ITS launches training school to address skill gap in workforce

A new Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) training school was launched on Monday by Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo.

The training school is aiming to address the perceived skill gaps that exist within the tourism and hospitality sector, thereby increasing the necessary standards that ought to exist in the industry.

At the launch, it was explained how the ITS training school is a key strategic business unit that aims to provide training programmes and short courses to both employees within the hospitality and tourism industry, as well as the general public.

Pierre Fenech, ITS CEO, spoke about the difficulty the institute faces when it came to sourcing staff. “On top of catering for the local market, we want to attract foreign students to come and study here in Malta,” Fenech said.

Fenech also spoke of the growing number of students that the institute increasingly needed to accommodate, indicating that the new ITS campus in Smart City is now under construction.

Francis Fabri, ITS general manager, cited facts and figures to bolster the presentation.

Fabri said that during December 2020, the last year for which reliable statistics had been compiled, saw an 84% increase from 2010 in full-time, third country nationals working in the country, bringing the total up to 5,019 individuals.

In total, 2022 saw a total of roughly 26,000 registered employees working in the tourism sector, servicing around 2.3 million tourists. While this shows a strong recovery for the sector, it also shows the need to reskill and upskill the workforce.

“It is in our collective interest that we take responsibility for an ongoing training culture. This is achievable if there is a focus on employee training,” said Fabri.

Fabri said that in order to make it easier for employers and employees to find the correct courses on the ITS website, programmes are grouped under five main headings: Hotel Management, Food and Beverage, Travel and Tourism, Events, Sports, Wellness and Leisure and Other Training programmes.

The institute has developed an eight step-matrix that effectively trains and develops prospective customers. The steps include industry encounters, training design, client consultation, training adaptation, training programme accreditation, pre-training evaluation, training delivery and posttraining evaluation, Fabri said.

A preliminary evaluation indicates mainly glowing reviews, from a sample including 41% of current ITS students and 59% coming from outside the institute, including a 4.85-star out of fivestar rating for the training courses, with 98% of respondents rating the courses as good or very good and 98% agreeing that trainers exhibited good training skills.

Bartolo said that “reform through education” is the guiding principle that best defines the mentality behind the launch of the new school.

He further stated that a one-size-fitsall approach fails to meet the specific skills, needs and learning pace of each individual employee. As such, the courses can be tailored to the specific needs of employees.

In an evolving world, Bartolo said, we need to keep abreast of the rapid changes that are occurring. The government wishes to send the message that we’re pushing for both quantity and quality, he said.

“Employers need to ensure that their employees are well-trained because they are our country’s best asset,” Bartolo said.