability and Resilience of Youth (MEERY)” project. The objective of the project is to improve the relevance of technical and vocational skills and foster entrepreneurship to promote youth
employment in priority sectors.
This Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is part of the MEERY project in component 1: Fostering skills development and entrepreneurship in priority sectors and here, 1.1: Labour-market assessment and analysis
for demand driven skills identification, which provides a knowledge base for human resource development of personnel working in the industry. The methodology adopted is designed to be sympathetic
to the wider objectives of MEERY and to contribute to these.
It is a national study and responses were sought, via multi-methods, from various stakeholder groups
on a national basis. At the same time, more localised depth was reached at a local level in four selected
regions (Greater Malé, Addu City, Fuvahmulah, and Lhaviyani), which have been selected for inclusion
in this TNA project. Thus, the outcomes of the study allow for interpretation in both national and more
localised terms which is important for developing appropriate training responses.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The long-term objective for the tourism sector is to enable Maldivians (incl. vulnerable groups) to acquire the necessary skills and qualifications to meet the needs of the sector and enhance the competencies of occupations that directly affect the tourist experience.
Training needs in relation to quantity, occupations and skill levels are difficult to estimate either for
existing staff in the industry, for the annual replacement of existing staff, or for staff for new operations
and the expansion of existing operations because of unavailable labour market information systems,
statistics and research studies.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
11
The general objective was to conduct a comprehensive training needs and a skills mismatch analysis
based on regional demand and supply, to assist education and training policy making and implementation mechanisms.
When preparing and planning the TNA, a review of information needs was conducted with the Ministry
of Higher Education and Ministry of Economic Development to discuss the research objectives and
define the data collection strategy in order to develop the survey instruments. The approach and results have been shared with the technical Tourism Sector Council to incorporate their recommendations.
The findings of this TNA supports in identifying answers to the questions of which jobs are available in
the industry, what are the interests of youth, how to engage more women in tourism, which programmes are of need to the industry and what levels of training should be offered to the industry.
In this context, the TNA was developed in order to enhance the competitiveness and to contribute to
sustainable human resource development in tourism by providing technical services, namely by making an assessment for a more localized region-based training needs, assessment of the skills mismatch
based of labour supply, employment demands and changing economic contexts. Such a comprehensive assessment, inclusive of public and private sector labour market needs, economic growth projections and development initiatives of the Government, is essential to ensure that academic and vocational and education planning in institutions is guided by relevant data.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
12
2.
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE MALDIVES
2.1 SECTOR DESCRIPTION IN BRIEF
The responsibility for ensuring that all stakeholders take cognisance of tourism development in their
decision-making process and policies lies with the Ministry of Tourism (MoT). MoT is responsible for
designing policies aimed at developing Maldives’ tourism sector as well as supervising and monitoring
tourism programmes at the national level.
As a public sector-initiated marketing agency, the Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation (MMPRC) is
committed to utilising marketing strategies to brand, position and promote Maldives tourism product
as a destination of choice in international markets.
The principal sector associations/institutions, which are taken in this study as representative of the
industry, are as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Maldives Association of Tourism Industries (MATI)
Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO)
Guesthouse Association of Maldives (GAM)
National Boating Association of Maldives (NBAM)
Maldives Association for Human Resource Professionals (MAHRP)
Divers Association of Maldives (DAM)
Chefs Guild of Maldives (CGM)
Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM)
As a starting point of the TNA, the various tourism providers which contribute to Maldives economy
by engaging in international tourism source markets and exports need to be identified. The value chain
is characterized by its core processes and participating actors, which have multiple linkages into the
sector and the rest of the economy. The tourism value chain structures the role of stakeholders in
providing tourism products and services that must meet the needs and expectations of visitors at their
different stages from travel planning to concluding the experiences at the end of travel.
Figure 1
Model of the tourism value chain of Maldives
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
13
Figure 1 illustrates the complexity of a typical tourism value chain. To the left, the figure illustrates
activities that take place in the outbound country (i.e. the tourists’ country of residence) that affect
decision-making process of visitors and to the right those taking place in Maldives as inbound country
when experiencing products and services in destinations and at touristic sites. The development potential of tourism is maximised in destinations that manage to exploit the indirect linkages in an optimal way and a broad range of activities can be considered relevant in order to achieve this.
The visitors’ experience includes all the relevant touchpoints along the customer journey who communicate with tourists and are engaged in facilitating the experience of tourists including Maldivian
tourism sub-sectors (represented by the many associations, such as Maldives Association of Tourism
Industries, National Boating Associations of Maldives etc.): resorts, hotels, guesthouses, safari vessels,
restaurants, diving & water sports, transportation, guides and travel agents.
Activities related to the travel organisation and booking segment take place in the outbound country
and are often in the hand of tour operators or travel agents registered in those countries. However,
the destination marketing companies / ground handlers, mainly located in Malé play an important role
to make booking arrangements with the service providers in the destination and for outbound travel.
At the level of travel agencies/tour operations, a considerable share of the market is held by a small
number of operators, companies such as members of the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and
Tour Operators.
Developments in information technology are changing the role of different players in the organisation
and booking segment as they make it easier for services providers in Maldives to reach out directly to
potential customers. So, the booking behaviour is shifting from previously dominated package trips by
international tour operators to more individualised booking arrangements via Online Travel Agencies.
This also characterises the more individualised traveller who is seeking for guesthouse experiences, a
sector represented by the Guesthouse Association of Maldives.
Transport activities create the link between the outbound and the inbound destination or provide
transport options within Maldivian atolls. Air transport via Malé International Airport, Addu International Airport, local airports and travel by sea plane hold a particularly important position when it
comes to accessibility of destinations. Another important means of transport is the travel by speed
boats and safari vessels. The availability and quality of airports, ports and marinas is highly relevant for
the success for a strategy targeting sustainable tourism growth, as stipulated in the SAP 2019-2023.
Within Maldives, tourism-related activities include activities related to transportation, accommodation, food and beverages, diving, water sports, entertainment and handicrafts. The organisation of
leisure activities, excursions and tours forms a further sub-component of the tourism value chain. Upgrading of tourism activities and experiences within the tourism market segments, such as marine
tourism, community-based tourism, diving, water-adventures, etc. can help diversify the products, increase the direct and indirect benefits for local economic development and enhance the tourist’s holiday experience.
In this context, the TNA will be developed to enhance the competitiveness and to contribute to sustainable human resource development in tourism by assessing region-based training needs, assessment of the skills mismatch based of labour supply, employment demands within the changing economic contexts.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
14
2.2 TOURISM PERFORMANCE - ARRIVALS, MARKETS AND TRENDS
In the past years, Maldives has made significant achievements in tourism development and international visitor arrivals are increasing continuously. In 2019, the total number of tourists was around
1,702,887 of which the majority with 833,939 arrivals were Europeans, followed by 833,939 visitors
from Asia and the Pacific, 84,794 from Americas and 60,003 arrivals were counted from the Middle
East and 18,695 from African countries.1
The top-10 source markets of Maldives were headed by China, followed by India, Italy and Germany.
The average length of stay was 6.3 days in 2019. Visits from European nationals make up 49%, with
those from Asia accounting for 41%.
Figure 2
Maldives top 10 source markets, 2019
Source: adapted from MoT, 2020
According to the latest World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Economic Impact study of tourism
for Maldives in 2018, the travel and tourism sector, as defined by the WTTC, remains the most important economic sector in Maldives making a direct contribution of MVR23,189.6mn to GDP in 2017,
39.6% of the total. This was forecasted by the WTTC to rise by 5.9% pa to MVR42,270.9mn, 45.4% of
total GDP in 2028. The total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was MVR44,855.6mn, 76.6% of
GDP in 2017, and forecasted to rise by 5.7% pa to MVR80,191.6mn, 86.1%of GDP in 2028.
Figure 3
Economic contribution of travel and tourism
Source: WTTC, 2018
In 2018, 58.5% of the total revenue collected by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) was
collected in US Dollars. USD623.08 million was received towards taxes and fees, of which the Rufiyaa
1
Ministry of Tourism, 2020
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
15
equivalent is MVR9.56 billion. Most USD revenue was received as Goods and Services Tax from the
tourism sector, which totalled to USD311.71 million in 2018. Compared to the preceding year, an increment of 9.7% was recorded in USD collection in 2018. This is because of the higher collection of
Tourism Goods and Services Tax, Airport Development Fee and Tourism Land Rent.2
Travel and tourism directly supported 34,500 jobs (16.0% of total employment) in 2017, according to
WTTC. It includes employment by hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation
services. It also includes, for example, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly
supported by tourists. This is expected to rise by 3.1% pa to 47,000 jobs (19.2% of total employment)
in 2028. Overall, the total contribution of travel and tourism to employment, including jobs indirectly
supported by the industry (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts), was 37.4% of total employment, which means 80,500 jobs in 2017. This is expected to
rise by 2.7% pa to 105,000 jobs in 2028 (42.9% of total).3
Figure 4 displays some key performance data, based the latest annual report and annual statistical
databases received from MoT.4 In 2019, the supply structure by type of accommodation counted a
total of 886 establishments of which 563 were guesthouses. In terms of number of beds, the accommodation structure is dominated by the resort sector with beds 35,016. The number of establishments
and registered bed capacity development increased the most within the last 5 years and the average
company sizes (beds per company) is at 223 beds per resorts and 16 beds per guesthouse.
According to the SAP 2019–2023, this increase is going to accelerate and at least 35,000 new tourist
beds will be added within the next 5 years (including resorts, guesthouses) with a focus on balanced
distribution of facilities across the country.
In terms of demand structure, 84% of overnight stays were registered by resorts and of the total of
10,689,248 overnight stays, 8,997,787 were counted in resorts and 1,129,458 in guesthouses. The occupancy (overnight stays per bed) is at 74% in resorts, 34% in guesthouses and 26% in safari vessels
with an average occupancy rate of 62.3% in 2019.
Figure 4
Key supply and demand performance of Maldivian tourism
Supply structure:
Establishments by type of accommodation, 2019
2
3
4
Supply structure:
Beds by accommodation type, 2019
MIRA, 2019
WTTC (2018): Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2018 – Maldives.
www.tourism.gov.mv/statistics
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
16
Trends:
Number of establishments 2010-2019
Trends:
Registered bed capacity development 2010-2019
Trends:
Development of company sizes (beds per company)
Trends:
Development of occupancy (overnight stays per bed)
Demand structure:
Overnight stays by accommodation type, 2019
Demand structure
Development of demand 2010-2019
Source: adapted from MoT, 2020
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
17
3.
MANPOWER IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN THE
MALDIVES
3.1 EMPLOYMENT AND THE TOURISM LABOUR MARKET
The TNA builds on main available secondary employment data and makes use of existing data on employment in Maldives, both within tourism and the wider economy. Data gathered is of variable quality
and estimates vary between government, international agencies and other sources. However, the existing data provides the skeleton for the research and allows for projections of required occupations
which leads to the matching of educational programmes.
The latest available statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on local employment in the
tourism sector, as shown Figure 5, refers to the ‘Population and Housing Census in 2014’. In 2020,
updated information on employment in tourism will be made available according to the NBS.
A high proportion of population employed in the industry work in the tourism sector and live in tourist
resorts. Majority of workforce is concentrated in the age group of 25-34 years, followed by 35-49 years.
Resident population, Maldivians and foreigners employed in tourism sector
Foreigners
Maldivian
Population
Figure 5
Note: Resident Population includes both Maldivians and Foreigners
Source: adapted from NBS, Population and Housing Census, 2014
The gender imbalance in the sector is evident from employment statistics and the high number of
expatriate workforces is very prominent in almost all sectors of employment in the Maldives. There
are cultural and social taboos against female employment in the sector in Maldives. The accommodation and tourism sector occupations have a negative connotation that prompts parents to forbid their
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
18
daughters from seeking employment in this sector. Travel to resort islands, double shifts, necessary in
accommodation operation, are another major obstacle disruptive of family life for married women, as
is the necessity of providing official transportation from and to the island workplace so that women
can commute to work instead of staying at the resort island.
As stated in the SAP 2019-2023, GoM intends to increase the representation of Maldivians, particularly
women in tourism related employment, and address issues relating to employment rights through introduction of minimum wage, regulation of service charge, and strengthening labour rights.
Tourism intensity on population - atoll comparison
Tourism intensity is an indicator that relates the number of tourists overnight stays to the resident
population of a destination. Overnight stay figures on atoll level are not available. Therefore, it has
been calculated based on the registered beds and the average occupancy rate (overnights: number of
beds * 365 * occupancy). The results are therefore only approximate values.
Due to the high overnight stay intensity in the lower right section, these atolls are very much dependent on external labour, which can come from other atolls or made available to the tourism industry in
the form of foreign labour. The upper left section shows that there is a larger proportion of the population in relation to the overnight stay intensity, which is potentially available as (internal) labour force
for the tourism industry.
Figure 6
Tourism intensity on population/workforce
Source: adapted from NBS population data, MoT capacities data, own calculations
It should be noted that population from atolls tend to migrate to Malé, some temporarily while others
permanently and visit their islands during holidays to spend time with their family and friends. This
population cannot be available as potential workforce in the regions.
Workers by occupations and skill levels
To provide guidance to education planners on workers employed in resorts, hotels, restaurants, travel
agencies, guiding etc. these workers have been classified according to a matrix of hotel and tourism
occupations derived from the structure of the tourism industry in Maldives.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
19
Manpower needs do not automatically translate into training needs. Resorts, hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and similar establishments employ large numbers of unskilled or semi-skilled and ancillary,
non-sector-specific workers, such as maintenance workers, security guards, drivers, gardeners, etc.
The breakdown by skill levels provides a way to identify training needs for which appropriate training
programmes need to be established. For each occupational group, occupations have been divided into
unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, supervisory and managerial positions. Table 1 includes selected occupational groups of workers which are categorised according to their occupations / job titles in five skill
level groups.
Table 1
Occupational groups categorised in skill level groups
Unskilled
workers
Semi-skilled
workers
Skilled
Supervisory
• General Manager
• Resort Manager
Managerial &
Administration
• Secretary
Accounts & Finance
• Reservations & Admin
Officer
• Storekeeper
• Accounts Payable/Receivable
• Reservation Supervisor
• Stores & Receiving Supervisor
• Financial Controller
• Purchasing Coordinator
• Guest Relations Agent
• Front Desk Agent
• Reservation Agent
• Communications & PR
• Marketing Coordinator
• Asst. Human Resources
Manager
• Recruitment Specialist
• Training Manager
• Asst. Front Office Manager
• Front Desk Supervisor
• Guest Relations Supervisor
• Villa Host Supervisor
• Asst. Executive Housekeeper
• Housekeeping Supervisor
• Asst. Laundry Manager
• Laundry Supervisor
• Store Helper
Sales and Marketing
Human Resources
Front Office
• Butler
• Bellman
Housekeeping
• Linen Attendant
• Uniform Attendant
• Tailor
Food & Beverage
• Bar Waiter
• Barista
• Kitchen Equipment Cleaner
• Collecting and
Sorting Agent
• Washer
• Cleaning Agent
•
•
•
•
•
Managerial
Public Area Attendant
Villa Attendant
Room Attendant
Laundry Attendant
Safari Boat Housekeeper
• Restaurant Receptionist
• Asst. Restaurant Man• Waiter/Waitress
ger
• Room Service Order
• Bar Supervisor
Taker Room Service
Waiter
• Revenue Manager
• Accounting Manager
• Director of Sales &
Marketing
• Human Resources
Manager
• Front Office Manager
• Executive Housekeeper
• Restaurant Manager
• Burnishing and
Polishing Agent • Buffet Agent
• Dishwasher
• Sanitation and Hygiene
Supervisor
Food Production
• Hot Food
Helper
• Cold Food
Helper
• Pastry Helper
• Bakery Helper
• Butcher Helper
• Special Cuisine
Helper
• Sous Chef
• Chef de Partie
• Executive Head Chef
Diving & Water
Sports
• Snorkel Guide
• Equipment
Maintenance
Specialist
• Diving Instructor
• Kite/Wind/Surf Instructor
• Snorkel Supervisor
• Lifeguards Manager
• Dive Centre/ Base
Leader
• Water Sports Centre
Leader
Entertainment
• Recreation Attendant
• Event Supervisor
• Excursion Executive
• Entertainment & Fitness Executive
Stewarding
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hot Food Commis
Cold Food Commis
Pastry Commis
Bakery Commis
Butcher Commis
Special Cuisine Commis
Safari Boat Cooking
Chef
• Diving & Water Sports
Reservation Agent
• Diving & Water Sports
Receptionist
• Senior Diving Equipment Technician
• Fitness Instructor
Excursion Guide
20
Unskilled
workers
Semi-skilled
workers
Skilled
Supervisory
Managerial
• Kids Club Attendant
Spa and Wellness
• Driver
• Transport Attendant
Transport
Engineering, IT,
Maintenance,
• Gardener
Security
• Spa Attendant
• Spa Receptionist
Spa Therapist
• Physiotherapist
Yoga Instructor
• Speed Boat
Crew
• Airport Representative
• Security Guard
Travel Agency
• Refrigerator & AC Technician
• Plumber
• Carpenter
• Kitchen & Laundry
Technician
• Electricians
• Welder
• Pool Attendant
• Painter / Mason
• Assistant IT Officer
• Customer Relations
Agent
• Reservation & Ticketing
Agent
• Tour Guide
• Spa Manager
• Speed Boat Captain
•
•
•
•
•
Chief Engineer
Shift Supervisor
Technician Supervisor
Software Engineer
Hardware Engineer
• Marketing & Sales
• Accountant
• Airport Manager Seaplane Operations
•
•
•
•
Powerhouse Manager
Security Manager
Gardeners Manager
Health and Safety
Manager
• General Manager
3.2 EMPLOYMENT OF EXPATRIATES IN TOURISM
According to the National Bureau of Statistics on expatriate employment in 2018, the grand total of
expatriates employed in Maldives was 114,981 (104,753 male and 10,228 female) of which the majority was registered in the construction sector with 43,264 expatriate employees, followed by the tourism sector with 21.2% (24,420) employees of which 15.2% were women. The hotels & restaurants sector accounted for 5.3% of total expatriate employment and the share of women in the hotel & restaurant sector was even lower, accounting for approximately 6.1% of 6,100 expatriate employees in that
sector.
Figure 7
Expatriate employment by industry
Source: adapted from NBS, Statistical Database 2014-2019
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
21
Assessment of work permits in the sector
The regulation of MoT limits the employment of foreigners to a 45:55 ratio of total tourism employees,
although this percentage can be increased or decreased when necessary. Work permits are granted
on employers’ request by MoED with the possibility of renewal. MoED has the exclusive authority to
issue work permits to foreigners and records the permits issued.
The statistics maintained by the ministry allow to identify work permits issued for the ‘Hotel and Restaurant’ and ‘Tourism’ industries. The work permits of expatriates categorised by gender, industry,
work type and occupation provide a good understanding of occupational needs for which occupational
areas foreigners are recruited to the Maldives on behalf of the tourism industry.
The total expatriate occupations for which a work permit5 was recorded were counted and categorised
into core job families. As Figure 8 shows, 50% of total work permits/ jobs are accounted for by the job
families Food & Beverage Services and Food Production.
Figure 8
Total categorised expatriate work permits of the 'Hotel and Restaurant' and ‘Tourism’ industries
Source: adapted from Ministry of Economic Development / Labour Division, 2020; own calculations
The categorisation of the two sectoral industry types is as follows: ‘Hotel and Restaurant’ industry
includes hotels, restaurants, cafés and tea shops and ‘Tourism’ industry includes operating resorts, city
hotels, guesthouses, and safaris.
If the two sectors are considered separately, the share of Hotel & Restaurant expatriate work permits/
employment by occupational families shows a much different allocation of occupations to the various
functions in the industry of which around 57% only relate to food and beverage services, as visualised
in Figure 9.
5
Work permits according to the Ministry of Economic Development / Labour Division for the time from 2013-August 2019,
included (work permit that expired, issued (arrived), missing, pending cancel approval, pending employer change, and
pending occupation change).
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
22
Figure 9
Share of HOTEL & RESTAURANT expatriate work permits/employment by occupational families
Source: adapted from Ministry of Economic Development / Labour Division, 2020; own calculations
The distribution of jobs in the Tourism category in Figure 10 is somewhat more balanced with the
majority of permits registered for Kitchen/Food Production personnel. In supporting activities infrastructure, maintenance and engineering also account for a large share of permits.
Figure 10 Share of TOURISM expatriate work permits/employment by occupational families
Source: adapted from Ministry of Economic Development / Labour Division, 2020; own calculations
The results listed above provide good insights into the future potential demand for local labour based
on which occupational areas foreigners are mainly working in.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
23
3.3 CHALLENGES FOR TOURISM EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The challenges tourism TVET is facing are worth mentioning as recommendations for future planning:
Workforce Supply
•
There is a need in the tourism sector for qualified employees to cover the shortage in manpower. Expat employees cannot be abandoned in total, but the share of local employees needs
to be increased, here in particular women and youth. The latter lacks work ethics and commitment.
•
The tourism sector can effectively contribute to solving problems of unemployment by promoting attractive career prospects for secondary school leavers, TVET and university/college
graduates. However, a lack of trust of the communities and local workforce in the tourism
sector at large and in the resorts is still hindering this.
•
Awareness raising of tourism benefits amongst youth and communities to join the sector is an
anticipated area that can be achieved to stimulate the demand of qualified workforce.
Labour Market
•
There is a lack of coordination between the tourism industry and education and training providers, indicating a need for an authority to take the lead in improving coordination between
labour market needs and the education and training sector.
•
On the other hand, employers have little engagement in the formal education and training
provisions, which needs to be solved by established practical training, student placements and
apprenticeship programmes.
•
In order to address the lack of professionalism of labour in special areas, authorities and the
education system also need to play a role in cross-sectorial co-operation.
•
The quality of skills at entry level is too low, as most youth are seeking employment when they
finished Ordinary Level education.
•
Demand for general competencies has grown, main skill gaps and shortages reported by employers relate to soft skills, language skills, interpersonal skills and ICT skills next to specific
technical tourism skills.
Box 1: National Training Needs Analysis
The National Training Needs Analysis by the MoHE in 2019 identified initial skill gaps and training requirements.
In this study, the private sector and industry organisations have identified that there are skill gaps and training
requirement in the following areas: soft skills, information communication and technology skills, e-commerce
and digital marketing, financial literacy and bookkeeping, language, culinary arts and food production, event
management, safety, tour guiding, water sports activities and guesthouse management.
Source: Ministry of Higher Education, National TNA 2019
Education and training provisions:
•
TVET is considered the foundation for delivering high quality visitor experiences in tourism
destinations. Hospitality and tourism education and training in Maldives is very much driven
by MNU and some private colleges.
•
The effectiveness of the national (and regional) education and training system needs to be
guaranteed and ensured that TVET courses remain relevant to the rapidly changing employer’s
needs.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
24
•
In the end, this calls for a need for innovative and flexible forms (on/offline, modular, practical)
of education and training to meet the skill needs of the various regions in Maldives as well as
the various occupations which address the tourist experience.
•
Directions for designing TVET education and training programmes need to be provided with
the support of a sustainable funding mechanism and governance model.
Employability
•
There is a lack of life-long learning opportunities to help tourism staff in their career progression. Better educational pathways within tourism occupations and certifications to be achieved
by students and the active workforce need to be created.
•
The high labour turnover and low employee retention rate is often seen as a lack of adequate
compensation for workers. This affects the quality of services in the industry and costs on
training and re-training of newly hired employees. The issues are being addressed with the
minimum wage and the fair distribution of the service charge.
•
Employment conditions are often not favourable, due to work conditions, accessibility, traditions, and family obligations. This requires much efforts from public, private sector and communities to address these challenges jointly.
Figure 11 summarises the abovementioned constraints and assesses them in how far they can be
solved in the short and long-term or even facing difficulties of being solved at all.
Figure 11 Constraints chain of the tourism sector
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
25
4.
TNA METHODOLOGY
The sources used for compiling the TNA report include governments and other public bodies, associations, the private hotel and tourism industry in Maldives, together with international best practices of
tourism TVET and human resource development.
4.1 DATA COLLECTION
The tools and techniques range from secondary data collection sources, questionnaire-based surveys
to focus groups and interviews. The various methodological options included on-the-ground fieldwork
visits to tourism enterprises and government offices to conduct interviews / disseminate questionnaires with managers, staff; questionnaires for managers; and focus groups with youth, women, local
council members and guesthouse operators in four pilot regions.
Steering and supervision of the TNA
A first meeting has been conducted with the newly established Tourism Sector Council (as listed below)
to introduce the TNA methodology, present the draft questionnaires and receive comments on the
question banks to be included in the final questionnaires.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
TVET Authority, State Minister
TVET Authority, Senior Administrative Officer
Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment
Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators, President
Guesthouse Association Maldives, Vice President
Universal Enterprises, General Manager
Four Seasons, People and Culture Manager
Moodhu Bulhaa Dive Centre, Owner
Villa College, Marine Faculty, Dean
Maldives Polytechic, CEO
MoED, Deputy Project Manager
MoHE/PMU Project Coordinator
MoHE/PMU Financial Management Specialist
MoHE/PMU Administrative Officer
A second meeting was held to present progress on the TNA research and initial findings to endorse the
TNA Research Report and proceed with drafting the TNA report.
Finally, results have been shared with a broader audience group, in attendance of the Ministers of
Higher Education and Economic Development, representing the government, industry and academia
to ensure results gathered can be also verified by that group and comments incorporated.
Data and results verification with the Tourism Sector Council and the Academic Discussion supported
drafting the final TNA report.
4.1.1 ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS
All inputs into the TNA are based on comprehensive stakeholder engagement with industry representatives. This includes regional consultations of pilot regions that are of importance to the MEERY project
as well as meetings with the education providers offering hotel and tourism courses.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
26
Interviews are more participatory than questionnaires and allowed the researcher to encourage responses and details that go beyond the core questions. Interviews allowed to collect both quantitative
(numerical) and qualitative data. Interviews were conducted face-to-face on a one-to-one basis with
senior representatives in attendance of PMU staff.
Tourism sector interviews
Meetings have been conducted with the following institutions/representatives:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Maldives Association of Tourism Industries (MATI); https://mati.mv
Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO); www.matato.org
Guesthouse Association of Maldives (GAM); www.gam.org.mv
National Boating Association of Maldives (NBAM); www.liveaboardassociation.mv
Maldives Association for Human Resource Professionals (MAHRP); https://mahrp.org
Divers Association of Maldives (DAM)
Chefs Guild of Maldives (CGM)
Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM)
Education and training sector interviews
Meetings have been conducted with the following institutions/representatives:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Maldivian Qualifications Authority (MQA)
TVET Authority; https://tvet.gov.mv/
Maldives National University (MNU); https://mnu.edu.mv
Maldives Polytechnic; www.polytechnic.edu.mv/
Villa college; http://villacollege.edu.mv
MAPS college; www.maps.edu.mv
4.1.2 EXECUTIVE INDUSTRY SURVEYS
The preparation of questionnaires is a lengthy and professional process. Respondents must spend time
to complete the questionnaires and the researcher also must spend time in analysing the responses.
The TNA study consisted of several surveys, using questionnaires.
•
•
•
•
Accommodation sector - Resorts
Accommodation sector - Guesthouses
Accommodation sector - Hotels
Travel Agents
The questions and the questionnaires have been discussed and agreed with the PMU and the Tourism
Sector Council to make sure that all the questions that will be included are, indeed, essential.
Data collection of important research areas included:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Information on the specific stakeholder group
Number of staffing for occupations (incl. gender, age, /foreign & local)
Qualifications of staff, vacancies
Recruitment (means, position, foreign, local)
Turnover (quantities, reasons)
Evaluation of current skills levels
Profile of skills needs in the sub-sector
Education and training needs
Satisfaction with education institutions
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
27
•
•
•
•
•
Youth employment
Gender information / Women participation
Green skills
Entrepreneurs
Key emerging skills areas and challenges of the specific stakeholder group
The final stakeholder in considering national skills and training needs in tourism are the education and
training providers which offer programmes in this field. They include public institutions under MoHE
as well as private institutions. A PDF form questionnaire has been developed and sent out to the main
institutions delivering tourism-related education and training as well as individual interviews have
been conducted.
Data collection of important research areas included:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hospitality and tourism-related programmes offered
Students enrolled / graduated from institution
Placement programmes for students
Green skills included in education and training programmes
Factors on the quality of training programmes
Capability of staff / qualifications of staff employed in hotel and tourism education
Training for teaching staff / Obstacles to accessing staff development training
Capacity of staff / no. staff turnover / why
Marketing initiatives used to promote programmes
Sources of funding for students undertaking programmes
Factors impacting tourism and hospitality education and training
Questionnaire distribution
Survey questionnaires to accommodation providers, travel agencies and education and training providers have been distributed via email by the MoHE/PMU, allowing respondents the option of completing the questionnaire via PDF form and returning completed questionnaire via email attachment
(as PDF or scanned version) or returning the completed questionnaire by mail to the PMU.
Deadline for returning questionnaires was set for 3rd of February. Follow-up measures have been established and the survey collection phase has been expanded to 11th of February, final survey forms
have been received 17th of February.
Table 2
Sector
Survey distribution protocol
No. of companies contacted (MoT
No. of companies reached by
e-mail (excluding
database)
licence expired / email failed)
Resort
120
101
Hotel
11
10
Guesthouse
475
352 (117 failed;
6 businesses
closed)
384
300 (including
in- and outbound travel
agencies)
Travel
Agency
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
Support actions
carried out to increase response
rate
Introduction letter
from MHE;
Introduction letter
from MHE;
Introduction letter
from MHE; Contacted GAM for
support
Introduction letter
from MHE; Contacted MATATO for
support
Follow-up measures No of companies
conducted
responded with
(what/when)
filled questionnaires
Dissemination 27.01;
Reminder sent 04.02
Dissemination 27.01;
Reminder sent 04.02
Dissemination 27.01;
Reminder sent 04.02;
individual meetings
in Maafushi
Dissemination 27.01;
Reminder sent 04.02;
Follow-up phone
calls; personal visits
32
5
15
10
28
Education
& Training
9
9
Introduction letter
from MHE; Individual reminder
Dissemination 26.01;
Reminder sent 04.02;
Follow-up phone
calls
5
This study adopted a multi-methods approach, designed to meet differing objectives across the different sub-sectors. A main challenge was conducting a wide range of surveys to different target audiences
and to receive a good response for analysis and interpretation of results.
Surveys of tourism enterprises are sample surveys. Complete surveys, i.e. a survey of all establishments, are not easily carried out and are not necessary if the sample represents the elements of the
population. In the case of the present sample, a very high significance of the results can be assumed
due to their size and distribution. This is also shown by the comparison of the bed capacities in the
sample with those of the population. They are almost identical for the resorts and the guesthouses. In
the case of the hotels, smaller establishments are only slightly overrepresented in the sample. The
results allow for good qualitative interpretation on skills deficiencies and training needs.
4.1.3 FOCUS DISCUSSION GROUPS
The TNA is a national study and at the same time, more localised depth is sought in order to gain indepth information at a local level in four selected regions of the MEERY project with a focus on youth,
women and entrepreneurship in tourism.
The FDG is more participatory than the questionnaire method and less time consuming than the individual interview method, therefore applied to this audience group.
Local council staff in the nominated islands regions supported to select youth and women groups, and
guesthouse representatives, which have been addressed with guided questions via video conferencing
means.
Table 3
FDG implementation protocol
FDG
Youth
Women
Guesthouses
Council
Greater Malé
3 pax
conducted
3 pax
conducted
X
X
Lhaviyani
5 pax
conducted
4 pax
conducted
X
Addu City
4 pax
conducted
5 pax
conducted
X
X
Fuvahmulah
3 pax
conducted
4 pax
conducted
X
X
The expert facilitated the discussion through a series of guided questions which prompted their responses. For this purpose, an open-ended questionnaire has been prepared and careful facilitation of
the video FDG has been carried out.
Data collection of important research areas included:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Key challenges for future career
Top jobs in nearby area interested to work in
Attractiveness of work in tourism
Attractiveness of different positions in the tourism sector
Jobs in tourism which are not attractive.
Reasons preventing from working in the tourism sector
Support from community / local council / businesses / family in career plans
Training programmes in support of personal development
Education & training programmes which are of interest and not available in Maldives
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
29
4.2 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS
The TNA study is an ambitious undertaking and, inevitably, some challenges must be noted:
•
The comprehensive approach to this assignment to assess the various sub-sector needs, analyse education and training system capacity and capabilities, focus on national and regional/pilot regions’, estimate some manpower and address women, youth and entrepreneurship issues was very ambitious.
•
A main challenge with this assignment was conducting a wide range of surveys to different
target audiences and ensuring that all data were received in a timely manner in order to ensure
time for analysis, interpretation and presentation of outcomes.
•
When responding to the survey, participation and responses from businesses to the electronic
surveys started slowly and increased towards the end of the assignment. Follow-up mechanisms have been established by various avenues of survey distribution and/or follow-up calls
and led to a better response.
•
While electronic responses were received from a small sample size of businesses, those questionnaire responses and all interviews allow for good qualitative interpretation on skills deficiencies to address the education and training gaps and requirements.
•
Manpower in relation to quantity is difficult to estimate because of the sample size of the
survey. This would require a broader assessment with the help of a nationwide Census/HIES
or the set-up of a professional Labour Market Information System.
•
Some quantitative estimations can be drawn from various sources on manpower, occupations
for existing staff in the industry and future projections due to the expansion of operations.
•
Private sector showed willingness to collaborate with the expert / TNA research and a vast of
information has been provided through individual face-to-face interviews.
•
There exists rich information from the interviews and FDGs, which provides a lot of insightful
views and analysis. Some FDG meetings had to be rescheduled, which was time consuming.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
30
5.
ANALYSIS OF THE TOURISM SECTOR
5.1 RESORT SECTOR
There were 32 tourist resorts which participated in the current study. Among those, nearly one-third
of the resorts were internationally branded. The total number of rooms was 4,239 (133 rooms average
per resort) with a given bed capacity of 8,124 (254 beds average per resort). The resorts are in several
atoll regions across the country including: Ha (Alif), Baa, Dhaalu, Noonu, Lhaviyani, Malé North, Malé
South, Alif Alif (north), Alif Dhaalu (south), Thaa, Gaaf Alif, and Seenu.
5.1.1 EMPLOYMENT
Figure 12 shows the share of locals / foreigners and males / females employed in resorts which participated in this survey. The total number of persons employed was 9,761 (305 per resort), which
means a person (305) per bed (254) ratio of 1,2 persons per bed.6 Most positions were filled by foreign
employees with 51%. The share of women of 6.4% foreign and only 3.6% local women is rather small.
Figure 12 Share of persons employed in resorts, local/foreign, gender
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
In total, persons employed in the resorts, as shown in Figure 13, are at large working in functional
positions, where local (34.6%) and foreign (34.5%) male workers have a comparatively even share. In
supervisory positions, local men (7.3%) have a slightly higher share compared to foreign supervisors
(6.1%). Managing positions were with 4.0% mainly foreign and 3.4% local men. The total share of local
and foreign women in managing and supervisory positions was only at 3.1%.
Figure 13 Share of persons employed in resorts, local/foreign, rank
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
6
The employee/bed ratio is a widely used yardstick to measure staffing levels in the accommodation industry.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
31
Figure 14 with a basis of N=30 resorts (7,755 beds; 259 beds per resort) and a total of 9,096 employees
of which 8,360 were clearly defined positions shows the number of staff per department with an average of 303 staff per resort. This means 1,17 staff per bed in a resort.
Some positions have been included as undefined. The largest share of staffing is in the Kitchen, Food
& Beverage and Housekeeping departments, followed by Maintenance. Front Office and Transport also
have a significant share of workforce in a resort.
Figure 14 Share of persons employed in resorts, department, staff per department
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
Figure 15 indicates that majority of foreigners of the same sample size are employed in Food Production, Food & Beverage departments, and Maintenance. There is generally a high percentage of locals
employed in positions such as Housekeeping, Food & Beverage and Transportation, followed by Front
Office and Maintenance.
Figure 15 Share of persons employed in resorts, local/foreign, department
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
32
Figure 16 provides information on the staff education levels across key resort departments. The categories are corresponding with the levels and qualifications titles of the Maldives National Qualifications Framework and are grouped in Certificate Level (1-4), Diploma Level (5-6), and Academic Level
(7-10).
Academic qualifications are more required for positions in Resort Management, Human Resource
Management, Accounting & Finance, and Medical Services. The share of diploma level qualifications is
relatively high in positions such as Front Office, Spa & Wellness, Clinic / Health Centre, Powerhouse,
Diving and Water Sports. Certificates are predominately held in Transportation, Maintenance, and
Housekeeping positions.
In general, the higher the positions were, the higher percentage of staff holding a diploma, bachelor’s
and a postgraduate degree. It is also interesting to note that front line staff, or those directly in contact
with guests, generally had a higher education degree than those did not.
Figure 16 Share of persons employed per department in resorts, level of qualifications
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
66% of 32 resorts reported open positions in the coming year. Figure 17 illustrates the share of expected vacancies for the main resort departments. In can be excepted that this number is higher as
the remaining respondents have not provided information. Food & Beverage, Housekeeping and Food
Production require the greatest number of staff in the coming year, followed by another larger group
of Maintenance, Front Office, Transportation, and Powerhouse positions.
Management, personnel and accounting positions are generally less in demand in quantitative terms.
A lower share of expected vacancies is observed in Diving and Water Sports positions, where it should
be noted that some of these activities have been outsourced or are not available at some resorts.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
33
Figure 17 Share of expected vacancies per department in resorts in the coming year
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
When adding vacant positions from a survey conducted by MoED in 2019 of 24 resorts (of which 14
reported vacancies) to the current TNA vacancies, a total of 1,111 additional staff is required by 33
resorts that provided such information out of the total 49. This means 10.3% additional vacancies on
top of current employment of 33 resorts. This number is not considering the annual turnover rate.
Table 4
Summary of resorts responded on employment /vacancies to TNA survey / MoED survey
No. of Resort
Existing Employment
Locals
Expats
Total
Total 49
7,190
7,968
15,167
33 reported
vacancies
4,582
5,141
9,723
Add. staff requirement of 33
resorts
1,111
Employment parity ratio
45:55 (excl. outsourced)
Beds
Local
Expats
Average
46.4
53.6
263
45.7
54.3
239
Travel to islands, work at resort and limited opportunities in the home islands make it difficult for
women and youth to find meaningful employment opportunities. Executives have been asked, as
shown in Figure 18, to indicate where they see more opportunities for youth employment and female participation in the tourism labour market and in their respective sub-sector.
With no doubt, resort executives see for both groups many opportunities in the main resort functional
departments. Recreation and water-based activities are stronger seen as work opportunities for youth,
but still with good chances for women as well. Other resort jobs, such as maintenance, engineering
and security are more male-orientated occupations and require some work experience. Creative industries and entertainment as well as crafts, souvenirs, merchandising are rated positively for both
groups. Digitization, e-marketing and social media offer better opportunities for women than youth
and supply services to businesses is generally not seen as a main field of work for both groups.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
34
Figure 18 Employment opportunities in the resort sector, youth/women
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
5.1.2 RECRUITMENT, TURNOVER AND TRAINING
Recruitment of staff, in the accommodation sector, is primarily based on soft skills criteria, with personality and enthusiasm, communications and foreign languages which education and training providers should develop in their students. Formal recruitment considerations, including references from
education and training providers and previous employers, curriculum vitae, participation in formal education, both industry specific and general education and qualifications/ certifications are rated much
lower and carry relatively little weight in the recruitment process. However, they are key in career
advancement into leading positions.
In recruitment, respondents were first asked to choose the top three most frequently used sources of
recruitment and then to evaluate the effectiveness of the most popular recruitment sources (i.e. internal source, referral from current employees, campus recruiting, apprenticeships, company website,
career events/fairs, job and career websites, social media and other related media) in attracting applicants.
The results in Figure 19, indicated that, across positions (Managers, Supervisors, Functional and Other
staff), internal sources, referrals, and specialised job search websites are the three most frequently
used sources of recruitment and their effectiveness was rated high accordingly. Campus recruitment
and apprenticeships were not amongst the main recruitment options. It is interesting to note that
many resorts choose to engage a recruitment agency for key managerial and executive positions.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
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Figure 19 Most frequently used recruitment sources of resorts, rank
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
Box 2: Tourism Job Fair
Ministry of Tourism along with industry partners launched the Tourism Job Fair, which was first of its kind specially tailored for the tourism sector. This was a career open day program where walk-in interviews were conducted, and employment contracts were awarded on-site to over 700 applicants within the tourism industry
which included jobs, internships, apprenticeships and scholarships. A total of 69 resorts including all major international and local chains along with 2 associations and 3 colleges took part in the Tourism Job Fair which took
place in 2019 at Hulhumale’ Farukolhufushi Event Centre.
Source: Ministry of Tourism, Annual Publication 2019
Figure 20 lists the top jobs in the resort sector that employers find most difficult to recruit Maldivians
for. It includes several technical hospitality job functions as well as jobs which are supporting the activities of the hospitality service chain.
Figure 20 Key jobs with difficulties recruiting Maldivians for resorts
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
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Primary job functions:
• Kitchen staff, Chefs, Cooks, Stewards
• Food & Beverage Manager, Food & Beverage, Waiters
• Front Office, Guest Relations Officer, Receptionists
• Villa Attendants, Room Attendants, Laundry Attendant
• Public Area Attendant
• Entertainment, Lifestyle Host, Spa
• Boat Crews
• Foreign Language Speakers
Supporting job functions:
• Sales & Marketing, Accountants
• Engineering, Carpenters & Mechanics
• Gardeners, Horticulture & Landscaping
• Maintenance
• Security
Moreover, in Figure 21 key occupations which are of growing importance in Maldives and for which
it will be difficult to find qualified staff have been rated. Without any doubt to the executives of this
survey, the occupation of Chefs/Cooks remains the most important in the future.
Figure 21 Key occupations in resorts of growing importance with difficulties to find qualified staff
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
Having the turnover rate under control is of great concern among businesses in the service industries
because fluctuation in the workforce may pose a higher cost on business and a threat on the quality
of services. This is important to the resort sector where an intense tourism development and an increase of bed capacities demand a larger supply of qualified labour.
According to the employee separation data collected in this study in Figure 22, employee separation
was very high in the last year. For each of the positions, respondents (N=31 resorts) reported on turnover of 3,048 employees out of 9,394 total employees of 31 resorts, which is a turnover rate of 32%
in the previous year. Among those who did turnover, most of them have been working in functional
job positions and chose to leave the job voluntarily.
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Figure 22 Turnover rate of employees’ previous year, rank
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
In addition, it was also interesting to learn the reasons why people left the job voluntarily. The study
identified some main reasons which are low salary, unfit working condition, alternative work opportunity, lack of career advancement, leave job for higher studies, and lack of knowledge and skills. Executives were asked to indicate how influential these reasons are on their staff decisions to quit the
jobs.
Figure 23 represents a summary of responses from the perspective of management on turnover decisions. The results suggest that job opportunities from competitors was the main reason for staff to
leave the jobs.
Figure 23 Influence on turnover decision of resort staff
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
Stakeholder interviews confirmed that not all the people that resign leave the industry. Some of those
that quit seek employment in competing resorts where career advancement is likely to be better or
where the salary offered is higher. This is especially true of locally branded resorts, where turnover
rates are higher.
5.1.3 EVALUATION OF CURRENT SKILLS LEVELS AND TRAINING NEEDS
Overall, resort executives evaluated the technical skills levels of their current workforce as very good,
which is shown in Figure 24. However, the high turnover of staff represents a real challenge for the
sector and for Maldivian tourism because the resort segment constitutes a major contributor to visitor
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
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perceptions and satisfaction and newly hired staff continuously must undergo internal company training. Poorer skills contribute to sub-standard service and products, which has an impact on consumer
evaluations and, ultimately, on revenue generation and profitability. What is of concern is the lower
rating accorded to the existing skills of key technical and customer-facing positions in front office,
housekeeping and resort areas, such as entertainment, sports and recreation.
Respondents were somewhat very positive in their evaluation of the technical skills levels of their staff.
Managerial staff (Head Chefs, HR Managers, and Rooms Divisions Manager) are seen much more positively than those working in technical and support areas (Concierges, Housekeepers and Waiting staff).
Given that customer contact is primarily with operational/ technical staff, this evaluation of skills in a
market where service quality is paramount is a matter of concern.
Figure 24 Technical skill levels of newly hired or current staff in resorts
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
Training is required in many situations such as getting new hires ready to perform effectively on the
job, retraining experienced employees due to changes in the job or organisation, or continuously development of employees.
The results of the survey suggested that training was considered very important for all positions:
managers (4,75), supervisory level (4,81), functional level (4,81), and other staff (4,50) (1=not at all
important; 5=very important). This not only reflects the needs for resorts to improve current performance, e.g. dealing with the high turnover and newly hired staff, but also the anticipation of growing
challenges in the industry such as increased competition and customer expectations. Because of such
overwhelming response to the importance of training, most of the businesses had a dedicated training
budget with an average of 17% of responding 21 resorts as a part of budget for entire HR activities.
Most of the training was arranged on the job with in-house trainers and a smaller part of training is
delivered by external consultants or company/ corporate trainers. Few resorts also sent their staff to
training institutes or colleges for personal development.
The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the current training needs of various resorts positions. More specifically, technical and soft skills are listed in Figure 25 for key training and retraining
areas.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
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Figure 25 Key areas for training and retraining needs of current workforce, resorts
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
Technical skills:
• Culinary Arts, Food Hygiene
• Customer Service, Guest Services, Guest Sensitivity, Service Excellence, Handling Complaints
• Health & Safety, Hygiene Skills
• Safety Security, Fire Safety, First Aid
• Technical management skills: Brand Orientation, Organisation, Operational Innovation,
Planning & Prioritising, Problem Resolution, Time Management, Financial/Commercial Understanding
• Engineering Electrical
• Language, English language
Soft skills:
• Leadership Skills, Discipline & Commitment, Cooperation, Coaching & Mentoring,
• Communication Skills, Effective Communication
• Emotional Intelligence
• Personality Development
• Grooming & Personal Hygiene
5.1.4 KEY EMERGING SKILLS AREAS
The study sought information from the resort sector on the key skills gaps within the sector and the
consequent education and training needs for tourism and hospitality occupations in Maldives. Figure
26 illustrates the responses which addressed various areas of competences and have been grouped in
three categories: knowledge and understanding, technical and practical skills, and personal, attitude
and behaviour.
The priorities identified across the resort properties all relate to what might be called ‘soft skills’, competencies which do not relate to the technical qualities of the hospitality product but focus on communications including customer service-related, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, work ethics and/or leadership skills. This is a major finding from this study and is one which has significant
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
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implications for existing TVET and academic programmes as for the focus of revising and developing
competency standards.
There is also evidence of demand for skills in important technical support areas such as technology,
systems analysis, data analytics, digitalization & e-commerce or sustainability in hospitality, environmental & sustainability management systems, and green procurement. These are important underpinning skills areas and have important implications for TVET and academic training programmes. On the
other hand, important product-related skills areas such as general hospitality competencies, cuisine,
spa, sports and recreation are among priority skills areas.
Figure 26 Emerging skills to develop in students, resorts
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
Knowledge and understanding:
• Basics of Business, Basic Administration Skills
• Accounting, Budgeting, Cost Effectiveness
• Technology, Systems Analysis, Data Analytics, Digitalization & E-commerce
• Sustainability in Hospitality, Environmental & Sustainability Management Systems, Green
Procurement
• English Language (written & verbal), Additional Languages
• Human Resources Management
• Sales
Technical and practical skills:
• Management Occupations
• Hospitality Competencies
• Kitchen, Food Preparation
• Sports & Recreation, Spa
Personal, attitude and behaviour:
• Managerial Skills, Leadership Skills, Professionalism, Conflict Resolution
• Soft Skills, Emotional Intelligence, Work Ethics
• Communication Skills, Effective Communication Skills
• Cultural Sensitivity, Guest Sensitivity
• Career Advise, Career Focus
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
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One area of interest to the tourism sector in its efforts to achieve long-term environmental sustainability is the importance attached to environmental management skills. The increased importance of
the environment is being reflected in the strong agreement to the statements on green skills in Figure
27.
Respondents are strongly indicating that there is a need to adjust training to the needs of a greening
economy. This includes skills in demand for the use of energy from renewable sources, skills that increase energy efficiency, save natural resources and for processes which reduce, recycle and reuse.
While the businesses agree with the importance of green skills, the demand for jobs with green skills
has been rated slightly lower.
Figure 27 Relevance of green skills in the resort sector
Source: TNA Executive Survey Resorts, 2020
5.1.5 FUTURE CHALLENGES
Finally, executives have been asked about the challenges their sector is likely to encounter in terms of
manpower in the coming years.
In general, there is a shortage of skilled local labour and the turnover of staff is high. Recruiting local
employees has been a key challenge over the years and will still be, as skilled employees are very few
in the country. A challenge is also to sustain the current setting of workforce in the resort sector, keeping the family situation in balance and coping with isolation.
There are too many resorts per atoll and less youth in the nearby islands to work in all these resorts.
The increase in number of competitors is probably the biggest challenge of the industry. Due to the
many new openings, it will become difficult to find suitable labour and this competition will have an
impact on training and development, compensations and benefits and overall work satisfaction.
The young generation has other priorities and hospitality is not seen on top of their list. Not many want
to work in resorts which are far from their home islands and educational programmes are not always
available to qualify enough youth.
A skilled workforce with growth mind-set is crucial who then goes on to become entrepreneurs. This
can only happen if such values are given importance and priority from teachers, parents and the educational institutes at an early age.
The future workforce needs to be ready for future requirements. Giving importance to technical and
soft skills will greatly help in overcoming such foreseeable challenges. The hospitality industry needs
flexible, adaptable individuals who demonstrate and desire to excel with their learnt leadership abilities.
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5.2 GUESTHOUSE SECTOR
Guesthouses is an emerging and fast-growing sector of the accommodation market, particularly in
some remote island locations. There were 15 guesthouses which participated in the current study. The
total number of rooms was 171 (11 rooms average per guesthouse) with a given bed capacity of 284
(19 beds average per guesthouse). The guesthouses are located in several atoll regions across the
country including: Alif Alif (north), Kaafu, Vaavu, Gaafu Dhaalu, and Seenu.
5.2.1 EMPLOYMENT
Figure 28 shows the share of locals / foreigners and males / females employed in guesthouses which
participated in this survey. The total number of persons employed was 192 (13 per guesthouse), which
means a person’s (192) per bed (284) ratio of 0,68 persons per bed. Most positions with 69% were
fulfilled by foreign employees, although it was assumed that the guesthouse sector would employ
more local workforce. The share of women with 13% foreign and 7% local women is higher than in the
resort segment.
Figure 28 Share of persons employed in guesthouses, local/foreign, gender
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
In total, persons employed in guesthouses, as shown in Figure 29, are dominantly working in functional positions, where foreign male workers have the largest share with 47.7% compared to local male
workers with only 12.2%. In supervisory positions, local men have a slightly higher share compared to
foreign supervisors. Managing positions were with 12.7% dominated by local and some 1.5% by foreign
female. The total share of local and foreign women in managing and supervisory positions across different positions was 6%.
Figure 29 Share of persons employed in guesthouses, local/foreign, rank
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
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Figure 30 shows the share of persons employed in guesthouses per department. As guesthouse staff
often work in multiple positions, respondents only allocated 36% of workforce to the job positions.
Majority of foreigners are employed in Front Office, Housekeeping and Food & Beverage Services areas, however, there was generally a high percentage of locals employed in positions such as Managerial & Administration, Accounts & Finance, Marketing & Sales and Housekeeping.
Figure 30 Share of persons employed in guesthouses, local/foreign, department
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
Figure 31 provides information on the staff education levels across key guesthouse areas. The categories are corresponding with the levels and qualifications titles of the Maldives National Qualifications
Framework and are grouped in Certificate Level (1-4), Diploma Level (5-6), and Academic Level (7-10).
Academic qualifications can be only observed in the position of Guesthouse Management. Diploma
level qualifications are mainly in Accounting, Marketing, Front Office, Food & Beverage and Housekeeping. The remaining hold certificates which are predominately in Maintenance, Water-based and
Entertainment positions.
In general, the higher the positions were, the higher percentage of staff holding a diploma, bachelor’s
and a postgraduate degree. It is also interesting to note that front line staff, or those directly in contact
with guests, generally had a higher education degree than those did not.
Figure 31 Share of persons employed per area in guesthouses, level of qualifications
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
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Work at local islands in the guesthouse sector offers a range of opportunities for women and youth in
meaningful employment. Guesthouses, often family-run or in a local ownership, tend to employ more
locals in leading positions, which offers greater opportunities and fulfilment for women.
Executives have been asked, as shown in Figure 32, to indicate where they see more opportunities for
youth employment and female participation in the tourism labour market and their respective sector.
With no doubt, guesthouse executives see many opportunities in the main guesthouse operations for
both groups. Recreation and water-based activities are stronger seen as work opportunities for youth,
but still with good chances for women as well. Other guesthouse jobs, such as maintenance, engineering and security are more male-orientated occupations and could be applied by youth with some multiskilled experiences. Creative industries, souvenirs, merchandising and digitisation offer good opportunities for both groups. Supply services to businesses is rated rather low for both.
Figure 32 Employment opportunities in the guesthouse sector, youth/women
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
5.2.2 RECRUITMENT, TURNOVER AND TRAINING
Figure 33, lists the top jobs in the guesthouse sector that employers find most difficult to recruit
Maldivians for. It includes several technical job functions as well as jobs which are supporting the activities of the hospitality service chain. Respondents also raised the issue that they are not receiving
applications from locals.
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Figure 33 Key jobs with difficulties recruiting Maldivians for guesthouses
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
Primary job functions:
• Manager
• Kitchen staff, Chef, Cook
• Food & Beverage, Waiters/Waitress
• Front Office, Guest Relation Officers
• Housekeeping, Room Attendants, Laundry
• Airport Representative
• Boat Crew
• Tour Guides
Supporting job functions:
• Accounts & Finance
• Maintenance/Technical
• Marketing & Sales
Having turnover rate under the control is of great concern among businesses in the service industries
because fluctuation in the workforce may pose a great threat on the quality of the services. This is
important in the guesthouse sector where tourism supply is strongly increasing, and competition demands a bigger supply of qualified labour.
According to the employee separation data collected in this study, employee separation was very high
in the last year. Among those who did turnover, most of them have been working in functional job
positions and chose to leave the job voluntarily. In addition, it was also interesting to learn the reasons
why people left the job voluntarily.
Figure 34 represents a summary of responses from the perspective of management on turnover decisions. The study identified some main reasons for staff turnover. The results suggest that job opportunities from competitors was the main reason for staff to leave the jobs, which was still lower rated
than from resorts and lack of career advancement, leaving job for higher studies, and lack of knowledge
and skills were rated as more influential on turnover than in resorts.
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Figure 34 Influence on turnover decision of guesthouse staff
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
5.2.3 EVALUATION OF CURRENT SKILLS LEVELS AND TRAINING NEEDS
Overall, the respondents of the guesthouse sector evaluate the technical skills levels of its current
workforce as good, which is shown in Figure 35.
Safety and security, hygiene and caring for the environment were rated rather weak compared to the
higher scores for cross-cultural communications or work ethics. The latter has been pointed out by
many resorts which seems to be more relevant to the larger businesses. Finance, ICT and Housekeeping are also below average which can be addressed with adequate training programmes.
Figure 35 Technical skill levels of newly hired or current staff in guesthouses
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
Training is required in many situations such as getting new hires ready to perform effectively on the
job, retraining experienced employees due to changes in the job or organisation, or continuously development of employees.
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The results of the survey suggested that training was considered very important for supervisory (4,38)
and functional (4,69) level positions. It was considered less important for owners / managers (3,64)
(1=not at all important; 5=very important).
The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the current training needs of various guesthouse positions. More specifically, technical and soft skills are listed in Figure 36 for key training and retraining
areas.
Figure 36 Key areas for training and retraining needs of current workforce, guesthouses
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
Technical skills:
• Cook
• Food & Beverage Services, Waiters
• Housekeeping
• Guest Relations, Customer Service
• Communication, Conflict Resolution
• Company Induction Training, SOP Training
• Information Technology, Computer Skills
• Green Economy, Reduce, Recycle and Reuse, Saving Natural Resources, Environmental Protection
• Reservations & Marketing, Knowledge of Market Trends
• Taxation/Legal Areas
• Language Skills
Soft skills:
• Behaviours, Manners
• Grooming, Dressing
5.2.4 KEY EMERGING SKILLS AREAS AND CHALLENGES
The study sought information from the guesthouse sector on the key skills gaps within the sector and
the consequent education and training needs for tourism and hospitality occupations in Maldives. Figure 37 illustrates the responses which addressed various areas of competences and have been grouped
in three categories: knowledge and understanding, technical and practical skills, and personal, attitude
and behaviour.
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The priorities identified across the guesthouse sector relate to general Customer Service skills. There
is also evidence of demand for skills in important technical support areas such as accounting, safety
and marketing. These are important underpinning skills areas and have important implications for
TVET and academic training programmes besides the main guesthouse operation skills.
Figure 37 Emerging skills to develop in students, guesthouses
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
Knowledge and understanding:
• Accounts & Finance
• Green Skills, Environmental Protection
• Fire Safety
• Language Skills
• Marketing & Sales
Technical and practical skills:
• Basic Skills
• Cook
• Food & Beverage
• Housekeeping
• Customer Service, Service Etiquettes
Personal, attitude and behaviour:
• Attentive to Work
• Dedication
• Morals & Ethics
• Work Discipline
The increased importance of the environment is being reflected in the strong agreement to the statements on green skills in Figure 38 but compared to the respondents from the resorts slightly lower.
Respondents are strongly indicating the skills need for the use of energy from renewable sources, skills
that increase energy efficiency, save natural resources and for processes which reduce, recycle and
reuse. These skills are very important to the more scattered sector with the many stakeholders and
interests.
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Figure 38 Relevance of green skills in the guesthouse sector
Source: TNA Executive Survey Guesthouses, 2020
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5.3 HOTEL SECTOR
There were five hotels which participated in the current study. The total number of rooms was 273
(55 rooms average per hotel) with a given bed capacity of 531 (106 beds average per hotel). The hotels
are in Kaafu and Seenu atoll regions.
5.3.1 EMPLOYMENT
Figure 39 shows the share of locals / foreigners and males / females employed in hotels which participated in this survey. The total number of persons employed was 257 (51 per hotel), which means
a person’s (51) per bed (106) ratio of 0,48 persons per bed. Most positions with 53% were fulfilled by
local employees, which is a higher share of local workforce than in resorts and guesthouses. Also, the
share of local women with 13% is higher compared to the guesthouse and resort sub-sectors.
Figure 39 Share of persons employed in hotels, local/foreign, gender
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
In total, persons employed in hotels, as shown in Figure 40, are dominantly working in functional positions, where foreign male workers have the largest share with 38.5% compared to local male workers
with 29.2%. In supervisory positions, local men have a slightly higher share compared to foreign supervisors. Managing positions had a share of 5.1% local men and some 3.9% foreign men. The total share
of local and foreign women in managing and supervisory positions across different positions was only
4.3%.
Figure 40 Share of persons employed in hotels, local/foreign, rank
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
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Figure 41 shows the share of persons employed in hotels per departments. Majority of locals were
employed in positions such as Front Office and Food & Beverage. Foreign workers were predominantly
employed in Food Production and Housekeeping positions, followed by Maintenance and Food & Beverage jobs.
Figure 41 Share of persons employed in hotels, local/foreign, department
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
Figure 42 illustrates the share of expected vacancies for the main hotel departments. Four of the five
hotels reported open positions in the coming year. A total of 33 additional staff is required by four
hotels that provided such information, which is 11.4% on top of current employment. This number is
not considering the annual turnover rate. Food & Beverage, Housekeeping and Food Production require the greatest number of staff in the future, followed by another larger group of Maintenance,
Front Office, Accounts & Finance and other positions. No vacancies were reported for Marketing &
Sales and Human Resources jobs.
Figure 42 Share of expected vacancies per department in hotels in the coming year
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
5.3.2 RECRUITMENT, TURNOVER AND TRAINING
In recruitment, respondents were first asked to choose the top three most frequently used sources of
recruitment (i.e. internal source, referral from current employees, campus recruiting, apprenticeships,
company website, career events/fairs, job and career websites, social media and other related media)
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and then to evaluate the effectiveness of the most popular recruitment sources in attracting applicants.
The results in Figure 43, indicated that across positions (Managers, Supervisors, Functional, Other
staff), job search websites, internal sources, and other sources are the three most frequently used
sources of recruitment and their effectiveness was rated high accordingly. Career events and apprenticeships were not amongst the main recruitment options, although the opportunity exists to recruit
workers, graduates, and trainees through such means in Malé.
Figure 43 Most frequently used recruitment sources of hotels, rank
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
Figure 44 lists the top jobs in the hotel sub-sector that employers find most difficult to recruit Maldivians for. It includes several technical job functions, mainly in Housekeeping, Food & Beverage as
well Maintenance departments.
Figure 44 Key jobs with difficulties recruiting Maldivians for hotels
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
Having turnover rate under the control is of great concern among businesses in the service industries
because fluctuation in the work force may pose a great threat on the quality of the services. According
to the employee separation data collected in this the study in Figure 45, employee separation was
very high in the last year. All five hotels reported on turnover of 87 employees out of 257 total employees, which is a turnover rate of 33.9% during last year. Among those who did turnover, most of
them have been working in functional job positions and chose to leave the job voluntarily.
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Figure 45 Turnover rate of employees’ previous year, rank
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
In addition, it was also interesting to learn the reasons why people left the job voluntarily. Figure 46
represents a summary of responses from the perspective of management on turnover decisions. The
study identified some main reasons for staff turnover. Hotel executives were asked to indicate how
influential these reasons are on their staff decisions to quit the jobs. The results suggest that job opportunities from competitors, followed by low salaries were the major reasons to leave the jobs.
Figure 46 Influence on turnover decision of hotel staff
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
Moreover, in Figure 47 key occupations which are of growing importance in Maldives and for which
it will be difficult to find qualified staff have been rated. Without any doubt to the executives, the
occupations of Chefs, Food & Beverages Service personnel, Diving Instructors and Engineers are utmost important in the future.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
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Figure 47 Key occupations in hotels of growing importance with difficulties to find qualified staff
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
Work at city hotels offers a range of opportunities for women and youth in meaningful employment.
Executives have been asked, as shown in Figure 48, to indicate where they see more opportunities for
youth employment and female participation in the tourism labour market and their respective sector.
With no doubt, hotel executives see many opportunities for both groups and slightly more for women,
e.g. in the main hotel operations, creative and digital jobs. This is confirmed by the fact that hotels
tend to employ more local women in functional and supervisory positions, as also shown by this study.
Figure 48 Employment opportunities in the hotel sector, youth/women
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
5.3.3 EVALUATION OF CURRENT SKILLS LEVELS AND TRAINING NEEDS
Many visitors stay for a first night or towards the end of their visit to the Maldives in a city hotel. Poorer
skills of city hotel staff are directly impacting on consumer evaluations of their total trip to the Maldives
and, ultimately, on revenue generation and repeat visitation.
Hotel executives evaluate the technical skills levels of its currently workforce, shown in Figure 49, less
positive, as resort and guesthouse executives.
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Evaluations for Concierges, Rooms Division Managers and Marketing & Sales personnel were more
positive than those which were below average like the main technical departments Front Office, Food
& Beverage, Housekeeping and Food Production.
Figure 49 Technical skill levels of newly hired or current staff in hotels
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
The results of the survey suggested that training was considered very important for all positions:
managers (4,6), supervisory level (4,6), functional level (4,4), and other staff (4,4) (1=not at all important; 5=very important). Most of hotels had a dedicated training budget with an average of 6% of
four responding hotels as a part of budget for entire HR activities. Most of the training was arranged
with a training institute or college, followed by on the job training with in-house trainers. Few hotels
carry out training activities with the support of an external consultant or a company.
The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the current training needs of various hotel positions.
More specifically, technical and soft skills are listed in Figure 50 for key training and retraining areas.
Figure 50 Key areas for training and retraining needs of current workforce, hotels
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
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5.3.4 KEY EMERGING SKILLS AREAS AND CHALLENGES
The study sought information from the hotel sub-sector on the key skills gaps and the consequent
education and training needs for tourism and hospitality occupations in Maldives. Figure 51 illustrates
the responses which addressed various areas of competences.
The priorities identified for the hotel business environment relate to knowledge-based skills in digitalisation and digitisation as well as managerial, analytical and administrative skills. These are important
underpinning skills areas and have important implications for TVET and academic training programmes
besides the main hotel operation skills.
Figure 51 Emerging skills to develop in students, hotels
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
One area of interest to the tourism sector in its efforts to achieve long-term environmental sustainability is the importance attached to environmental management skills. The increased importance of
the environment is being reflected in the strong agreement to the statements of hotel executives on
green skills in Figure 52.
Respondents are strongly indicating that there is a need to adjust training to the needs of a greening
economy. This includes skills in demand for the use of energy from renewable sources, skills that increase energy efficiency, save natural resources and for processes which reduce, recycle and reuse.
While the businesses agree with the importance of green skills.
Figure 52 Relevance of green skills in the hotel sector
Source: TNA Executive Survey Hotels, 2020
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5.4 TRAVEL AGENCY SECTOR
There were 10 travel agencies which participated in the current TNA study. Among those, all offer
inbound travel services and seven of them are in Malé.
5.4.1 EMPLOYMENT
Figure 53 shows the share of locals / foreigners and males / females employed in travel agencies
which participated in this survey. The total number of persons employed was 95 (9,5 per travel
agency). Majority of positions with 67% were fulfilled by local employees and the share of local and
foreign women with 11% foreign and 18% local women is compared to other tourism industries high.
Figure 53 Share of persons employed in travel agencies, local/foreign, gender
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
In total, persons employed in travel agencies, as shown in Figure 54, are dominantly working in functional positions, where local male workers have a larger share with 19.4% compared to foreign male
workers with 9.3%. In supervisory positions, local and foreign men as well as local women have similar
share of the work. Managing positions were with 20.4% dominated by local male. The total share of
local and foreign women in managing and supervisory positions was 15%.
Figure 54 Share of persons employed in travel agencies, local/foreign, rank
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
Figure 55 indicates that majority of locals are employed in Management, Accounting and Sales positions. Foreigner in these positions were slightly less but had a certain share as Travel Consultants.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
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Figure 55 Share of persons employed in travel agencies, local/foreign, department
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
Work in office positions in the service travel industry is generally more acceptable for women and does
not implicate social taboos. However, job opportunities in this sector are limited to some agencies,
whereas the digital economy also offers opportunities for women, youth and entrepreneurs in this
sector.
Executives have been asked, as shown in Figure 56, to indicate where they see more opportunities for
youth employment and female participation in the tourism labour market and their respective sector.
Travel executives see many opportunities for women in the main travel agents’ departments and their
administrations, where youth had a slightly lower rating. In Maldives as elsewhere, electronic marketing and distribution is being of increasing importance within tourism. Digitization, e-marketing and
social media also offer good opportunities for both groups, whereas guiding and excursion services
were rated better opportunities for youth.
Figure 56 Employment opportunities in the travel agencies’ sector, youth/women
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
5.4.2 RECRUITMENT, TURNOVER AND TRAINING
In recruitment, respondents were first asked to choose the top three most frequently used sources of
recruitment and then to evaluate the effectiveness of the most popular recruitment sources (i.e. internal source, referral from current employees, campus recruiting, apprenticeships, company website,
career events/fairs, job and career websites, social media and other related media) in attracting applicants.
The results in Figure 57, indicate that, across positions (Managers, Supervisors, Functional, Other staff),
internal sources, social media and specialized job search websites are the three most frequently used
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sources of recruitment and their effectiveness was rated high accordingly. Career events/fairs, apprenticeships and campus recruiting are not considered by travel agencies when recruiting personnel.
Figure 57 Most frequently used recruitment sources of travel agencies, rank
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
Figure 58 lists the top jobs in the travel agency sector that employers find most difficult to recruit
Maldivians for. It includes several technical primary job functions as well as jobs which are supporting
the activities of the tourism service chain.
Figure 58 Key jobs with difficulties recruiting Maldivians for travel agencies
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
Primary job functions:
• Manager
• Counter Staff
• Foreign Language Speaking Guides
• Foreign Language Speaking Office Staff
• Marketing & Sales
• Operations
• Product Manager
• Receptionist
• Marketing & Sales
• Ticketing & Reservations Officer
Supporting job functions:
• Accounts & Finance
• Editor/Journalism
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Moreover, in Figure 59 key occupations which are of growing importance in Maldives and for which
it will be difficult to find qualified staff have been rated by travel agencies. Without any doubt to the
executives of this survey, the occupation of Marketing & Sales and Accounting remain very important
in the future. Interesting to note is the relative low rating of Ticketing Agents, which is with the education system a key topic delivered by education and training institutions. It can be assumed that occupational standards and curricula require revision due to new technologies/Online Travel Agencies in
this field and changing consumer preferences.
Figure 59 Key occupations in travel agencies of growing importance with difficulties to find qualified staff
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
It was interesting to learn the reasons in terms of travel agencies’ staff turnover. Figure 60 represents
a summary of responses from the perspective of management on turnover decisions. Respondents
were asked to indicate how influential reasons are on their staff decisions to quit the jobs. The results
suggest that low salary scales in the business and some alternative work opportunities are rated as
influential on turnover decision, however, alternative work opportunities are not seen as influential as
in the accommodation sector.
Figure 60 Influence on turnover decision of travel agencies’ staff
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
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5.4.3 EVALUATION OF CURRENT SKILLS LEVELS AND TRAINING NEEDS
Overall, the travel agencies evaluate the technical skills levels of its currently workforce as good to
very good, which is shown in Figure 61. Respondents were somewhat positive in their evaluation of
the skills levels of their staff, in areas such as computer reservation systems, reservation and negotiation skills. Product development/packaging, promotion and sales, and foreign language skills were
rated below average.
Figure 61 Technical skill levels of newly hired or current staff in travel agencies
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
Training is required in many situations such as getting new hires ready to perform effectively on the
job, retraining experienced employees due to changes in the job or organisation, or continuously development of employees.
The results of the survey suggested that training was considered of equal importance for all positions:
managers (4,29), supervisory level (4,33), functional level (4,30) (1=not at all important; 5=very important). Because of such overwhelming response to the importance of training, it is interesting to
note that most businesses have not a dedicated training budget for HR activities.
Figure 62 Key areas for training and retraining needs of current workforce, travel agencies
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
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The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the current training needs of various travel agency
positions. More specifically, some technical skills are listed in Figure 62 for training and retraining of
staff.
Technical skills:
• Management Training
• Updating Travel Knowledge
• Sales
• Public Relations
• Communications
• Digital & Social Media Marketing
• Ticketing & Reservation
• Foreign Languages
• Accounting, Finance
5.4.4 KEY EMERGING SKILLS AREAS
The study sought information from the travel agency sector on the key skills gaps within the sector
and the consequent education and training needs for travel and tourism occupations in Maldives. Figure 63 illustrates the responses which addressed various areas of competences and have been grouped
in knowledge and understanding, and technical and practical skills. Personal, attitude and behaviour
issues were not mentioned as important skill areas as it was with the accommodation sector. There is
evidence of demand for skills in important technical areas such as technology, digital & social media
marketing, besides accounting and language skills.
Figure 63 Emerging skills to develop in students, travel agencies
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
Knowledge and understanding:
• Accounting
• Digital & Social Media Marketing
• Foreign Language Skills
• Japanese Speaking Guides
• Marketing
• Technology/Online Travel Agencies
• Sales
Technical and practical skills:
• Customer Service
• Mass Communication
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•
•
•
Personalized Communications
Product Development
Ticketing & Reservation
The increased importance of the environment was rated one point lower than it was rated by the
accommodation sector with the lowest agreement for an increasing demand for jobs with green skills.
Figure 64 Relevance of green skills in the travel agencies’ sector
Source: TNA Executive Survey Travel Agencies, 2020
It can be assumed as travel agencies are not directly exposed to the natural environment in their operations such as resorts that the awareness for green skills is not as prominent in their business environment.
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5.5 TOURISM SUB-SECTOR FINDINGS
5.5.1 TRANSPORT SERVICES AND SAFARI VESSEL
Tourism transport is a sector that includes a variety of local, national and international operators across
air, land and water-based modes. The sector includes local taxi and airport transfer services organised
by the accommodation providers as well as the transport system by ferries and speed boats and the
airline sector, carriers serving Maldives and within the country with a focus on sea planes.
Each of these providers draws on local and foreign labour markets and combines skills which are specific to the form of transport (pilots, captains, drivers) and a range of more generic tourism skills, particularly those which focus on customer service roles (reception, boat crew, service delivery), cleaning/
housekeeping as well as sales and marketing. Food and beverage skills are also of importance within
the sector as key areas of tourism transport provide a range of ancillary services, both on-board and in
airport facilities.
Some areas of transport have a well-established tradition of training and development that occurs
independent of other sectors within tourism. The airline sector is particularly notable in this regard
with most positions requiring specific in-house training within the company – cabin crew is probably
the best-known skills area, but other technical and service positions are also developed in-house.
Box 3: Maldives Visitor Survey - Airport services and improvements in transport
The Maldives Visitor Survey 2017 identified areas of visitors’ travel satisfaction in the Maldives which have in
some respect a strong relation to the human resources factor delivering the services. Airport services and improvements in transport within Maldives were key areas highlighted by the international visitors for improvement. Communication and information briefings for the visitors in hotel transfers were identified for improvement as well as language competences.
Source: Ministry of Tourism, Visitor Survey 2017
The tourism transport sector offers services that range from simple/ basic to the complex sophistication on the safari vessels sector. At a local level, services range from the basic offerings of taxis through
to the demands of personalised airport services which can include guiding and related travel roles.
Key jobs which are required at the safari vessels are the following: captain (certification required),
cook, (most have foreign cooks), room boys, deck hands, bar man (foreigner) and mechanics.
Specific skills employees need to have for the safari vessel sector are e.g. marine course, coastal navigation, crew training, food hygiene, first aid, firefighting skills, and languages.
The sector is facing challenges in recruiting local staff for their boats.
Box 4: Exposure Trips to Tourist Vessels for Special Educational Needs (SEN) Students / Safari Cruising
On the occasion of the World Tourism Day celebration, the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Live
aboard Association of Maldives (LAM) and the Ministry of Education, arranged an exposure visit to tourist vessels
targeted to the children with special needs on 21st October 2017. The main aim of this trip was to familiarize the
participants to the tourism industry of Maldives and educate them on the operations of a tourist vessel.
Source: Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Yearbook 2018
The importance of communications, service and foreign language skills across all forms of tourist
transport, in the water transportation sector should be underlined as this is the point where the visitors
have a first-hand experience with the country.
Resorts and travel companies which depend significantly on local travel providers (water transportation) would like to see their employees better equipped with skills in these areas to enhance their
services to tourists. In order to deliver a high-quality standard and maintain control many operators
have transportation included in their service chain. Communications, service and language skills are a
weakness across the tourism transport sector, particularly regarding passenger transport by sea.
Tourism skills required are wide-ranging and include languages and customer service skills as well as
engineering, safety and first-aid skills.
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5.5.2 RESTAURANT AND FOOD
The restaurant and wider food sector is by no means a developing sector in Maldives with more international chains of fast food catering and international restaurant brands opening primarily in Greater
Malé area.
These services have existed for a long time, serving both the local community and visitors. However,
the sector has always changed and evolved and continues to do so and, in skills terms, it is catering for
this change which is particularly important for education and training providers as well as the industry
itself.
The restaurant sector in Maldives includes several micro-businesses as well as more established and
higher end providers through to fine dining across a range of local and international cuisines. Emerging
trends include the internationalisation of cuisine as restaurants open offering food for which there is
little or no tradition in Maldives.
The growth of tourism in the country has seen and continues to see a growth in luxury resorts with
attendant high-end food and beverage operations. There is also growth in the international, fast food
sector with the entry of operators such as KFC and Burger King and this style of business has major
implications for skills development in the sector.
Tourism skills required include authentic culinary competencies, communications, foreign languages,
business skills including marketing and customer service.
Key occupations in the Restaurant Sector are waiting staff, chefs/cooks, reception/sales, managers,
others.
Skills beyond technical cookery and service are accorded far greater significance. Within the technical
skills areas, there is little evidence in terms of specialising on Maldivian cuisine, which is so important
for the local identify and displaying local culture, which requires different skills from Western and other
Asian cuisine.
Skills shortages are identified as both technical cookery and service skills, communications and languages. Recruitment is often done by external sources with most expatriate workers working in this
segment. Training is predominantly done in-house rather than making use of external sources.
5.5.3 DIVING AND WATER SPORTS TOURISM
Diving and water sports are the backbone of Maldives tourism industry. This segment is a rapidly growing area, and this is equally true in Maldives. It covers a range of areas including marine water sports,
such as diving, sailing, surfing, and fishing.
Actual engagement in the provision of water sports and diving is mostly delivered by independent
sports centres, which cooperate with tourism resorts, guesthouses and hotels. The personnel are
trained in aquatic recreation programmes with receiving windsurfing licenses, catamaran sailing licenses, surf lifesaving certificates and diving certificates (PADI), however, there is a need to further
educate and train personnel in the field of water sports and diving as it is a key activity sector of Maldives with a competitive advantage to other destinations.
On liveaboards, dive masters cover a range of services from receiving clients at the airport and checking them in, billing and account keeping, selecting dive sites and planning routes, handling equipment
malfunctions and operating the compressor.
Tourism skills include those required for business management, foreign languages, customer service,
guiding, safety awareness, dive instructors trained and certified to international standards (equipment
maintenance, centre operations, and boat handling), water sports support activities, accommodation
and food service support on safari vessels and tourist advice.
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Education and training programmes in marine and aquatic recreation should integrate dive and water
sports training with a focus on employability skills, enterprise and innovation, liability and risk management, human resource management and standard operating procedures; all geared towards working and operating a business in the dive industry. Additional licenses and certifications such as lifeguard
training, boat licenses and maritime navigation are of need as well as the promotion of conservation
by motivating divers to actively participate in conserving threatened species and habitats.7
Diving Centre staff are mostly Maldivians, which are often recruited from local or nearby islands. The
most important source of recruitment for employees in this segment is through referral from colleagues and employers based on positive experiences.
The sector is developing a range of training opportunities with a wide range including TVET colleges
and individual training centres. The major skills deficiencies for the sector when recruiting new staff
are foreign languages, a lack of practical experiences, and / or holding the required PADI or other recognised licences/certificates.
Water sports and diving providers rely overwhelmingly on internal training strategies but also make
use of external training, which is important to receive the licences.
5.5.4 NATURE AND CULTURAL TOURISM
Given the wealth of natural marine resources for tourism in Maldives, enterprises involved with nature
tourism mainly employ staff in excursions, guiding and support roles along with recognition of the need
for specialists in environmental and sustainable development in marine and coastal locations.
Maldives is not a typical destination for cultural visitors, however, when travelling visitors are also keen
to experience local culture and traditions. The fact that Maldives is so different makes the development of cultural tourism of an increasing importance to the country’s tourism industry. The cultural
tourism sector has some overlap with marine attractions and with events which often provide the
physical focus for cultural tourism experiences, e.g. in local communities and the guesthouse sector.
Key occupations of travel businesses, which organise marine excursions and cultural experiences on
behalf visitors draw on competencies, such as nature and cultural product knowledge, guiding and
communication, languages, and customer services. Opportunities exists for academic occupations in
specialised marine and biology fields which are required e.g. in marine conservation centres of resorts.
Recruitment of such positions varies but are primarily informal sources through word-of-mouth as well
as some evidence of previous experience. Recruitment for cultural tourism may include the academic
tourism education and training providers. The key skills gaps can be foreign languages, staff without
the specialised marine knowledge, communication skills and field guiding for nature-based tourism.
Tourism skills required include guiding, natural and cultural environment awareness, business management, marketing, customer service, events management, food and accommodation services safety
awareness, tour design and foreign languages.
5.5.5 CRAFTS, SOUVENIR AND TOURIST RETAIL
The craft and retail sector accounts for a small group of businesses but this is, an increasingly important
component of Maldives tourism as it adds to the visitors’ experience. It includes both traditional, culturally based craft shops and the contemporary tourist retail sector. Occupations within this sector
vary from sales and product-related occupations, to shop ownership and management, and the actual
production of crafted goods and souvenirs. The sector employs foreign expat workforce and it can be
assumed that majority of ownership is local.
7
Sham’aa Abdullah Hameed, 2019
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Main tourist retail as well as supplies for the resorts happens in Malé. Majority of souvenir items are
imported from other Asian countries. Few souvenir shops offer local handcrafted products, such as in
Maafushi, which adds to the tourism experience in the local tourism segment and offers opportunities
for local entrepreneur to become engaged in the sector.
Souvenirs contribute to restoring and developing traditional cultural values and crafts, including the
protection of natural resources and the environment. It creates opportunities for cultural and economic exchange between locals and visitors.
Box 5: Maldives Visitor Survey – Lower ratings on tourist experiences
The Maldives Visitor Survey 2017 highlighted the importance, preferences and expectations for in-room entertainment by visitors scored comparatively low and a weaker satisfaction was recorded with some activities like
shopping experience, picnicking, night fishing, whale watching which need to be further explored. Value for
money and quality of food were ranked the weakest compared to similar destinations
Source: Ministry of Tourism, Visitor Survey 2017
Recruitment to this sector is not through the formal college and university routes but is primarily internal and from local, community sources. Product development skills are areas with a problem in
finding the required products and craft technical skills. Skills gaps are addressed almost exclusively
through in-house training.
Tourism skills required relate to the production and presentation of e.g. marine-based goods, paintings
etc. with production taking place in the public rather than industrial context. Marketing, merchandising
and business skills are also required along with customer service, communications, languages and cultural understanding what visitors are seeking for when visiting Maldives. SME/ entrepreneurial skills
can benefit the sector from developing a business plans to the marketing of products and communication with visitors.
5.5.6 SPA AND WELLNESS
The spa and wellness sector is located within the resort industry (and partly within the guesthouse
local tourism market) as a core element of their offerings with a wide range of spa and wellness experiences. These include an array of results-oriented treatments, natural healing, relaxing complementary therapies that embrace holistic rituals, ancient Asian traditions integrated with contemporary
Western techniques. Experiences go beyond the healing of massage and skin treatments, with a choice
of varied activities, Yoga, meditative disciplines, fitness options, healthy eating and lifestyle-change
programmes designed to rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit.
Tourism skills required include the full range of high-end resort competencies combined with spa and
wellness capabilities across a wide array of specialist areas, sports and guiding, foreign languages, communications and wider business and marketing skills.
Recruitment in the spa and wellness sector is mainly done internationally with a high share of foreign
workers who are mainly female. Candidates are not recruited from colleges and universities, probably
because they do not offer programmes in this area. Key problems in recruitment relate to candidates’
lack of appropriate practical experience in the spa and wellness industry and the missing culture of
massages and treatments.
Training staff in-house can address skills deficiencies, with a limited contribution from external training, generally in the area of spa product knowledge.
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5.5.7 MICE
The SAP 2019-2023 shows several key policy priorities for the tourism sector. This includes consolidating the Maldivian tourism industry through maintaining its premium position in world markets, which
has been addressed in this study with the resort sector as a key contributor to this position.
MICE is primarily focused on business-related travel and corporate sector clients. In the case of Maldives it is the smaller-sized meetings and incentives segment, where regional resorts can be used for
combining conferences, workshops and trainings with other outdoor water-based activities. Event-organising companies (mainly in the outbound markets) attract potential clients by offering a wide range
of venues/locations for conferences, workshops and training as well as ‘experiences’ and teambuilding
activities (adventure and local nature/culture-related).
Conventions and exhibitions which are also included in MICE are more difficult to attract to the Maldives as they require larger facilities/capacities with efficient transportation accessibility.
The skills required for meetings and incentives are found elsewhere across tourism (as discussed in
previous chapters), in resorts, hotels and travel agencies/tour operating businesses and the findings
also report on entertainment and event management that there are such skills and training needs
which require more targeted focus in order to support the growth and development in such specialized
areas.
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5.6
CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR TOURISM SKILLS
This chapter reported on main findings from the key sector executive surveys and interviews with the
leisure and recreation sectors in the Maldives tourism industry.
The resorts have been traditionally accommodated within human resource planning and offer a variety
of in-house and on-the job training opportunities up to apprenticeships schemes with the education
and training system. However, many businesses, e.g. the guesthouse sector have little engagement
with tourism programmes offered by tourism colleges and at MNU.
Each of the sub-sectors included in this chapter show the importance of general basic technical skills
and soft skills that need to be addressed by the education and training system. Some of the core hospitality departments require immediate attention, such as culinary arts and food production, food &
beverage, housekeeping and front office due to the high number of foreign workforce and the addressed labour needs by the industry. The need for foreign languages speaking personnel of Maldives’
key source markets such as Chinese, India, Russia and some European markets has been raised. Soft
skills such as leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills, work ethics and behaviour have
been addressed by many respondents and safety programmes are necessary to ensure the health and
safety of the tourists and the sector overall, which includes but is not limited to water and fire safety,
lifeguard, and first-aid programmes. The skill sets represent a considerable diversity in the focus of the
business operations that were included, their size and location.
The analysis of sub-sectors also reveals the great number of tourism enterprises in Maldives which
operate across two or more sub-sectors of tourism, e.g. accommodation, transport, and/or diving.
It is noticeable that the resorts tend to concentrate more on specialists, although multifunctionality is
more common in the operation of the guesthouses. But also resorts mentioned that a general hospitality education where students experience the various departments benefits their general understanding of the industry. Resorts do offer for interns / apprentices’ opportunities in their induction
programmes to experience the entire range of the business. Offering services across sub-sectors has
clear implications for the required skills profile of those working there or seeking employment. It is
probably insufficient to have skills limited to a single area of work and the requirement clearly applies
to workers with two or more skills.
In addition to looking at future key competence areas in their area, respondents were asked to identify
the key issues that might affect the sector in the future. While several topics were identified, including
economic, market and staff-related considerations, the dominant response was that of competition
and expansion of the sector.
Competition is generally seen in market and marketing terms and not in relation to workforce and
training needs. However, there are training needs implications which are entirely consistent with earlier finds relating to the need for soft skills within the sector. Companies that can best operate in a
highly competitive environment are those that have flexible, customer-focused employees who are
able to solve problems and make decisions in the best interests of their business. This clearly demonstrates the need to develop a set of soft competencies to meet the competitive pressures in the accommodation sector.
In many cases, the skills highlighted in this chapter are found elsewhere in tourism, accommodation
and travel businesses, but this chapter shows that there are also skills and training needs that require
a more focused approach to support the sustainable development of tourism in the Maldives.
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6.
ANALYSIS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE
TOURISM INDUSTRY
The final stakeholder in considering national skills and training needs in tourism are the education and
training providers which offer programmes in this field. They include public institutions under MoHE
as well as private institutions.
In order to examine in detail, the system of tourism education and the development needs of those
working within the sector the framework conditions of the education and training sector have been
studied and a survey was conducted across a sample of education and training institutions.
6.1 FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS
Based on the hotel and tourism qualifications within the Maldives National Qualifications Framework
and available National Competency Standards with the TVET Authority, information on education programmes/courses has been collected from the education and training providers.
This allows for proposals and recommendations in line with the demand-orientated research and existing statistics to incorporate missing qualifications in need and/or shift priorities to technical and
vocational education in hotel and tourism to more applied and professional learning.
Table 5
Maldives National Qualifications Framework (MNQF)
Level
Qualifications titles
Doctoral Degree
10
Higher Professional Diploma
Higher Professional Certificate
Master’s Degree
9
Advanced Professional Diploma
Advanced Professional Certificate
Qualifications definitions
Doctoral degree is a research qualification that is at a significantly higher
level than the master’s degree, reflecting scholarly independence, and is
awarded in recognition of research which has made a substantial and
original contribution to knowledge.
Master’s degree is normally designed to extend the principal subject or
subjects of the qualifying degree or may build on relevant knowledge
and skills derived from advanced occupational experience. A Master’s
Degree contains a significant element of supervised research, normally
embodied in a thesis dissertation or substantial research paper.
Postgraduate Diploma
8
Graduate Diploma
Postgraduate Certificate
Graduate Certificate
Bachelor’s Honours Degree
7
6
Bachelor’s Degree
Professional Diploma
Professional Certificate
Advanced Diploma / Associate Degree
Professional Certificate
5
Diploma
4
Certificate IV / Advanced Certificate
3
Certificate III
2
Certificate II
1
Certificate I
Bachelor’s degree is a systematic, research-based, coherent, introduction to the
knowledge, ideas, principles, concepts, key research methods and to the
analytical and problem-solving techniques of a recognised major subject
or subjects.
Diplomas, Advanced; Diplomas and Higher Diplomas recognise technician, technologist, managerial and professional level skills and
knowledge.
Certificates II, III, and IV, recognise increasing levels of capability and
competence through to the fully qualified tradesperson.
Certificate I recognises the acquisition of a core of entry-level skills for a
new worker.
Source: MQA
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The MNQF allows for a possible future interface with secondary education and provides a seamless
progression for technical and vocational education graduates to move to advanced technological, professional and post-graduate learning. The MQA assigns qualifications to its 10-level framework using
the descriptors for levels 3— 12 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).8
Occupational standards shall be in line with each qualification level for each occupation to fit within
the National Qualification Framework. The number of qualification levels of occupational skills depends on the complexity of each occupation. The MNQF, in line with the SCQF proposed 10 levels and
facilitates articulation, credit transfer and the ability of people to move from the vocational education
and training pathway into higher education.
Table 6
Level
Qualifications framework – transition from TVET to Higher Education
Vocational Education & Training
Higher Education
10
Doctoral/ PhD Degree; Higher Professional Diploma;
Higher Professional Certificate
9
Master’s Degree; Advanced Professional Diploma;
Advanced Professional Certificate
8
Postgraduate Diploma; Graduate Diploma; Postgraduate Certificate; Graduate Certificate
7
Bachelor’s Honours Degree; Bachelor’s Degree; Professional Diploma; Professional Certificate
6
Advanced Diploma / Associate Degree;
Professional Certificate
5
Diploma
4
Certificate IV / Advanced Certificate
3
Certificate 3
2
Certificate 2
1
Certificate I
Associate Degree
The level descriptors are categorised in a) Knowledge and understanding; b) Practice: Applied
knowledge and understanding; c) Generic cognitive skills; d) Communication, ICT and numeracy skills;
e) Autonomy, accountability and working with others. Each of them will be further specified in characteristic outcomes of learning at each level which includes a list of abilities to perform the task/job.
Competency standards
Competency standards refer to the agreed minimum best practice for jobs in the tourism/hospitality
industry. They specify what a person should know and do, as well as the way they do their work, in
order to carry out the functions of a particular job in the context of the work environment and – this
is known as competence (a combination of skills, knowledge and attitudes or behaviours).
National Competency Standards are available at the TVET Authority (http://tvet.gov.mv/), which have
been developed in 2007-2010 by an ADB funded project following the Scottish qualification model.
Table 7
Tourism
8
National Competency Standards for tourism occupations, Certificate Level III & IV
Certificate III
Front Office
Room Attendant
Food & Beverage Services
Personnel
Certificate IV
Front Office
Room Attendant
Food & Beverage Services
Personnel
Competency Standards
Front Office
Room Attendant
Food & Beverage Services Personnel; Bartender
MQA
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Social
Food Preparation
Pastry and Bakery Chef
Barista
Tour Guide
Airport Representative
Storekeeper
Laundry Attendant
Ticketing and Reservation
Water sports
Food Preparation
Pastry and Bakery Chef
Barista (Specialty Coffee)
Tour Guide
Gardener
Event Management
Fitness Instructor
Sports Coaching
Beauty Therapy
Cake Decoration
Gardening and Landscaping
Event Management
Fitness Instructor
Storekeeper
Ticketing and Reservation
Water sports
Beauty Therapy
Food Preparations
Pastry and Bakery Chefs
Barista
Tour Guide
Airport Representative
Storekeeper
Laundry Attendant
Reservation and Ticketing
Water Sports Assistant
Health & Wellness
Gardening & Landscaping
Event Management
Fitness Instructor
Sports Coaching
Beautician
Cake Decoration
Source: TVET Authority
As the tourism sector changes over the years, also skills standards shall be regularly updated and reviewed, ideally from entry-level, functional through to supervisory and middle management level staff,
and broadened to include areas identified as important for Maldives such as small accommodation
enterprises/guesthouses, tourist vessel service staff, dive and water sports instructors.
Existing competency standards, such as Food Preparation, Reservation and Ticketing, Food and Beverage Services, Pastry and Bakery, and Gardening and Landscaping could be reviewed in the first phase
and some additional competency-based standards should be developed that are of interest to the industry like the following, but not limited to: Guesthouse Operations, Kitchen and Laundry Technician,
Butler etc.
Tourism and hospitality qualifications/programmes
In the following, Table 8 provides an overview of qualifications/programmes which were on offer during the assessed three year period from 2016-2018 (green), additional approved qualifications by
MQA, but not operational (blue), and additional Skill Standards available at the TVET Authority (include
Certificate III&IV Blue &Green) (red) for which courses/programmes could be offered. There are also
several new proposed qualifications/programmes which would complement the existing scheme
(black). The sources of this assessment refer to the Standards by TVET Authority, Qualifications by
Maldives Qualifications Authority and actual educational programmes/courses on offer of which information was received from the education and training providers through MoHE.
Delivery of education and training across country is an issue and a modular format would be beneficial,
structured in units of competence so that it is flexible and easily adapted for different jobs, personnel
and qualifications. It is suitable for use in small to medium enterprises, large resorts, tour and travel
companies, as well as the basis for curriculum in Polytechnic, colleges and MNU. Units can be clustered
into unique combinations for training or for delivering qualifications for different jobs (e.g. Certificate
III in Front Office Operations, Certificate III in Patisserie, Certificate III in Culinary Arts) and for university/college awards (e.g. BA in Culinary Arts management) etc.
Other professional certifications include amongst others, but are not limited to: Master Scuba Diver
certification; Discover Scuba Diving Leadership certificate, Surf Lifesaving license
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
73
Table 8
Level
Proposed qualifications based on tourism sector approved programmes by MQA and such offered by institutions
F&B Services
Food Production
Front Office
Housekeeping
Hospitality
Hospitality and
Tourism
Tourism
Travel Agencies
Marine, Diving
& Water Sports
Advanced Diploma of
Travel Agencies (Management)
Diploma of
Travel Agencies (Supervision & Administration)
Diploma in Marine Recreation;
Diploma in
Aquatic Recreation
10
9
8
BA of Science
in Culinary
Arts Management; BA of
Hospitality
Management
(Culinary Arts
and Food Service)
7
6
5
Advanced Diploma of F&B
Service (Management)
Diploma of
F&B Service
(Supervision &
Administration)
Advanced Diploma of Food
Production
(Management)
Diploma of
Food Production (Supervision & Administration)
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
BA of Hospitality
Management (Operations; Human
Resource; Strategy
Innovation and Entrepreneurship; International); BA of
Science in Hotel
and Resort Management
Advanced Diploma of
Front Office
(Management)
Diploma of
Front Office
(Supervision &
Administration)
Advanced Diploma of
Housekeeping
(Management)
Diploma of
Housekeeping
(Supervision &
Administration)
Diploma in Tourism
Management; Diploma IV in Guesthouse Management
Master’s in Hospitality and
Tourism Management
CTH Postgraduate Diploma in
Hospitality and
Tourism Management
BA in Tourism
and Hotel Management
ABE Level 6 Diploma in Travel,
Tourism and
Hospitality
Management
Diploma in
Travel, Tourism
and Hospitality
Management
BA of Tourism
Management
(Business; Strategy Innovation
and Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Events;
International)
Diploma in
Tourism Management
74
Level
4
F&B Services
Certificate IV
in F&B Service
(Waiting), (Supervision),
(Beverages)
Food Production
Certificate IV
in Food Production (Cookery), (Operations), (Patisserie)
Front Office
Housekeeping
Hospitality
Certificate IV
in Front Office
(Guest Services Supervision)
Certificate IV in
Housekeeping
(Guest Services
Supervision)
Certificate IV in
Guesthouse (Operations & Supervision); C4 in Storekeeping
Certificate III in
Hospitality; Certificate III in Guesthouse Operations;
C3 in Storekeeping
Certificate III
in Culinary
Arts; Patisserie
Certificate III
in Front Office
3
Certificate III
in F&B Service
(Waiting),
(Beverages)
Certificate III in
Housekeeping;
C3 Laundry Attendant
Certificate I-II
in Food Production (Cookery), (Patisserie)
Certificate I-II
in Front Office
Certificate I-II in
Housekeeping
2
Certificate I-II
in F&B Service
(Waiting),
(Beverages)
1
Hospitality and
Tourism
Certificate IV in
Tourism and hotel Operations;
Advanced Certificate in Travel
& Tourism
Certificate III in
Business (Tourism and Hospitality); Certificate III in Tourism and Hospitality
Tourism
Advance Certificate in Tourism
management;
Advanced Certificate in English for Travel
and Tourism;
Advanced Certificate in Travel
& Tourism
C3 in Tour Guiding;
C3 Airport Representative
Travel Agencies
Certificate IV
in Tour Operation (Operations), (Sales
& Service),
(Reservations
& Ticketing)
Marine, Diving
& Water Sports
Advanced Certificate in Marine Recreation;
Advanced Certificate in
Aquatic Recreation;
C4 in Water
sports
Certificate III
in Tour Operation (Operations), (Sales
& Service);
(Reservations
& Ticketing)
Certificate I-II
in Tour Operation (Operations), (Sales
& Service),
(Reservations
& Ticketing)
Certificate III in
Aquatic Recreation; C3 in Water sports
Certificate I in
Arabic for Travel
and Tourism
Note: Green = qualifications/programmes/courses on offer 2016-2018; Blue = additional approved by MQA; Red = Skill Standards available with TVET Authority (include Certificate III&IV Blue &Green); Black = proposed
ones to complement the existing.
Sources: Standards based on TVET Authority; Qualifications based on Maldives Qualifications Authority, Education programmes/courses information based on education and training providers; Proposals based on interviews
and experts view
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
75
6.2 PROFILE OF INSTITUTIONS
A survey has been arranged with the education and training stakeholder group as well as individual
interviews conducted. The aim of the research was to examine some details of the education institutions and their programmes, gather some information on education quality aspects and teaching staff,
and better understand marketing and financial aspects.
The survey identified nine educational institutions and five responded which support the main supply
of graduates and trainees to the tourism industry, namely: Maldives National University, Villa College,
Maps College, Clique College, and Maldives Polytechnic.
Malé is the main location for the education and training institutions and three of responding institutions offer courses at Regional Campuses/Outreach Centres (MNU, Polytechnic and Villa College).
Higher education in tourism is available at both MNU and colleges and technical. Vocational education
in tourism is offered by Maldives Polytechnic and in some cases on Certificate level by the academic
institutions, which are all supervised by the Ministry of Higher Education.
Students
The competition for tourism and hospitality students seems relatively low. This is unexpected given
the importance of the tourism sector.
Higher student numbers generally mean higher fee income and allow an educational institution to
spend more on staff costs and facilities. This is particularly the case with privately financed colleges.
Most students are drawn from within the Malé region with also a considerable high share for students
coming from other atolls. MNU and Clique college also reported to host students from other countries.
The gender breakdown of students in the tourism Bachelor courses are extremely even with a high
percentage of female students in MNU and MAPS college. Most Certificate level students are male.
Overview of programmes
Table 9 shows the range of tourism and hospitality programmes at academic level available in education and training institutions.
Table 9
Tourism sector approved programmes (MNQF level 7 and above)
HEI
Programme name
The Maldives
National University
BA of science in culinary arts management
MNQF
level
7
CTH postgraduate diploma in hospitality and tourism management
7
BA of science in hotel and resort management
7
BA of business in tourism management
7
BA of hospitality management (operations)
7
BA of hospitality management (culinary arts and food service)
7
BA of hospitality management (human resource)
7
BA of hospitality management (strategy innovation and entrepreneurship)
7
BA of tourism management (strategy innovation and entrepreneurship)
7
BA of tourism management (marketing)
7
BA of tourism management (events)
7
BA of international hospitality management
7
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
76
Clique College
MAPS College
Villa College
BA of international tourism management
7
Master’s in hospitality and tourism management
9
ABE level 6 diploma in travel, tourism and hospitality management
ABE level 6 diploma in travel tourism and hospitality management
7
7
CTH postgraduate diploma in hospitality and tourism management
8
BA of tourism management
7
BA in tourism and hotel management
7
Source: MQA
Enrolment, drop-outs and graduates
Table 10 reveals the overall distribution of students enrolled in hotel and tourism studies across all
institutions over the last three year, including the dropouts and final graduates. The universities and
colleges that provide tourism and hospitality education on academic and vocational level reported a
total graduate output of 107 graduates in 2017, 81 in 2018, and a total of 111 graduates in 2019.
As students are the actual customers of the educational institutions, the number of students can be
considered the relevant market share of these institutions. The MNU is the market leader, but the high
enrolment rate at the MNU and the comparatively high dropout rate among graduates of tourism
studies is interesting. There is keen competition for students among other institutions with tourism
programmes, led by Villa college. Interest for courses is high for programmes, like Advanced Certificates
in Hospitality & Tourism Studies, Certificate III in Hospitality, and BA of International Hospitality Management.
Table 10 Enrolment, graduation and drop out at tourism education and training institutions 2016-18
Maldives National University (MNU)
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Course Name
C3 in Patisserie
Certificate 3 in Culinary Arts
Certificate 3 in F&B Operations
Certificate 3 in Front Office Operations
Certificate 3 in Housekeeping Operations
Certificate 3 in Tour Guiding
AC in Hospitality & Tourism Studies
BTEC National Diploma in Hospitality
Diploma in Hospitality Management
Diploma in Tourism Management
Bachelor of Business in Tourism Management
Bachelor of Hospitality Management
Bachelor of International Hospitality Mg
Bachelor of International Tourism Management
Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Resort
Bachelor of Tourism Management
BSc in Culinary Arts Management
Master of Hospitality & Tourism Management
Total
E
24
19
2
79
7
3
67
1
79
127
5
19
53
68
2
8
1
6
570
2017
D
8
10
2
37
3
2
21
0
6
9
0
4
4
9
1
0
0
7
123
E
2017
D
G
7
11
0
23
0
0
1
0
19
6
2
5
1
0
3
5
0
0
83
2018
E
D
16
9
34
15
G
2
11
2019
E
D
28
6
40
14
G
5
2
21
13
1
39
20
3
3
166
6
29
0
8
190
55
23
40
60
2
12
69
90
9
12
0
1
8
5
11
3
2
3
3
2
16
9
1
5
102
121
1
6
1
3
16
27
5
5
0
2
10
9
15
528
6
113
6
52
5
556
1
8
158
0
64
E
2018
D
E
2019
D
G
Villa College
#
Course Name
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
G
G
77
1
2
3
Certificate 4 in Tourism and Hotel Operations
Certificate III in Hospitality
Bachelor of Arts in Tourism Management
Total
29
3
32
3
52
52
3
21
22
34
1
44
21
34
3
44
G
4
E
2019
D
G
Clique College
#
Course Name
1
2
3
4
Advanced Certificate in Travel & Tourism
Diploma (L4) in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Mgt
Diploma (L5) in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Mgt
Diploma (L6) in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Mgt
Total
E
2017
D
G
E
11
2018
D
3
24
1
24
11
3
G
E
2018
D
G
E
8
8
16
4
1
MAPS College
#
1
Course Name
Advance Certificate in Tourism management
Total
E
5
5
2017
D
G
4
4
E
2019
D
G
E
2019
D
G
2
2
Islamic University of Maldives
#
Course Name
1
2
Certificate 1 in Arabic for Travel and Tourism
Advanced Certificate in English for Travel & Tourism
Total
E
2017
D
12
12
24
2018
D
G
no data
MIANZ International College
#
1
Course Name
Certificate III in Tourism and Hospitality
Total
E
2
2
2017
D
G
E
2018
D
G
2019
E
D
G
no data
G
2019
E
D
G
no data
Mandhu College
#
Course Name
1
Certificate III in Business (Tourism and Hospitality)
Total
E
3
3
2017
D
G
E
2
2
2018
D
Note: E = Enrolment, D = Drop-out, G = Graduate
Source: MoHE, 2020
The student numbers reflect the importance of strengthening the academic and TVET system for tourism and hospitality programmes aimed at attracting students. Student numbers in this sector are low
and some colleges even have no students for some courses, which suggests some actions to be taken
at secondary school level. Greater emphasis is therefore needed on the early phases of the education
cycle/chain and on youth - as they approach completion in the secondary education system.
Box 6: ‘’Dream, Decide, Develop’’ career guidance to enhance awareness amongst youth
The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) and the Maldives Association of Human Resource Professionals (MAHRP), in association with Centre for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) held the 2nd edition of the
‘’Dream, Decide, Develop’’ – Seizing your dream career within the Hospitality Industry’’ career guidance series.
The aim of the series is to enhance awareness of the widespread career paths available in the Hospitality Industry
and disseminate knowledge and insights that would assist in pursuing them.
Source: www.mati.mv
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
78
Educational facilities
The facilities available to students at institutions are very basic. All of them indicated that they have a
physical library and a computer laboratory, however, specialised training software were not always
available. Only MNU has laboratories for Kitchen, Restaurant, Front Office and Housekeeping. The latter two are not fully operational. Villa college has a well-equipped dive and water centre laboratory.
The limited availability of specialised training facilities seems justified due to low students’ intake numbers and that students are exposed to these facilities during their field training or internship, however,
the level and quality of the training facilities for the tourism educational programmes is a particularly
crucial feature for determining the quality outcome of the programmes.
Student placements
In respect of student placement, the survey sought to examine whether educational institutions had
placement schemes in operation for their students and whether such institutions monitored the progress of their students’ post-graduation.
Job placement is clearly a central part of the educational programmes and only two institutions indicated that they do have a tourism and hospitality placement programme. MNU and Villa have placement programme with the industry. MNU partners with IHG Maamunagau for a duration of 240 – 720
hours depending on the programme and Villa college with Villa Hotels, diveOceanus, and Q Adventures
for a duration of four weeks.
The information gathered suggests that the placement option at present is too short in duration and
this time period is insufficient to assimilate all the learning skills in a practical way. Clearly, just offering
a placement option is not enough and institutions must strive to ensure that the skills which are
needed by employers are properly developed in placement programmes.
There are no monitoring systems and / or tracer studies available at institutions to track the graduate
employment afterwards.
6.3 EDUCATION QUALITY AND STAFFING
Academic staff
Education and training providers have the usual staffing of head department / dean, professors and
lecturer which have degrees, masters and PhD qualifications as well as other professional certificates.
Academic staff employed in the main tourism-related fields, such as Hospitality Services/Management,
Restaurant Management, Kitchen/Food Production and/or Travel Agency/Tour Operation are mostly
employed on part-time basis.
Education quality
The quality of education is of great concern for a wide range of stakeholders including students,
schools, families, the industry, and the society at large. Knowing how influential some factors are for
the training outcomes was a focus of the study for the educational institutions.
The respondents were first asked to evaluate the factors which have the potential to negatively influence the training quality, which is displayed in Figure 65. Most of the factors are very influential and
could have impacts on the quality of training. The most influential factors were poor training facilities,
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
79
students do not have effective learning skills, and the low quality of incoming students, followed by
the lack of training curriculum that are practical and industry-oriented and a lack of teaching staff.
Figure 65 Factors influencing the quality of training programmes
Source: TNA Educators Surveys, 2020
The educational institutions were also asked to evaluate factors that have the potential to positively
influence training quality, as shown in Figure 66. The results indicated that all the factors are important
with ratings nearly all above 4 on a 5-point scale. The factors included with the highest score in order:
improving training facilities, conducting placement programmes for students, having training curriculum audited by experts from the industry, and offering internship opportunities from the industry for
students. Lower importance was given for practical training of teaching staff and recruitment from
teaching staff from the industry.
Figure 66 Solutions to improve the quality of training programmes
Source: TNA Educators Surveys, 2020
The quality of the education providers has been also rated by the tourism businesses: resorts, guesthouses and travel agencies. The industry was asked how the qualification of graduates from Universities, Polytechnic, Colleges, and Vocational education in secondary schools respond to their company’s
skill requirements. The results, as shown in Figure 67, are not very positive, which affects the image
and success of education providers to be an enabler for their graduates’ employability and prepare
them in the best possible way for the labour market.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
80
Figure 67 Qualifications of graduates from institutions responding to industry’s skill requirements
Source: TNA Executive Industry Surveys, 2020
Businesses who had graduates on their staff were critical as to the quality of graduates / youth, which
has been also verified during stakeholder interviews. Lack of career guidance makes them enter the
labour market with no clearly established career path. Most lack in interpersonal skills and have a
rather poor behaviour. Graduates are equipped only with very basic technical skills and need substantial upgrading to bring them to a level of operational efficiency on the job.
Training of staff
Training is the systematic acquisition of skills and concepts resulting in improved performance in a
professional environment, such as the education and training system. The study focused on how important it is for teaching staff in different tourism and hospitality programmes to receive training.
As indicated in Figure 68, the results suggest that training is considered more important for teaching
staff in some programmes among surveyed institutions with the most import in Travel and Tourism
Management, Costing/Revenue Management, and Front Office Operations. The results also reflect on
areas which are of lower importance for institutions to improve current training quality, such as in Tour
Guiding, Bar Operation and Management, Food and Beverage Management, and Travel Agency/Tour
Operation.
Figure 68 Importance of training areas for your teaching staff
Source: TNA Educators Surveys, 2020
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
81
Improvement of teaching competencies in digitization and digitalisation of tourism is key to foster a
digital tourism economy (extremely relevant for Marketing & Sales and Reservations & Travel Agencies) as well as the service economy in general, in which tourism sits and in which most people now
work.
One area of interest to the tourism sector in its efforts to achieve long-term environmental sustainability is the importance attached to environmental management skills. The increased importance of
green skills and in how far institutions are responding to it is shown in Figure 69.
Respondents are strongly indicating that there is a need to adjust training to the needs of a greening
economy, but the demand for courses with green skills is judged more critical. When assessing in how
far courses address the use of energy from renewable sources, issues that increase energy efficiency
or the use of processes that reduce, recycle and reuse the positive agreement was much lower. Competencies are available in such areas at Polytechnic, although more integrated in non-tourism related
vocational education and training programmes. Some programmes of the tourism educators already
include contents on saving natural resources. It is assumed that Business Management courses are
lacking green skills.
Figure 69 Statements on green skills in the tourism education and trainings institutions
Source: TNA Educators Surveys, 2020
Obstacles to accessing staff development
Respondents were asked to rank several obstacles to accessing staff development at their institution.
The main obstacles, as shown in Figure 70, were related to cost, time constraints, lack of awareness
among staff, and timing of training courses.
Figure 70 Obstacles to accessing staff development training at institution
Source: TNA Educators Surveys, 2020
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
82
Suggested areas for development
Having examined the obstacles to staff development within these institutions, some improvements to
allow the tourism and hospitality education and training system to satisfy industry needs have been
provided by respondents.
There should be an increased focus on vocational education across the Maldives to align industry skill
shortages with skills taught at tertiary level and a better integration of curricula (Education and Higher
Education) by considering industry needs for educational programmes. Modularising the programmes
based on job titles, incorporating industry experience/exposure in curriculum and short programmes
for specific jobs should further support the development.
Employee separation
In this study, we asked the education providers to indicate how influential reasons are on their staff
decisions to quit the jobs. The results in Figure 71 suggest that other job opportunities was the main
reasons for teaching staff to leave the jobs, followed by low salary and unfit working conditions. The
respondents were also confident that the lack of the necessary skills would not cause employees to
make their turnover decisions.
Figure 71 Factors influencing turnover decisions of teaching staff
Source: TNA Educators Surveys, 2020
6.4 MARKETING AND FINANCE
Promotional activities
In Figure 72, respondents were asked to indicate how relevant certain marketing initiatives were to
attract students to their programmes. The most important initiatives are advertisements in social media and other related media, followed by having their own web presence. Brochures, secondary
schools’ visits and education fairs ranked also highly with respondents. There are of course differences
in the target market for university, college or Polytechnic candidates as institutions use different approaches to maximise their own student intake. It can be assumed that the public institutions place
less emphasis on marketing initiatives to recruit new students than the private colleges.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
83
Figure 72 Marketing initiatives to promote tourism education and training programmes
Source: TNA Educators Surveys, 2020
Fee rates of programmes
A critical dimension to any decision whether to pursue tourism educational opportunities concerns the
fees charged for courses. Table 11 summarises a sample of fees charged for tourism and hospitality
courses per semester and in total. It is evident here that the average fee increases as one goes from
certificate, diploma to bachelor or master level. Programmes of Polytechnic are sponsored by the government.
Table 11 Average student fees charged for offered programmes in MVR
Fees - Level 9
MNU
Course/
semester
Total
13,530
38,775
Fees - Level 7
Course/
semester
Total
Fees - Level 6
Course/
semester
4,500
31,500
VILLA
17,994
107,964
MAPS
22,100
66,300
22,100
14,250
57,000
17,433
CLIQUE
19,990
39,800
4,980
Total
21,291
Fees - Level 5
Course/ semester
Total
Fees - Level 4
Course/
semester
Total
Fees - Level 3
Course/ semester
4,980
10,110
5,300
10,623
3,800
3,800
17,994
35,988
10,000
30,000
7,600
7,600
44,200
22,100
22,100
21,150
21,150
52,300
16,175
64,700
8,000
16,000
9,000
18,000
Funding sources by students
Grants obtained from external organisations, bank loans and government subsidised grants are the
most important sources of funding for students and other sources such as employer funding ranked
much lower in priority by the respondents.
Figure 73 Sources of funding for students undertaking tourism programmes
Source: TNA Educators Surveys, 2020
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
Total
84
Given the importance of the resorts as future employers, more emphasis can be put on employer funding, initiated by government support-programmes. Incentives can be given to businesses which contribute to a Tourism Training Fund to allow sponsorships. Ideally, such initiatives are also linked to a
training approach of the dual system / apprenticeship in the resorts and in cooperation with educational offers on the basis of an employment contract with students.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
85
6.5 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR TOURISM EDUCATION & TRAINING
The TNA study assessed the framework conditions for education and training in tourism, analysed the
institutions offering programmes and courses and further addressed education quality and staffing
issues as well as marketing topics of student attraction and financing of education and training. The
findings contain useful information for policy makers in the tourism and hospitality education system.
• Most students in colleges and at MNU study hotel management as opposed to tourism management, which is reflecting the importance of the accommodation sector to the Maldives. The market
share of student intakes is led by MNU, followed by Villa College.
• Students numbers have decreased over the past years, which suggests that action needs to be taken
to offer attractive study opportunities to equip students with market-driven skills to ensure employability.
• The tourism and hospitality education programmes attract more male than female applicants, however, the gender balance is higher at education institutions than later at work. Attracting more females into the tourism education fields will lead to higher employability of women after graduation.
In particular, the tourism management courses are attracting more females.
• Certificates, diploma, bachelor and master programmes are available in tourism and hospitality education and training. Bachelor programmes are on offer at many colleges and at MNU, however,
graduates entering the labour market from these studies remain low. Further, the number of master programmes and graduates at MNU is very low. Certificates at Level III have proven to be effective for the education and training system and in demand from the students and the industry.
• The number of academic staff is quite low and most of them are recruited on a part-time basis. The
low staff levels may be a result of budgetary pressures and low interest in tourism and hospitality
studies. There is also a need to improve teaching skills and qualifications when suggesting improvements to the current system of education.
• The main obstacle to staff development is the cost factor, which requires greater funding from faculties and management to support staff development.
• Most tourism and hospitality courses are concentrated in Malé with some providers offering
courses in other parts of the country. While this may be justified in view of the concentration of
population within the country, it raises the question of whether students from more distant parts
of the country have the opportunity to study such courses in a nearby location.
• There is a variation in the level of facilities, which are provided for students like a fully equipped
hospitality education and training provisions at MNU, whereas other colleges partner with industry
stakeholders for practical training or offer mainly theoretical courses at academic level. Polytechnic,
which is government supported could take a stronger position in offering TVET Certificates with
adequate equipped training facilities.
• Apprenticeships and industry placement programmes are a very common mean to ensure on-the
job skill training, however, time spent in a resort is not enough for a fully-fledged hospitality education and there is a need for greater co-operation between industry and education.
• International education with industry partnerships (like some international branded companies are
practicing) are useful in order to expose students to the international hospitality environment,
which often prevents employees that have not experienced other countries and work practices to
advance in their career into higher positions.
• Social media is a very common marketing tool to promote tourism education and training programmes and attract students. In order to engage with scholars at a very early stage in their career
decision and raise awareness for tourism occupations / studies, education institutions together
with government and industry can make good use of digital marketing with targeted content and
stories. Other tools are also meaningful at different stages of the education lifecycle, e.g. career
fairs towards the end of studies.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
86
7.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Tourism has a great capacity to create direct employment, self-employment or the establishment of
new enterprises for business opportunities. In tourism many of the barriers to entry are comparatively
low and do not require major capital. This makes it a significant area for entrepreneurship and MSME
development. Tourism-relevant suppliers and service providers offer additional potential for strengthening the local labour market through tourism along the value chain. Indirect employment opportunities created through tourism are with tourism-relevant suppliers, tourism-relevant service providers,
and indirect self-employment in tourism.
In the case of Maldives, community-based tourism with the development of the guesthouse sector has
increased rapidly, however, most islands lack tourism support businesses that would go alongside the
guesthouse development. This shows a great demand for specialised businesses and many opportunities that arise for entrepreneurs that would start setting-up or expanding a business in tourism.
Some typical forms of tourism initiatives which would add to the local tourism development are some
of the following, but not limited to:
•
Restaurants, cafés, bakeries in order to have multiple options including Maldivian cuisine,
•
Souvenirs that are crafted locally and show Maldivian identity, which can be lacquerware,
mat weaving, hand-woven clothes and others, however, competitive pricing of low-cost imported souvenirs and handicrafts are posing a threat to such entrepreneurs,
•
Laundry & housekeeping services which can be outsource from the guesthouse to improve
economies of scale,
•
Diving and water sports and spas with locally sourced products, such as coconut oil,
•
Interpretation of cultural heritage and nature / marine conservation with specialised guiding
services.
MSMEs do not develop naturally - they require assistance, incentives, and supports. In Maldives it is
the Ministry of Economic Development to support for developing MSMEs. To enable a more focused
approach in implementing the government’s MSME policy and in alliance with SME Law, all MSME
related government assistance will be channelled to MSMEs classified with the MoED and categorised
by full time employees in micro 5-0, small 6-30, medium 31-100 sized businesses.9
Measures to support entrepreneurship are designed to build a culture of enterprise, motivate and
encourage people who have formed enterprise ideas and to provide a framework of support and networks to grow the business idea. For this reason, Business Centres have been established in the regions, which provide a wide range of business development services, common use facilities, and financial support services to assist and promote MSME growth in the Maldives. The business centres provide
development services to both new and expanding MSMEs to help them start, grow and compete in
domestic and global markets by providing awareness raising, training, and business services.
Many factors contribute to achieving higher levels of entrepreneurship. In this survey executives from
the various tourism sub-sectors have been asked, as shown in Figure 74, how they would rate the
readiness of locals to become entrepreneurs and their skills needs to develop sustainable tourism business opportunities / enterprises.
9
www.trade.gov.mv/page/sme-development
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87
Figure 74 Readiness of locals to become entrepreneurs in the tourism sector and its sub-sectors
Source: TNA Executive Industry Surveys, 2020
Typical behavioural characteristics to become entrepreneurs are crucial when starting a business,
which has been rated to a great extent by travel agencies, were local ownership and management is
dominant.
Entrepreneurs need professional staff to add value to the tourism sector. They would require training
schemes supported by the education and training system.
When starting a new enterprises business plans needed. The naturally grown guesthouse segment
rates the readiness of locals in this respect the least. However, in order to receive grants, professional
plans need to be submitted to the financial institutions and experience in finance, procurement and
administration should exist.
Understanding of market requirements, marketing and sales is higher rated with the resorts and travel
agencies which have a stronger international affiliation to their business partners and better access to
market trends, than with the guesthouses. Many entrepreneurs fail due to inadequate marketing or
understanding of market requirements, which can be limited by supported government assist programmes.
The availability of facilities for the business purpose is of course limited to the available land on islands,
which is seen more critical from the guesthouse perspective. Same applies to the capability of purchasing machinery, tools, or equipment which is more challenging for remote island destinations where
guesthouses operate.
An important factor is the readiness and interest of locals in funding schemes to accept loans for startups. In general, the tendency is positive, while travel agents rated it higher than guesthouses and hotels.
In the summary section on the pilot regions, further details on opportunities and business development are linked to increased tourism in these regions, an important area for the development and
growth of local tourism.
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88
8. SUMMARIZED FINDINGS OF PILOT REGIONS
Ministry of Economic Development has recognised MSMEs as an important strategic sector and established Business Centres (BC) to foster inclusive economic growth through the provision of full range of
business services to MSMEs. Business centres are available in four MEERY pilot regions: Malé BC covering Greater Malé, Naifaru BC oversees Lhaviyani atoll and Hithadhoo BC is covering Addu City and
Fuvamulah. In order to understand the economic context and support MSMEs in these regions economic profiling studies have been carried out in 2018 and 2019. Important findings of these studies
relating to workers in tourism were used for the assessment of pilot regions in this chapter.
The TNA included Focus Discussion Groups (FDG) with women and youth. Local council staff in the
nominated islands regions supported to select representatives of both groups, which have been interviewed with some guided questions. The purpose of the FDG was to analyse differences in the perceptions of the two groups towards the attractiveness of work in tourism, various jobs and careers in the
sector. This will ascertain if one group is more committed to a career in the industry than the other
and shows some reasons preventing from working in the tourism sector.
In general, youth showed a more positive attitude towards career opportunities in tourism and they
are aware to study tourism in order to develop their career. They believe community pays a lot of
attention to tourism. As Figure 75 visualises some regional differences regarding the perception of
youth to work in tourism, it shows that the southern regions tend to be more affirmative to work in
the sector. Greater Malé seemed to be less encouraged to work in tourism.
Figure 75 Perception of youth on work in tourism
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
Most of the women are self-employed or find restricted employment opportunities at their home islands. It was noted during the FDG that their motivation towards finding jobs in tourism jobs was low
and they felt better of taking care of their families and working part-time. However, most of them felt
that jobs in hospitality and tourism are attractive and with the help of training opportunities they can
qualify for the jobs. Then again, they have not been encouraged to work in tourism and community
does not pay enough attention to employment of women. They believe they won’t earn the same as
men for equivalent work. It is important to note that women are not provided equal opportunities
when it comes to employment. Stereotypical cultural beliefs and sexual prejudice still exist towards
women in some islands. Women of the FDG mostly believed that they have access to better quality
jobs in tourism, but also thought that employers don’t see benefits of employing women in tourism
positions. Figure 76 visualises some regional differences regarding the perception of women to work
in tourism.
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89
Figure 76 Perception of women on work in tourism
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
The findings of this TNA indicated that there are significant differences between the two groups, especially when comparing the extent to which respondents believed tourism and hospitality offered equal
opportunities. From these results it is argued that youth are more likely to believe that the tourism
and hospitality industry offers the factors they find important when choosing a career with some regional differences, like in the case of Greater Malé. This has implications for tourism and hospitality
employers in Maldives as it shows challenges for attracting youth from Malé, who have more choices
for work in other industries and that women will be less likely to join the industry, if not strongly supported by communities, families and the business employers.
8.1 GREATER MALÉ
The information on the local situation of Greater Malé is based on the economic profiling findings by
the Business Centre Malé, information gathered from the MoT on tourism capacities and complemented by focus group discussions with youth, women, guesthouses operators and council members.
Greater Malé has a registered population 67,742 as of Dec 2018. It is accessible through Velana International Airport, by sea planes, speed boats and ferries to the rest of the country.
Table 12 Greater Malé registered population and expatriate employment as of 31st Dec 2018 and resident
population employed in tourism, Census 2014
Registered Population
Expatriate employment
Employment in tourism (2014)
Total
67,742
46,619
Resident Population
3,989
Male
34,919
42,214
Resident Maldivians
2,867
Female
32,823
4,405
Resident Foreigners
1,122
Source: NBS, 2019; Population and Housing Census, 2014
According to MoT (Feb 2020), there are 115 registered guesthouses with a bed capacity of 3,057 and
seven hotels with 1,394 beds in Greater Malé. In total, Kaafu atoll hosts 47 resorts with 25,646 beds.
Many guesthouses have been established in Greater Malé, nearby Maafushi is the most established
island with local tourism structures and some supporting businesses. Waste management and maintenance of the island is important for the tourism sector, in some cases it is co-organised with the guesthouse businesses.
In general, most businesses are established in the Greater Malé region. Businesses are seeking support
in access to finance, assistance for training and development, receiving better market information, in
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
90
addition to business linkage services. Use of technologies and the opportunities of e-services are limited. Transportation services could be improved for easier carriage of goods, due to limitations in
space.
In a MEERY project workshop held in Malé in Nov 2019 many business ideas have been raised by locals,
as listed in Table 13, how to engage in tourism-related entrepreneurship, such as tourism agencies,
handicrafts, souvenirs and arts, catering, bakery, video, photography and graphic designing, film, entertainment and event management. Business coaching, consulting and trainings and the need for
green products and sustainable alternatives also offer attractive entrepreneurial activities.
Table 13 Workshop findings in Malé on training, entrepreneurships and youth employment
Areas for TVET training in tourism
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Front office
Accounting
Tour guide/ Operators
Language training programmes
(English and others)
Aviation training
Handicraft and souvenir
courses
Lifeguard courses
Tourism management courses
Massage Therapy
Housekeeping
F&B
Tourism Agencies
Exploring entrepreneurship activities
• Tourism Agencies
• Handicrafts/ Souvenirs/ Art &
Crafts
• Green products/ Sustainable alternatives
• Event management
• Business coaching and consulting
• Trainers
• Makeup Artist
• Bakery
• Video/ Photography
• Graphic Designing
• Film/ Entertainment
• Catering
Facilitation of youth employment
• Value base education from an
early age
• Career guidance programmes
from an early age
• Mentoring programmes
• Availability of business agents
• Scholarship opportunities
• Awareness about opportunities
for the youth
• Promoting entrepreneurship
and including it in curriculums
• Counselling and coaching for
youth
• Training programmes/ enhancing skills
• Internship opportunities
• Boot camps
• Encourage firms to take fresh
graduates and support them
• Low interest loans to start-up
businesses
Source: MEERY, Nov 2019
In Greater Malé 1,708 students were enrolled at 22 secondary Ordinary Level schools in 2018 and 1,606
students in 2019. 1,147 students continued their education and were enrolled at seven Advanced Level
schools in 2018. Youth accounts for a high percentage of Kaafu atoll’s population.
The profiling study discovered that the number of youths involved in businesses is slowly increasing,
as they are seeking new opportunities to expand their sources of income. Guesthouses seem to be
unable to employ youth due to unreliability and work ethics. Salaries offered are significantly low for
the time and work required, which discourages youth to work in the sector. It was also found that
youth prefer working after completing Ordinary Level education for attractive salaries than undertaking educational programmes. Although they often become disengaged in community-related and economic activities for self-sustainability due to the lack of opportunities and inspiration.
While the TNA study reported on the employability of youth and women in the tourism sector from
the perspectives of various sub-sector employers, it was also necessary to understand the attractiveness of certain job occupations in the tourism sector, whether youth and women in Greater Malé feel
attracted to them or not. Youth in Greater Malé showed a significant positive interest in all main tourism job-related positions, as shown in Figure 77, except for work as entertainers which was rated
lower. Women in comparison to youth were less attracted to housekeeping, maintenance, transportation, water-sports and recreation jobs. Their preferred jobs are in the areas of front office, food and
beverage services and event coordination.
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Figure 77 Attractiveness of jobs in tourism – Greater Malé
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
As show in Figure 78, youth and women showed both positive interest in the main hospitality positions, creative industries and entertainment as well as work in digitization, e-marketing and social
media, but had little interest to work in maintenance, and security positions.
Figure 78 Interest to work in job areas – Greater Malé
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
8.2 ADDU CITY
The information on the local situation of Addu City is based on the economic profiling findings by the
Business Centre Hithadhoo, information gathered from the MoT on tourism capacities and complemented by focus group discussions with youth, women, guesthouses operators and council members.
Addu City as the second largest city has a registered population 33,876 as of Dec 2018. It is accessible
through Gan International Airport and by speed boat round trips to nearby islands.
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Table 14 Addu City registered population and expatriate employment as of 31st Dec 2018 and resident population employed in tourism, Census 2014
Registered Population
Expatriate employment
Employment in tourism (2014)
Total
33,876
4,459
Resident Population
839
Male
17,286
4,288
Resident Maldivians
780
Female
16,590
171
Resident Foreigners
59
Source: NBS, 2019; Population and Housing Census, 2014
The profiling study identified main business sectors in Addu which were wholesale and retail trade
(45%), accommodation & food service (20%), agriculture (11%) and manufacturing (8%) with a 61%
share of men engaged in business activities. 58% of the businesses were established by entrepreneurs
with some form of experience and majority of entrepreneurs prefer to operate their business independently. The main factors that hinder the growth of businesses in Addu city were identified as lack
of funds, availability of stock or materials, transportation problems and lack of support services.
Tourism is a growing sector in Addu City with the rich ancient history and available natural resources
in terms of dive points, beaches and landmarks. According to MoT (Feb 2020), there are 14 registered
guesthouses with a bed capacity of 214 and one hotel with 156 beds in Addu City. In total, Seenu atoll
hosts three resorts with 926 beds. Several events like the TFG Run or other marathons, and interschool
swimming competitions are held in Addu City which require accommodation capacities.
Addu has good opportunities for international and local tourism development given that supporting
activities like dive centres, or water sports can increase. There are only three dive centres in Addu
including the centre at Equator Village. Addu Nature Park, operating since June 2018, has become an
attraction for tourists and locals. The main purpose of the Nature Park is to promote eco-tourism in
the southernmost atolls. It has been established in the Addu Koattey protected areas to offer hiking,
bicycling, bird watching and mangrove canoe tours as well as snorkelling and reef diving. Available
facilities in the park will include a restaurant, souvenir shops, an exhibition and a workshop area for
special occasions.
In a MEERY project workshop held in Addu City in Nov 2019 many business ideas have been raised by
locals, as listed in Table 15, how to engage in tourism-related entrepreneurship, such as restaurants,
transportation rentals, spa and day-care centres, handicrafts and pottery, commercialising Maldivian
delicacies, ‘bondi’ and homemade meals, animation, coaching, fashion and event management. Consultancy, public relations, photography, and social media also offer opportunities for entrepreneurs to
become engaged in the local tourism value chain.
Table 15 Workshop findings in Addu on training, entrepreneurships and youth employment
Areas for TVET training in tourism
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Front office
F&B
Financial management
Procurement
Lacquer work
Designing traditional attire
Customer service
Souvenir making
English language
Foreign language
Room service
Waste management
Exploring entrepreneurship activities
• Fashion designing
• Fishing
• Consultancy
• Selling Maldivian delicacies
• Commercializing pickles
• Commercializing ‘bondi’ (Special Addu dessert)
• Car rental
• Animation
• Photography
• Social media influencer
• Public relations
• Selling environmentally friendly
products
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
Facilitation of youth employment
• Youth empowerment programmes
• Apprenticeship programmes
• Career guidance
• Job portal
• Small loans for start-ups
• Grants
• Job fairs
• More education opportunities
• Trainings
• Introducing think tanks
• Mentorship programmes to
students
• Job rotation
93
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Day-care centres
Restaurant business
Handicrafts
Selling homemade meals
Selling homegrown plants
Pottery
Sports coaching
Event management
Saloons
Spa
Therapy (Mental health)
• Flexible working opportunities
• Flexible hiring procedure
• Bridging gap between studies
and job
• Personal development programmes
• Provide opportunities to work
and study at the same time
• Youth hubs
• Provide on the job trainings to
enhance skill set
Source: MEERY, Nov 2019
In Addu City 302 students were enrolled at seven secondary Ordinary Level schools in 2018 and 307
students in 2019. 130 students continued their education and were enrolled at two Advanced Level
schools in 2018. A high percentage of youth are involved in sports. When they consider working in the
tourism sector, there is one diving school operating in Maradhoo and a few guesthouses in Feydhoo
and Hithadhoo, however, the guesthouse business is not yet as developed like in other atolls.
While the TNA study reported on the employability of youth and women in the tourism sector from
the perspectives of various sub-sector employers, it was also necessary to understand the attractiveness of certain job occupations in the tourism sector, whether youth and women in Addu City feel
attracted to them or not. Youth in Addu City showed a great interest in core hospitality departments
(food & beverage, food production, front office and housekeeping) as well as water-sports, recreation
and event coordination, as shown in Figure 79, and comparatively lower interest in work as entertainers. Women in comparison to youth showed little interest in event organisation and entertainment
positions as well as housekeeping, transportation, maintenance, water-sports and recreation activities.
Their preferred jobs are in the areas of accounting and front office.
Figure 79 Attractiveness of jobs in tourism – Addu City
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
As illustrated in Figure 80, youth showed positive interest to work in the main hospitality operations,
recreation and water-based activities, but had a little less interest in maintenance, and security positions as well as work in digitization, e-marketing and social media. In comparison to youth, women
showed less interest to work in tourism and tourism-related jobs and with the greatest interest to work
in digitization, e-marketing and social media jobs as well as crafts, souvenirs, and merchandising positions.
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Figure 80 Interest to work in job areas – Addu City
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
8.3 LHAVIYANI ATOLL
The information on the local situation of Lhaviyani is based on the economic profiling findings by the
Business Centre Naifaru, information gathered from the MoT on tourism capacities and complemented
by focus group discussions with youth, women, guesthouses operators and council members.
Lhaviyani has a registered population 13,238 as of Dec 2018. It is accessible through the domestic airport Dharavandhoo (Baa atoll) and Madivaru (to be opened in 2020) to Male’ airport, by sea plane and
by speed boat round trips connected to the islands. With the new airport, local tourism is expected to
increase, and several new guesthouses and tourism-based businesses will benefit from it.
Table 16 Lhaviyani registered population and expatriate employment as of 31st Dec 2018 and resident population employed in tourism, Census 2014
Registered Population
Expatriate employment
Employment in tourism (2014)
Total
13,238
3,928
Resident Population
262
Male
6,783
3,344
Resident Maldivians
254
Female
6,455
584
Resident Foreigners
8
Source: NBS, 2019; Population and Housing Census, 2014
Lhaviyani atoll is surrounded by many luxury resorts with major income generating activities in fishing
(namely Yellowfin tuna) and tourism jobs as well as local tourism businesses and transportation. All
islands have beaches, which can be used for the local tourism with around 50 different and well-known
diving spots such as the reefs of Huravalhi Island and Madivaru Kandu.
According to MoT (Feb 2020), in Lhaviyani there are seven registered guesthouses with a bed capacity
of 60 and 10 resorts with 2,440 beds. In addition to the current local tourism-related businesses, there
are many more under construction most notably guesthouses at Olhuvelifushi. There are limited secondary businesses such as diving, water sports, night fishing and tour guiding mostly managed by
guesthouse owners which could support local tourism in the atoll.
Naifaru and Hinnavaru are the economic hubs of the atoll. The final destination of the atoll ferry is
Naifaru, so a lot of people from the islands do their shopping, banking and health care services at
Naifaru. Hinnavaru is popular for furniture and wholesale shopping trips.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
95
Home-based workers are engaged in making Maldivian snacks/short eats (Hedhika), which are mainly
sold to restaurants and cafés at the islands and some are packed and sold to the island community as
well as to local market shops at Malé and nearby resorts.
The economic profiling study stated some barriers for entrepreneurs which are mainly seen in lack of
funds due to the high number of credit customers and not having enough profits to expand the business. Other major barriers to grow the business include limited space, expensive utility bills and problems in transportation of goods. These barriers could be eliminated by changing government policies
in favour of MSMEs and giving proper training to the entrepreneurs on areas such as finance, tax statements, marketing and stock management.
In a MEERY project workshop held in Hinnavaru in Nov 2019 many business ideas have been raised by
locals, as listed in Table 17, how to engage in tourism-related entrepreneurship, such as guesthouse
operations, day-care centres, restaurant businesses, bakeries, sports offerings, souvenir business, lacquer work, Maldivian delicacies (short eats), fish products, music and arts, event management, and
resort supplies.
Table 17 Workshop findings in Lh. Hinnavaru on training, entrepreneurships and youth employment
Areas for TVET training in tourism
• Trainings to prepare Maldivian
delicacies
• Human resources
• Foreign language courses
• Hospitality trainings
• Music
• Water sports
• Handicraft
• Tour guide training
• Interior designing for guest
houses
• Handicraft
• Customer service training
• Front office training
• Food & Beverage
• Guest house management
• Lacquer work
Exploring entrepreneurship activities
• Boat Building
• Baking
• Selling Maldivian delicacies
(short eats)
• Local tourism
• Guesthouse
• Day-care centres
• Sports development
• Music and arts
• Science related education
• Souvenir business
• Event management
• Agriculture
• Resort supply
• Restaurant business
• Water sports
• Cabin crew
• Transportation
• Tailoring business
• Fishing
• Lacquer work
• Selling different type of fish
products
Facilitation of youth employment
• Vocational training
• Information sessions
• Awareness about existing opportunities for youth; financial
independence
• Training programmes
• Job fairs
• Short term trainings
• Opportunities for civil service
employees to take part in different courses
• Encourage and motivate the
youth
• Explaining opportunity gaps
through research/survey
• Peer education
• Self-development programmes
• Apprenticeship and internship
programmes
• Career guidance
• Provide loans to develop private sector
• Sports centres
• Youth centres
• Encourage youth to break gender stereotypes and not be limited to specific areas of work
• Provide training for unemployed people and encourage
them to take up jobs with the
skills they have
• Conduct surveys to identify
qualified but unemployed individuals and provide assistance
• Outreach centres
Source: MEERY, Nov 2019
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In Lhaviyani 138 students were enrolled at five secondary Ordinary Level schools in 2018 and 120 students in 2019. 22 students continued their education and were enrolled at two Advanced Level schools
in 2018. Currently Advanced Level is being taught at four schools of Lhaviyani atoll. Majority of school
leavers opt for further education. Most of the school leavers go to Malé in pursuit of better education
while others stay at the island and attend colleges and university campuses based in the atoll. Naifaru
has a Villa College campus for higher education, they offer academic programmes.
Some of the school leavers, mostly boys, start employment in the tourism industry, while girls prefer
to stay at the island for employment opportunities from government institutes or support their parents
with home-based micro level businesses. As a lot of youth are working in the tourism industry, many
people in the islands have gained experience in tourism. With their experience and knowledge, they
were able to start businesses which are related to the tourism industry. In Naifaru, Hinnavaru and
Kurendhoo guesthouse businesses already started. In Olhuvelifushi, people are trying to enter the local
tourism market.
While the TNA study reported on the employability of youth and women in the tourism sector from
the perspectives of various sub-sector employers, it was also necessary to understand the attractiveness of certain job occupations in the tourism sector, whether youth and women in Lhaviyani feel
attracted to them or not. Youth in Lhaviyani showed a great interest in water-sports, recreation and
diving jobs, as shown in Figure 81, and comparatively lower interest in work away from their family
and islands in an office in Malé, in maintenance, transportation and accounting positions. Women in
comparison to youth were more attracted to jobs in Malé and showed interest in entertainment and
events, front office and transportation jobs. The core hospitality departments (food & beverage, front
office and housekeeping) were rated positively by youth and housekeeping jobs lower by women.
Figure 81 Attractiveness of jobs in tourism – Lhaviyani
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
Youth showed positive interest in the main tourism and tourism-related areas, but a little less interest in maintenance, and security positions as well as work in digitization, e-marketing and social media. In comparison to youth, women showed little interest to work in tourism and tourism-related
jobs, as illustrated in Figure 82. They showed most interest to work for digitization, e-marketing and
social media jobs, followed by work in crafts, souvenirs, and merchandising areas.
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97
Figure 82 Interest to work in job areas – Lhaviyani
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
8.4 FUVAHMULAH (GNAVIYANI ATOLL)
The information on the local situation of Fuvahmulah is based on the economic profiling findings by
the Business Centre Hithadhoo, information gathered from the MoT on tourism capacities and complemented by focus group discussions with youth, women, guesthouses operators and council members.
Fuvahmulah has a registered population 12,901 as of Dec 2018. It is accessible through Fuvahmulah
Airport to Malé airport and by speed boat round trips to Addu a few times a week.
Table 18 Fuvahmulah registered population and expatriate employment as of 31st Dec 2018 and resident
population employed in tourism, Census 2014
Registered Population
Expatriate employment
Employment in tourism (2014)
Total
12,901
425
Resident Population
103
Male
6,579
388
Resident Maldivians
101
Female
6,322
37
Resident Foreigners
2
Source: NBS, 2019; Population and Housing Census, 2014
The island includes diverse habitats ranging from tropical woodlands and wetlands to freshwater lakes,
well vegetated marshland areas, white sandy beaches, gravel beaches and fertile lands of humus
greater than any other island in Maldives. Fuvahmulah Nature Park helps to promote eco-tourism in
the region. The island is also known for its famous shark dive points.
The profiling study revealed the main business activities, which is wholesale and retail trade (64%),
followed by accommodations & food service activities (9%) with a higher representation of male workers. More than 82% of the entrepreneurs have financed their business using their own savings, while
only 14% of the businesses have borrowed funds from commercial banks for business start-ups or
expansion plans. The main factors that hinder the growth of businesses in Fuvahmulah was identified
as lack of funds, limited available physical space, lack of support services and transportation problems.
Tourism is an emerging sector in Fuvahmulah with the increased number of guesthouses, dive centres
and operations of direct flights. According to MoT (Feb 2020), there are nine registered guesthouses
with a bed capacity of 94 in Fuvahmulah. However, transportation issues are still a challenge to the
tourism sector to fully exploit its potentials as well as the lack of additional tourism-related offerings
and services.
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98
In a MEERY project workshop held in Fuvamulah in Nov 2019 many business ideas have been raised by
locals, as listed in Table 19, how to engage in tourism-related entrepreneurship, such as guesthouse
operations, café and restaurant businesses, rental of motorcycles, diving opportunities, tour guiding
and ICT for tourism.
Table 19 Workshop findings in Fuvahmulah on training, entrepreneurships and youth employment
Areas for TVET training in tourism
•
•
•
•
•
•
Culinary
F&B
Front Office
Butler Service
Housekeeping
Marketing
Exploring entrepreneurship activities
• Guesthouse operations
• Café, Restaurant businesses
• Agriculture
• Diving opportunities
• ICT for tourism
• Game Centre
• Mango pulp manufacture
• Security Service
• Tour guiding
• Renting motorcycle
Facilitation of youth employment
• Skills training programmes
• On the job training programmes
• Awareness programmes
• Policies for job creation
• Public employment programmes
• Wage and training subsidies
• Youth entrepreneurship interventions
• Labour market training and
work experience programmes
• Job searching assistance
• Apprenticeships
• Expertise and enhance
knowledge on what work for
youth employment
Source: MEERY, Nov 2019
In Fuvahmulah 191 students were enrolled at two secondary Ordinary Level schools in 2018 and 142
students in 2019. 28 students continued their education and were enrolled at one Advanced Level
school in 2018. Graduates from schools and colleges with various qualifications face difficulties in finding job opportunities within the island. Some of these graduates provide business and financial services
such as consultancy, auditing and finance management services. It was also stated that youth are innovative and invent unique products for the tourism sector, however, due to the lack of demand they
are not able to start a business.
While the TNA study reported on the employability of youth and women in the tourism sector from
the perspectives of various sub-sector employers, it was also necessary to understand the attractiveness of certain job occupations in the tourism sector, whether youth and women in Fuvahmulah feel
attracted to them or not. Youth in Fuvahmulah showed a significant positive interest in all the main
tourism job-related positions, as shown in Figure 83, except for work away from their family and island
in an office in Malé which was rated lower. Women in comparison to youth were less attracted to
entertaining, housekeeping and maintenance jobs, but showed strong interest in water-sports and
recreation and diving jobs, event organisation and office work in Malé.
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99
Figure 83 Attractiveness of jobs in tourism – Fuvahmulah
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
Although women found water-sports, recreation and diving jobs attractive they showed less interest
to work in such fields, as illustrated in Figure 84. Their strongest interest was articulated for crafts,
souvenirs, and merchandising, digitization, e-marketing and social media, followed by creative industries and entertainment jobs. Youth showed positive interest in all areas, but a little less for watersports and recreation activities, which is an area of greatest interest to other youth groups in this study.
Figure 84 Interest to work in job areas – Fuvahmulah
Source: TNA Focus Discussion Groups, 2020
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100
9. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Finally, some conclusions and recommendations will be formulated with respect to the tourism labour
market (incl. youth and women), tourism skills and training needs, provisions of qualification programmes and curricula addressed to the GoM and its public authorities, tourism education and training
providers, associations, private sector and the MEERY project for its upcoming interventions.
9.1
IMPLICATIONS ON SKILLS/TRAINING NEEDS AND MANPOWER
Critical issues within the industry
The current TNA study provides an overall picture of the tourism labour market with the focus on key
tourism sectors: accommodation services, travel services, and education institutions, to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the workforce as well as issues associated with human resource
practices used by tourism businesses. Identifying some critical issues within the industry helps to formulate recommendations in various human resource areas such as skills analysis, recruitment, selection, labour demand in certain occupational areas, training and development for the industry to deal
with the identified issues more effectively. Several issues can be summarised as listed below.
The image of tourism for employment opportunities is not attractive enough. Generally, the image
of some traditional occupations in the accommodation sector is rather low and it is not regarded as an
attractive industry in which to work, especially not on vocational level. Employment at such level jobs
in the accommodation sector and restaurants is regarded as offering low pay, unsocial hours, and shift
work, work over holiday periods and the necessity to work away from home at resort islands for a long
time.
Awareness of career paths in tourism and hospitality is low. The lack of a career path acts as a deterrent, because scholars might not know all about the industry before starting an education or career in
tourism. Employment by the large international branded companies could provide an international
exposure that is appealing. The travel agency sector has a better image on the technical level, but
positions are mainly filled with college or university graduates and not with O/A Level and TVET graduates.
Lack of workforce is a major concern in all segments (resorts, hotels, guesthouses, safari vessels) of
the accommodation sector. Despite of having most of the workforce evaluated as satisfactorily meeting the requirements of the jobs, there were several positions identified as lower performers. The results indicated that certain areas of performance such as essential soft skills, attitude and behaviour
or managerial and supervising skills to influence the work of others need solutions.
Businesses found it difficult to staff positions due to labour quantity issues and mainly in areas such
as food production, food & beverage, housekeeping, maintenance and engineering as well as in some
specialised areas where it is difficult to recruit staff from within Maldives. Managerial positions are
often filled with expatriates; however, supervisory roles are often carried out by local employees.
Ineffective recruitment can negatively influence the ability of businesses to attract enough qualified
candidates. The current most frequently used recruitment sources such as job websites, internal
source, and referral from employees are good and reliable, however, leaving out campus recruitment
and apprenticeships might limit the effectiveness of the recruitment efforts for local workforce / youth.
The costs for recruitment agencies are also putting a high cost on businesses HR budget.
Training is important to businesses but not all make use of local training providers solutions. Training
was considered very important, however, most of training was delivered on the job with in-house
training solutions and only few engage local service providers, which creates economic business leakages and is a missed opportunity for local tourism training / HR companies.
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Demand: Manpower needs
Labour market demand depends mainly on two variables: the creation of new jobs due to the expansion of the sector and the replacement of staff due to turnover. The number of new jobs created by
the expansion of the accommodation sector is best related to the number of beds planned. The number of beds is itself dependent on the projection of visitors’ arrivals, their length of stay, and room
hotel occupancy rates, which have been reported on in this study. MoT has projected an additional
number of beds of 35,000 by end of 2023.
The employee/bed ratio, a widely used yardstick to measure staffing levels in the accommodation industry, depends – among others – on the age of the hotel, its layout and the level of technology used.
Based on the survey carried out from a cross-section of the industry, it has been estimated at 1.2 person per bed for the resort sector, 0.68 person per bed for the guesthouse sector and 0.48 person per
bed for the hotel sector. With a total of 45,988 registered beds in 2019 49,129 workers are required
across the three accommodation sub-sectors (excluding safari vessels). With an increase of 35,000
beds according to the SAP 2019-2023 and an assumed even distribution over the three accommodations 86,519 manpower is required by 2023, as shown in Table 20. No employment growth has been
foreseen for the travel agency sector, since it appears already overstaffed at present levels with a lot
of in-active businesses.
Table 20 Manpower needs of resorts, hotels and guesthouses by 2023
2019
Resorts
Staff/
bed ratio
1.2
Bed share
of total
76%
Registered
Beds
35,016
Staff
42,019
Additional as per SAP
2019-2023
Registered
Staff
Beds
26,650
31,979
Total staff
by 2023
73,999
Hotels
0.48
4%
1,756
843
1,336
641
1,484
Guesthouses
0.68
20%
9,216
6,267
7,014
4,770
11,036
45,988
49,129
35,000
37,390
86,519
Turnover rates based on the TNA are as follows: 32% resorts, 33.9% hotels and 59% guesthouses. This
adds, based on above staffing in 2019, an additional number of 15,721 staff to the needed manpower
due to turnover of which 13,446 to the resorts, 270 to hotels and 2,005 staff to the guesthouse subsector. However, it should be noted that the amount of 15,721 staff has not necessarily left the tourism
industry or the country. These rates however reflect staff turnover for single enterprises of the sector
and must be discounted for the number of workers that, whilst leaving one enterprise, take up employment with another enterprise in the same sector. With the significant increase in establishments
and bed capacities, it may be expected that turnover rates will increase beyond the present level as
new accommodations seek to poach experienced staff from existing ones.
The combined effect of these assumptions keeps the estimates of employment creation on the conservative side based on GoM forecasts and TNA results, a precautionary measure taken to offset planning for over-capacity in the training system. Unemployment rates of the sector were unfortunately
not available.
Taking into consideration the predominantly young age of the workers employed in the sector, the
overall attrition rate for the accommodation sub-sector is estimated rather low annually.
The TNA also reported on detailed estimates of job openings by occupations. However, it should be
reminded to education planners that the industry traditionally hires workers at semi-skilled and skilled
level, where manpower needs, and labour turnover are the highest.
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9.2
LABOUR FORCE AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Tourism labour market
The tourism labour market is highly diverse at a high-quality standard in terms of the skills and skills
levels it requires. Tourism ranges from the complexity demanded for services at luxurious resort level
through to the very different demands within the guesthouse sector. Both are equally important within
the context of Maldives tourism but projections for future growth in terms of number of bed capacities
are focused far more on the top end of the market than on the expansion of the guesthouse sector,
although the capacity of establishments increases more strongly in the latter segment.
The tourism industry has a high level of permanent employment, what can be observed in the resort
islands. For openings with a lack of local workforce, there is a need to import labour from abroad. The
procedure for importing labour is somehow time-consuming and sometimes difficult, from recruitment to issuing of work permits until the final commencement of work. However, the transfer of technology and knowledge skills which is sometimes not available at the local level is another important
element in staffing of business operations.
Quality and quantity issues with the current workforce in the tourism sectors pose a serious challenge for Maldives, as key positions in the tourism sectors (e.g., accommodation and travel businesses)
are more likely to be filled with foreign personnel as the industry struggling looking for qualified staff
in the future. This may seriously jeopardize the capacity of the industry to achieve the objectives set
by SAP until 2023.
Low worker existence with required technical (specialised) skills are the most frequently cited problems facing the industry. In large part this results from the problems encountered in the education
and training system to deliver education and training programmes to the future workforce and equip
the required skills in their students. The need to train chefs in specific cuisines in order to cater to the
tastes of the international luxury traveller must be mentioned.
Enable more locals to find work in supervisory positions. Supervisors are the link between management and employees; they must implement management policies and have direct contact with employees. Several jobs at supervisory level are naturally filled by internal promotions and are thus not
immediately available to graduates just entering the job market. The ability of a supervisor to deal with
human problems, to communicate information and to improve methods is therefore just as important
as the possession of specialist knowledge. Supervisors are key people, and providing quality services,
maintaining operational standards and efficiency depends largely on their willingness and skills.
The TNA highlights distinct differences in skills expectations across the various accommodation subsectors and the travel sector, which has implications for both national skills standards and the programmes which are offered by education and training providers throughout the country. Traditionally,
the focus was on the main technical skills areas of accommodations and travel agencies’ work, however, the TNA highlights a wide range of work areas which are either highly specialised within existing
sectors or sit alongside them without receiving proper attention as skills areas.
Women participation in the tourism labour market
Local and foreign women are under-represented in Maldives tourism industry, occupying just a few
percent of all positions. Gender gaps in labour market participation is often a result of restrictive gender and cultural norms. Generally, the employment of females in travel is higher than in the accommodation sector, in part reflecting the dominance of skilled office jobs such as ticketing or in marketing
and accounting. Women have some advantages when it comes to promoted positions, especially
within guesthouses and hotels in management and supervisory roles.
At the same time, women are over-represented in some education and training programmes within
the MNU and colleges, therefore, it can be concluded that there is a high level of attrition of young
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
103
women who have not entered the industry, for reasons of pay, work levels or for personal/ family
reasons. On the other hand, tourism can provide women greater opportunities for workforce participation, leadership, entrepreneurship and empowerment than many other sectors.10
Several solutions for women participation in the labour market can be summarised as listed below.
Tourism is a spearheading sector for Maldives, which can only be fully exploited when the local
workforce including women participates in it. Cultural and religious norms have made it difficult, however, gender-focussed projects in tourism with the support of donors and leading international tour
operators and hotel chains could support the economic integration of women, and the improvement
of women’s work opportunities.
Women can be attracted to tourism when links are made with the broader community. Some resorts
already adopt more women-friendly policies and conditions in order to increase the representation of
women, however, these need to be further developed and communicated to communities and families.
Education and training programmes need to empower women with certifications due to funded
scholarships for female students, and practical experiences with structured apprenticeship programmes which can help to increase the participation of women. However, this requires also to improve women’s access to education and training providers and their qualifications, which might require
some reorientation of the delivery of education and training programmes and redefinition of educational programmes and contents. The investment in skills training for women also includes awareness
raising on available training opportunities in the region and with support of government and businesses.
Many women decide against a career in tourism and for family life on their home islands. In order to
establish women and family-friendly work conditions government and businesses need to establish,
e.g. programmes of transportation to nearby resort islands, special training for women that have no
up-to-date practical skills and experiences in the accommodation sector, childcare support, maternity
protection, and incentives to return to work. These initiatives require investment and may lead to an
increase in participation rates.
TNA research showed that women are attracted to office, administration and creative jobs. Besides
the ordinary back office jobs in tourism and hospitality, digitalization of tourism also offers exciting
new opportunities for women’s innovation and empowerment. Targeted gender-sensitive training
could be provided for women to have access to appropriate technology and courses in e-commerce in
tourism, video- and photography, content writing and public relations, design and publishing, and social media in tourism.
Local tourism development, alongside the guesthouse accommodation segment, is a sub-sector in
which more women can be engaged. Women’s participation in local tourism requires support from
local councils, communities and businesses to ensure that these initiatives are developed in a gendersensitive manner and promote equal participation. Women should be supported to become engaged
in local tourism initiatives along the tourism value chain which add benefits to the local tourism experience.
10
WTTC: Travel & Tourism: Driving Women’s Success, 2019
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Youth employment in the tourism labour market
Tourism generates employment for a range of skilled and low skilled labour and its international nature
is appealing to youth who are keen to experience different cultures, travel and use their language
skills.11 Developing a strong youth workforce provides clear benefits for tourism businesses in Maldives, communities and the broader economy. Skills gained by youth in tourism can translate into rewarding careers in the sector and be applied to other jobs in service sector industries.
Youth already represents a large share of the tourism workforce according the statistics of the NBS and
have certain expectations of the workplace. Thus, it requires careful planning of human resources at
all levels to ensure enough supply of suitably skilled labour, which matches both sides expectations of
youth and employers to meet future growth.
Several solutions for youth participation in the labour market can be summarised as listed below.
TNA research highlighted positive interest of youth for jobs in the main tourism and tourism-related
areas. Most of them rated the jobs in tourism and hospitality as attractive and would like to work in
the sector. The study identified areas of work which are of most interest to youth and potential occupational areas, which should guide education planners in tailoring suitable educational programmes.
However, there remains a need to create further positive perceptions of TVET jobs and opportunities
in tourism. In some cases, tourism TVET jobs might not be regarded as attractive for youth and academic programmes are preferred to vocational education and training. In order to raise the status of
TVET, a new partnership between government, employers, workers and social partners is required.
Representatives of government, employers and TEAM must jointly promote the development and
recognition of TVET.
Career awareness and guidance for a position in the sector should be enhanced at schools. Career
guidance consists of the services that help youth successfully manage their career development. This
can be supported with the establishment of a career guidance system with an on/offline tourism career
coaching offering a good source of free career information, explanation about further development
and training options, job descriptions and career paths.
Work in tourism provides opportunities for entry level jobs that are accessible for Ordinary Level
school leavers up to top level roles. The attractiveness of such opportunities can be promoted through
campaigns such as the already mentioned ’Dream, Decide, Develop’ career guidance to enhance
awareness amongst youth’ and can be further strengthened by training initiatives from organisations
such Universal Foundation and their ‘Discover Hospitality Programme’.
Box 7: Discover Hospitality Programme
The Programme provides a distinctive learning experience to participants through a combination of knowledge
and practical skills that are highly valued and recognised by the industry in the field of hospitality operations.
Discover Hospitality Programme is fully accredited Certificate III level programme in Maldives Qualification Authority. It fully funded by Universal Foundation and conducted in association with Villa College and Universal
Resorts.
Source: www.universalfoundation.org.mv
Offering tailored training programmes for youth to equip them with adequate competencies to enhance their employability. Market readiness of graduates could be fostered by providing integrated
dual system education and training options with practical apprenticeships to gain experience in real
need and by qualifying them with the knowledge and skills required in the tourism market.
Providing incentives and initiatives for promoting youth employment. The provision of employment
opportunities is essentially a responsibility of businesses; however, certain measures, such as financial
incentives on taxation can be taken by government to stimulate businesses to provide training opportunities and jobs for youth.
11
WTTC: Travel & Tourism: Generating Jobs for Youth, 2019
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
105
Entrepreneurship
In the chapter on entrepreneurship several strategic issues have been addressed, which need special
attention when developing and growing entrepreneurial initiatives for the tourism sector, which include but are not limited to entrepreneurial training schemes, support in developing business pans,
knowledge transfer of market requirements, marketing and sales, availability of facilities, purchasing
machinery, and equipment, transportation and access to finance.
A greater focus to foster entrepreneurship should be placed on youth as they approach the completion of the education and training system. Many people are developing ideas and concepts around
business ideas at a young age or in training. The potentials in the initial phase are generally considered
to be the most productive, as individuals have the ambition to make a career and at the same time are
much less willing to take risks than in later years. Education and training including entrepreneurial skills
- is key to fostering a services economy in which tourism sits and in which most people now work.
The best approach is to create a favourable environment for an entrepreneurial economy in which
more young people get involved in business to serve the tourism markets. Government and selected
agencies, such as the Business Centres, must become catalysts to facilitate this process. Capacity building, including education, training and provision of professional advice, is a positive intervention to support entrepreneurs. Potential beneficiaries include tourism enterprises, local communities and government institutions and other bodies engaged in the sector. The role of MNU and colleges to transfer
knowledge is particularly important. Encouraging networking between tourism enterprises, e.g. guesthouses and/or local suppliers, can be very helpful in stimulating a learning environment.
Private sector recommendations
The results of the TNA lead to some recommendations for tourism sector associations to promote
clear policies and operational strategies within their memberships to support the development of skills
for existing and future employees and partnerships with education and training providers. It is further
important in order to have a good buy-in from business, to promote the business case among members
for the development of skills at the level of tourism enterprises. Associations should further adopt
policies that promote among its members tourism employment that is socially and ethically responsible for all groups, including women and youth, in the workplace conditions and levels of pay.
Private sector to understand how to develop skills in their employees. On the other hand, the private
sector is recommended to make efforts to ensure that managers/supervisors and owners understand
how to develop skills and how a qualified workforce can contribute to the success of a tourism enterprise. This should be accompanied in businesses by the adoption of employment policies that are socially and ethically sustainable.
When recruiting, companies should consider recruitment as an awareness raising and sales activity
for the tourism sector and their specific business and try to convince potential employees to enter
the tourism labour market. It is therefore recommended to better deal with campus information/recruitment, job fairs and apprenticeship programmes and beyond organisational boundaries in order to
attract more qualified candidates and young people to the job.
For performance management and remuneration, companies are advised to evaluate their remuneration systems based on qualifications. To facilitate fair compensation, it is proposed that companies should use employees’ professional certificates in their performance appraisals, as it is necessary
to differentiate individual performance in different aspects of the jobs. In addition to fairness, this will
facilitate the recognition of professional qualifications awarded by education and training providers
and will allow managers to provide more specific responses to their employees and to design more
appropriate training for their staff based on certifications and national competence standards, prior
learning and work-based assessments.
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106
9.3
DETERMINING OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS AND GAPS
Tourism skills and skills standards
The further development of the national competency standards should take up the results of the
TNA research and facility competency-based training. The national competency standards12 are a
written specification of knowledge, skills and attitudes required in an occupation and describe realistic
workplace outcomes. In this respect standards can be used by accommodation and tourism companies
to set a standard for how the work of their employees should be completed. Units based on standards
can be used for training staff in the key skills and job functions. In addition, they can be used to assess
the performance of staff against the standards. On the other hand, education and training providers
can use them to design their hospitality or tourism curriculum, as the standards clearly specify the
skills, knowledge and behaviours required for jobs in the industry. In a modular system, units can be
compiled to provide a curriculum for a certificate or an academic programme.
The TNA identified a range of key skills that are of importance within Maldives tourism which must
be given greater consideration. The skills in need are mainstream skills in travel and accommodation,
they can be complementary or an extension to existing skills areas. Technical and practical skills needs
range from managerial skills to core hospitality competencies, mainly in kitchen, food preparation, but
in other customer contact areas as well. Life skills are in demand, such as analytical skills, problem
solving skills, communication skills, survival skills, knowledge of technology and of natural resources.
Also, personal, attitudinal and behavioural skills have been highly recommended to improve. The TNA
identified besides the basic administration skills and more advanced accounting skills also modern ITbased knowledge areas in need, such as data analytics, digitalization & e-commerce. In order to address the sustainability of the sector, skills in environmental & sustainability management systems and
green procurement are in need. There are also a small number of specific technical skills areas for
which no training currently exists in Maldives and where skills are currently imported from other countries with specialised expatriates.
The TNA research indicated an increasing importance of green skills in the tourism sector. It also
highlighted that the greening economy and environmental management is not fully covered by current
tourism training courses of the education and training providers and require more attention in future
skills needs. Education policies and competency standards can help in promoting a successful transition towards green growth by focussing on minimising skill bottlenecks and facilitating the acquisition
of new green skills required of workers in both new and existing jobs. Green skills in the tourism sector
should, therefore, refer to e.g. the ability to minimise the use and maximise the efficiency of energy
and water consumption, ability to manage waste, sewage, recycling and composting, conservation of
marine biodiversity, promotion of environmentally friendly products and services, and knowledge of
climate change. Ideally, green skills are integrated in each national competency standard and curricula.
Updating and expansion of the national competency standards. Based on the findings TVET Authority
should initiate the process of review existing core standards and developing new ones which will lead
to various levels certificates based on standards (management / supervisory / functional level). It is
suggested that all standards at various levels could accommodate the following areas alongside technical competencies: customer service skills, communications, languages, sustainability and life skills
related areas such as problem solving etc.
Review of existing core standards:
• Food Preparation
• Pastry and Bakery
• Food and Beverage Services
• Reservation and Ticketing
• Visual Design/Photography
12
TVET Authority: Manual for Competency Standard Development
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
107
•
•
Lifeguard
Gardening and Landscaping
Development of new standards:
• Guesthouse Operations
• Hospitality supervisor
• Maintenance Technician
• Marine Mechanic
• Kitchen and Laundry Technician
• Spa
• Security
• Butler
• Resort Supplier
• Specialized Culinary Arts
• Sustainable Tourism Operation (integrated in all standards)
• Human Resource Management
• Revenue Management
• Marketing and Sales
Certificates based on standards:
• Guesthouse Manager/Supervisor
• Hospitality Supervisor
• Aquatic Recreation Supervisors
• Spa Supervisor
• Security Supervisor
• Maintenance Supervisor
• Certified Marine Mechanic
• Personalised Services
• Certified Resort Supplier
• Tourism and Hospitality Trainer
• Technical Hospitality Departments
• Sustainable Tourism Specialist
• Certified HR Professional
• Certified Revenue Manager
• Certified Sales Professional
Programmes and curricula
Tourism training programmes require stronger alignment with industry demand. Education and
training providers provide a range of higher-level tourism and hospitality academic and managerial
courses and fewer focussed on practical TVET skills training with one exception of the MNU culinary
courses. The courses on offer have a decent enrolment rate and graduate output, which cannot satisfy
industries demand. The graduates of existing educational programmes from both schools and colleges/universities are rated moderate for their skills by employers in this TNA.
Education and training providers offer little solutions to issues identified in the TNA research. Among
the five educational institutions, graduate output is low with most offered at the Certificate III level
and few graduates at Bachelor programmes and almost none at Master level. As a result, this could
potentially be an issue for Maldivians to advance into leading positions as there are not many formal
training opportunities to become a skilled professional in their occupation, however, students demand
for higher supervisory and managerial positions even at career entry.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
108
Educators must specialize in specific educational programmes to meet the basic needs of the industry. Education and training providers currently offer programmes in traditional areas of accommodation and travel agency but do not appear to address the specialised skills required by the industry. It is
difficult to cover the entire range of possible training needs, but especially the basic programmes of
the hotel industry should be offered on a high and reliable level within the framework of a practically
oriented vocational training. In addition, it should be considered with which topics the Maldives can
position itself in the education sector, since they have a certain competence in areas, such as marine
studies, sustainable tourism, service quality in the luxury segment, etc.
Up-date curricula in response to TNA priorities. The TNA leads to the recommendation for education
and training providers to up-date curricula in response to TNA priorities, particularly with respect to
enhancing teaching of life skills, languages and emerging skills areas within curricula as relevant to the
sub-sector and regions. This includes a review of practical training contents and supervisions as well
based on national competency standards and in cooperation with the businesses and their placements
offers. A key action of the MoT in the SAP 2019-2023 is to facilitate to include soft skills modules (communication, personal care, time management, problem solving, and negotiation) in the tourism curriculum.
Educational institutions should focus on improving the practical and sector-specific experience of
teaching staff and provide support for improving students’ effective learning strategies to enhance the
quality of education. By supporting industry through the provision of work experience opportunities
for teachers and students and by participating in curriculum design, educators can improve the relevance of the curriculum. Institutions should consider using the material provided by the TVET Authority
when redesigning their hospitality or tourism curriculum.
Education and training programmes should encourage and enable all persons, on an equal basis and
without any discrimination whatsoever, to develop and use their capabilities for work in their own best
interests and in accordance with their own aspirations, for the interest of the tourist industry as a
whole. Specific training programmes for women, youth, expatriates and casual workers should be
adopted to allow them access to employment on an equal basis with other workers.
Delivery of education and training programmes must be offered where the demand is. In terms of
accessibility of courses in the regions, the relative lack of education and training facilities that are accessible at atoll level within Maldives is a challenge. This has been acknowledged by government and
several initiatives are planned to establish hotel and tourism training institutions and junior colleges.
Training and training needs
Training, uniform standards and certification are a key element of a consistent and responsible tourism and hospitality offer. Standards, contents and training should be realistically positioned to the
current tourism workforce and education and training market to enable ease of access and progressive
improvement in human resources at all levels across the tourism and hospitality sector. Entry level and
poorly trained staff (and their employers) should want to engage and initiate career development in a
way that enables accessible learning whilst maintaining business competitiveness.
Training contents is geared to the findings of the TNA. For training, efforts should focus on fixing the
performance issues identified in the current study TNA namely technical, managerial, and soft skills
contents. Training needs across all sectors highlights the common importance of soft skills, e.g. communication skills, discipline & commitment, cooperation, behaviours, manners, grooming and at the
same time, priority is also placed on traditional technical or operational skills areas, such as service
excellence, culinary arts, safety security, fire safety, first aid, and technical management skills. An inadequate proficiency of English and foreign languages among staff and potential workers needing faceto-face contact with guests is a recurrent theme.
Training Needs Analysis of the Tourism Sector
109
Labour market demand is highest for skilled workers and it is at this level that formal training programmes should be geared. Not considering unskilled labour and ancillary workers, it can be estimated
that presently employed workers could benefit from refresher and upgrading courses. A worker may
become under-qualified or overqualified by moving from one job or one enterprise to another. Under
the circumstances, it is preferable to identify the potential market for upgrading courses. Personnel
(both Maldivians and expatriate) with experience should also be able to engage with the system and
to enter at different levels depending upon prior learning and credit for substantiated prior experience,
an issue for those with no formal education and training to date.
Developing training in a modular system can enhance probability of workforce to receive recognised
certificates. Training modules should be progressive and stand-alone enabling them to be taken as
individual elements that provide certified credits or which, taken together build into ‘bodies’ of competence at different levels up the HR value chain. Each module should have a defined content in terms
of the competencies that the module will develop.
The accommodation industry often recruits its local workers from among the graduates that finished
Ordinary Level / unemployed youth that then acquire their skills on the job. The accommodation
sector has proved very apt at training its workers on the job and the number of employees with formal,
institutional training remains a minority. On-the-job training is not only recommended for reasons of
good results of the method itself, but also for its flexibility and adaptability as a cost-effective system.
On the other hand, the setting up of on-the-job training schemes is a delicate process of carefully selecting and monitoring the enterprises that guarantee an appropriate environment and service standards under the supervision of TVET Authority and attached education and training institutions due to
their placement partnerships.
Delivery of training needs to be practical on the job and should be applied in multiple ways. Businesses should seek professional support from outside stakeholders such as TVET authority, education
and training providers in conducting key training for their staff. Since on-the-job training is the most
frequently used training option to deliver practical skills, it is recommended that organizations should
invite trainers to deliver training on training knowledge and skills, which can be later applied by the
skilled staff or supervisors to their staff. A mobile training approach involves mobile regional hospitality
master trainers, where trainers target the audiences at the specific atolls across country.
Training should recognise the diversity of enterprises and occupations in the sector. Special attention
should be given to guesthouses that may have specific problems in engaging appropriate training activities. Special measures should be taken to make training available to the owners/managers and
workers who encounter difficulties regarding their access to training. Whenever possible, mobile training units for workers and group training for owners/managers should be made available
Develop, update and implement work-based assessments with the Industry Certification Programme. The possibility of reaching managerial positions should be available to all qualified specialists,
irrespective of the method used to acquire those qualifications. Work-based assessment, in the context of vocational training, is the process of evaluating the workplace performance of tourism and
hospitality workers against the national competency standards. It is the most authentic method of
assessment for work skills performance, and when conducted by TVET Authority it can be a very valid
and effective mechanism for evaluating the skills, knowledge and attitudes of working tourism professionals.
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110
9.4
TRANSFER OF TNA RESULTS TO POLICY AND PRACTICE
Education and training implications
Tourism faces competition for the best skills in Maldives and will only be able to compete effectively
when the sector offers demand-driven education and training to youth and its employees either foreign or local.
Several solutions for the education and training system can be summarised as listed below.
Attractive study programmes will pull students to the institutions. Demand for tourism studies is low
and competition for students is intense at present between MNU, colleges and Polytechnic when more
tourism programmes are on offer. Education and training providers which develop and offer more
placements programmes, apprenticeship schemes and partnerships with industries and / or international institutions are likely to see increases in their student numbers.
The number of institutions offering tourism and hospitality programmes is expected to decrease.
The development shows a decreasing number of students and especially colleges with a non-profiled
image in tourism will have difficulties in the future to survive on this market with their offer. A concerted orientation towards the regional educational needs of the resorts and on specific occupations
is therefore recommended, and again in partnership with businesses.
The TNA research has shown that education providers should consider more investment in resources
and facilities. Facilities do not offer what is possible for professional hotel and tourism education, including technical laboratories, tourism computer systems. Even if it is often argued that the practical
part of the training takes place in the companies, the timeframe of the placements is too limited and
having their own fully functional laboratories would facilitate the entry into the hotel business and
students can deepen the already learned before entering the companies.
The TNA indicated that staff training is needed. Training needs in selected specialist areas for staff
has been addressed in this study. However, the high number of part-time workers make it also difficult
for many institutions to continuously plan and conduct courses, organise extra activities and care about
staff development initiatives. In the TNA, several proposed solutions were listed, such as equipment,
curricula, internships ad staff training, which lead to a high-quality training offer.
The approach to graduates who are already in the workplace needs to be strengthened. Most of
education and training providers do not conduct tracer studies of their graduates and therefore are
unknown of their occupations and for which companies they work. Opportunities are left out of mentoring programmes with the current students and valuable information on industry demands for skills
needs and training courses is not fully used.
Tourism and hospitality studies education programmes need to affordable and accessible. This is
especially the case for offers at Malé, where students from other atolls have additional accommodation expenses. The time availability of students at work must also be considered. Often evening
courses, block seminars or blended learning offers are adapted to the needs of these target groups.
Tourism labour market information system
The tourism sector will require a continuous analysis of employment trends across the country and
the tourism sub-sectors supported with a sectoral labour market information system (LMIS). Matching the provision of skills with labour market demand requires a LMIS to generate, analyse and disseminate reliable sectorial and occupational information on a continuous level, and institutions that connect employers with education and training providers. It should contain up to date labour market data
to help understand labour markets in the atoll regions for better geographic planning of establishing
education and training provisions, and labour market trends that will have an impact on supply.
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Box 8: Tourism Employment Application
Ministry of Tourism has been given the mandate to develop and utilize the tourism industry human resource
database to track compliance with parity policies. This system will collect all the statistics required to formulate
and revise the policy on local: foreign parity in the tourism sector, with the objective to increase the percentage
of locals at all levels, with a specific focus on senior and technical levels. Further, this system provides a common
platform for employees and employers in finding the best available job and candidate. Furthermore, it provides
a communication platform for the employees and other stakeholders to directly communicate with ministry to
address certain issues like discrimination in service charge payment, sexual abuse, discrimination by gender or
nationality and harassment etc.
Source: Ministry of Tourism, Annual Publication 2019
Training needs assessment and research
TNA research highlights skills and training needs which to be addressed by the education system.
The TNA provides information of the training priorities for Maldives tourism industry and addresses
the range of skills needs that must be addressed in order to support the complexity of the tourism subsectors. It shows some of the skills requirements for those occupations which are in most need to be
further strengthened and were the country is mostly dependent on expatriate workforce.
Training needs should be assessed on a regular basis to understand requirements and needs of the
sector even better. This TNA is a starting point and provides valuable insights with which to guide
policy and practice. However, in an ever-changing world in tourism industry, economic and social terms
and tourism growth projections for Maldives, it is important that data on training needs are updated
on a regular basis. It is therefore important to commit to a periodic up-dating of the tourism TNA. This
may be accompanied by systematic capacity development of partner organisations so that they can
engage with this TNA model and system supported by the MEERY project over the next years.
Contribution of local partners to future training needs assessments. A recommendation of this TNA
for policy and practice leads to a stronger future regionalisation of the TNA to undertake specific and
simply executed research at atoll level so that regional and local councils can better contribute to local
skills planning in partnership with TVET Authority, MNU, colleges, Polytechnic and the private sector.
This requires the development of a simple, workable and effective TNA model based on the current
TNA methodology and surveys which can be implemented at local level and this data is then aggregated at regional and finally at national level.
Recommendations to the public sector
Enable executing agencies with respect to tourism education and training planning to deliver on
MoHE priorities in the TNA areas. TNA implications need to be addressed at national and regional
level with all stakeholders and the specific implications of skills needs and developments should be
discussed. Ideally, this should be led by the Tourism Sector Council in a review of the TNA outcomes
and its implications. Strengthen implementation relating to skills and curricula development to the
transformation of competency skills into practical learning outcomes. Finally, a simplified replication
model of the tourism TNA can be elaborated, and staff competency developed to undertake a TNA at
regional level in the future.
Strengthen the role and activities of the Tourism Sector Council. To ensure the relevance and success
of all training activities, the government and sectoral organisations should be closely involved in the
design and implementation of national training policies, including career guidance, apprenticeship
training, skills development etc for the sector. Such involvement is a tool for identifying and assessing
the changing needs of enterprises and workers and for routinely adapting training to structural and
technological changes affecting the sector. The establishment of formal structures, such as the Tourism
Sector Council, is a favourable and very effective instrument partnership and dialogue between the
social partners and its mandate, therefore, could be extended to other areas.
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Incentives may be needed to encourage education and training providers to offer courses in need.
Educational institutions place greater emphasis on academic hotel and tourism management courses,
which are preferred by most students. This suggests that if the government wants to offer more TVET
courses, it may need to provide incentives to institutions to do so. This might also require a review of
investment policies with respect to some practical facilities in educational institutions.
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ANNEXES
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