Vocational and continuing education

With a lifelong involvement in hospitality management schools in Lebanon (19591996) and across the Arab world, who could be better than Nouhad Dammous, co-founder of Hospitality Services and editor-in-chief of Hospitality News ME, to discuss the key contr

1. Based on your deep understanding of the industry and its foundations, what’s your assessment of hospitality education in Lebanon throughout the years?

Hospitality education must serve the profession and the industry. It is our role and duty to highlight what the hospitality industry needs and create curriculums to cater to this demand. When we first started our classes in the late fifties, we only had 40 undergraduate students. We then grew, evolved and expanded. This was only achievable with the collaboration of hotels and restaurants which are actually the ones most interested in these students. The main pillars of the private sector took part in the selection process of students who gained admission to the school. We were in continuous contact with hoteliers to update our curriculum according to their needs.

2. As an advocate and founder of vocational and practical education, how do you believe it serves the industry better?

I was able to persuade the Ministry of Education to make vocational education an ‘authorized’ part of the Lebanese education system, by changing the ‘kitchen manufactory’ in our school to ‘kitchen laboratory’ in 1963. Students of hospitality had to practice in a supervised area. I created the school’s restaurant which became one of the best in Lebanon. This was a rare practice in hospitality education, since training was traditionally conducted in private hospitality institutions. This approach has widely contributed to the training of qualified students under their teachers’ supervision and, based on its success, has been adopted in most hospitality schools worldwide operating today. Sometime afterward, when assessing the posts and the jobs students were taking up, universities decided to get involved and launch academic hospitality curriculums. However, I was against studying hospitality solely from an academic angle, feeling instead that it should be a higher formation.

3. Continuous education and training are growing on a global scale. How valuable is it in the hospitality industry?

When achieving your hotel management formation for example, and embarking on your career path, there is always a need to broaden your horizons, and acquire new skills and knowhow. This is where continuous education plays a major role. Even if in employment, you could pursue a specific specialization, depending on your professional needs. For example, as a chef, you could specialize in management if you wanted to run and operate your own property. A multitude of schools and higher institutes offer these types of continuous curriculums.

4. What are the difficulties currently facing the hospitality education system in Lebanon?

On a yearly basis, over 10,000 hospitality students in Lebanon graduate at all levels. Most mid-level graduates (BT and TS) find employment. However, there are difficulties from the outset related to students’ choices. Students must be taught from a very young age about the hospitality industry’s advantages - its strengths and opportunities - to plan their future. The development of the country’s hospitality industry and the increase in new models is also affecting education in hospitality. New curriculums should also be created to take account of alternative lodging, such as guesthouses, ensuring that they fit this artisanal and genuine type of service. We have to enhance the concept of branding Lebanon and promote the country among very young students, introducing it as part of our national education system. The education system must grow in line and in parallel with the development of the country’s hospitality sector. It starts in schools and continues upwards to the top of the ladder.