Hands-on learning for hospitality students
WITH the government’s continued emphasis on intensifying growth in the tourism industry in the recent Budget 2019, the hospitality industry is set to benefit from this initiative.
Going forward, an increase in skilled workforce for the hospitality industry will be a necessity and there will be huge opportunities and potential for young Malaysians.
Tunku Abdul Rahman University College’s (TAR UC) hospitality programmes cover a wide spectrum of the hospitality industry and have been offered since 2001.
Conducted by the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities (FSSH), the hospitality programmes cover disciplines such as hospitality, event, hotel, tourism as well as culinary arts at diploma and bachelor’s degree levels.
“To ensure an immersive learning experience, we provide modern facilities with an industry-oriented environment that will properly train students for a career in the hospitality industry and beyond as we bring the industry to the classrooms,” commented FSSH dean, Dr Karthiyani Shanmugam.
FSSH’s hospitality programmes work closely with international memorandum of understanding partners to explore and develop possible mechanisms, which facilitate each other for the needs of the industry. The training facilities at TAR UC also meet the highest industry standards.
“Students will be able to gain both theoretical understanding and practical experiences and our close collaborations with industry partners provides a variety of choices to undergo a 16-week internship locally,” added FSSH, Department of Hospitality Management assoc dean, Vivienne Soong.
Hospitality facilities include two fully furnished and operational student-run restaurants – The Place and The Roots Café and Restaurant where students plan and carry out thematic dining experiences for the community. The industry-standard training kitchen in TAR UC allows students to be familiar with hygienic food production, quality control and food safety.
The Beverage Lab allows for sensory examinations and evaluations, such as wine appreciation, cocktail and mocktail mixing, tea and coffee brewing, among other things.
Chin Jun Hui, a third year student from TAR UC’s Bachelor of Hospitality Management (Hons) programme benefited a lot from the comprehensive and practical learning opportunities at TAR UC as he is able to strengthen his talent in mixology. Driven by encouragement, he took part and qualified to compete in the finals of the Monin Cup 2018 student chapter.
“My lecturer encouraged me to join this competition and without hesitation I signed up because I wanted to explore the talents outside of TAR UC in a competition. It was an interesting experience for me as I was placed in a totally new environment. I had to adapt quickly to be at the same pace with the others.”
Chin waxed lyrical about the facilities at TAR UC that enhanced his learning experience, “What attracted me to this programme was the facilities available.
“After being able to apply what I’ve learned in the classroom in a real-life situation, I am able to communicate with others more confidently and it has allowed me to fully understand the standards the real-world industry would expect us to uphold.”
SPM school-leavers keen to pursue hospitality management programmes at TAR UC can opt to do either Foundation or A-Level in TAR UC first, which takes about 12-18 months respectively before progressing into undergraduate programmes.
SPM school-leavers can also enrol in TAR UC’s hospitality management diploma programmes, which will take two years and upon completion, they will be eligible for credit transfer up to year two of the respective three-year hospitality management bachelor’s degree programmes.
To explore more about hospitality programmes offered by FSSH, visit TAR UC’s Open Day from now till April 14 from 9am-5pm at the Kuala Lumpur main campus or any of TAR UC’s branch campuses in Penang, Perak, Johor, Pahang and Sabah or visit its booth at major education fairs nationwide.
Alternatively, log on to www.tarc.edu.my for more information. Attractive scholarships are also available at TAR UC on the basis of academic merit and sibling discount for qualified students.