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Chapter 3RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONIndividual and Significant Structured Interviews of HRM Graduates

Every time he teaches and the students learn cookery, baking and pastry production, the students as well as other faculty members would always request for additional products so that they would bring some of their baked pastries and products home to the delight of their parents.Student CompetenciesLooking at his grades in his folder in passing, he graduated school year 2010-2011. The Dean of the college at that time just assumed her position , just decided to come in to witness the graduates commencement ceremony at the PICC Summit Hall. Sat was awarded certificate of Excellence Award. It seemed he made every grade a challenge and opportunity to prove to himself to the saying If there is no pain, no gain

Observation/ Narrative report of HRM Faculty and reflections As an Instructor and Colleague-While in college he demonstrated competence, love of work and compassion, which he said he has continuously carried out these skills and values He would advised students to continue reaching for their goals while in school, more focused on skills needed in hospitality management and have the work-related values by heart. He always remind his students of Sta Cecilia the core values of a CECILIAN- Competence, Excellence, Compassionate Integrity, LEADERSHIP, Initiative, Attitude, Nobility, and Service to Others. Work Competency in the Industry and Government Agency like TESDA

The faculty did their job in the delivery of the learning tasks employing practical strategies to make students learn and understand by translating the theories to practical activities.However, there are some equipments that are lacking. Example, the Coffee Expresso machine to develop better Baristas so they can easily qualify when they seek employment in Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and other well known coffee shops in the Metro.

Customer Service: Communication is key to service in the industry.. One will need to listen to the customer's order, answer customer's questions, and more. Also , one needs great listening and speaking skills, a friendly, relaxing demeanor, courteousness and quick service create a great dining experience for customers.Stamina: Busy days on your feet, moving fast and carrying large trays of food are the trademark of a good employee in the food hospitality Industry.Teamwork: Hospitality employees work as part of a team. One will be working with other servers and the cooking staff to make a great dining experience. Being a team player is essential.Cleanliness: Nobody wants their food delivered by a slob. Being clean and neat when serving food and drinks will help create a great first impression to the customers.Mr. Canta was a significant person in my college life as he honed my skills to be always alert and creative in the ultimate cooking experience of typical Filipino food from the main dish to side dishes. He also taught the students how to do marketing and be able to budget expenses as an essential thing to do in EVENTS Management.All the skills developed in SCC and school related values emulated by teachers through the life of the PATRON Saint of the school greatly helped me in the career path as a successful HRM graduate of Sta. Cecilia.Were there subjects that have been neglected to sustain curiosity and interet among HRM Graduates.?I feel that Casino/ Gaming Management and Tour Guiding have not been given equal attention in class due to lack of faculty members who have not been immensely exposed during their OJT or familiarization of the business in the Industry.Academic Year 2011-2012Respondent 2

When she had her OJT at Pizza Hut SM North Edza Annex, one time when Ms de Leon had her rounds to monitor their performance in the industry, she was able to talk to her supervisor and she was so proud of her dedication for work, her adaptability and flexibility on some aspects of work schedules, and they were planning to absorb her after her graduation because she was so devoted to her work and always pleasant in dealing with customers, Pizza Hut immediately absorbed her as their employee right after her graduation. However, she has to overcome her shyness to be more customer oriented so that customers loyalty will be more manifested. But I am happy that I learned to do research a very challenging work we the graduating class has experienced!! Another major subject as well is Bar Management wherein you will encounter tasting and drinking all kinds of liquor and liqueur from wine, beers, vodka, gin etc. And at the end, we will be making our own concoction or our own recipe of a unique ladies drink or an innovative mix while dancing and performing our own flair-tending routines together with a techno- music. That made us sway to our delight! It was really exciting!! To all students who wants to pursue a degree in HRM. Enjoy the moment and learn from it. Do not be afraid of mistakes as it will teach us a lot in the future. I once planned to be an accountant but then my exam result was not up to their standard I have to choose another course then my brother told me to get HRM as it's in demand nowadays. And I never regret taking up this course and now almost 5 years working in the industry . Thanks to Sta Cecilia for the memorable experience!

Work Culture at Pizza HutBesides being a team player working in a fast-paced environment, other things are needed to be a successful member of Pizza Hut.1. Take pride in your appearance, have loads of energy, be on time, be organized and willing to help keep tidy the Pizza Hut stores , clean and tidy.2. Keep in mind the work standards around cleanliness, hospitality, product and speed of service3. Customers are important to Pizza Hut and well give you all the trainings needed that Sta Cecilia College to provide the customers with great service and products theyve come to expect from the team thats famous for a reason.As an employee in the Food Industry, I would like to recommend that Food Fair during Nutrition Week in the month of July be held to showcase different Filipino and International cuisine for competition purposes by all HRM students per year level. The HRM should continue to have a mini-food store near the covered walk for students and parents get interested in the HRM course.Respondent 3Valler, Jayson R., 2012 a soft-spoken student, graduated with an Academic Excellence Award. He has been a Room Attendant of New World Hotel in Makati as his initial employment and now at Diamond Hotel located in Manila from 2014 to present date as room attendant both in his initial and second employment. Dr. Macatulad who handled their research was happy that the class was able to defend their research as scheduled in the month of February due to weekly consultation with her regarding previous comments and correction on their statistical interpretation and format of their manuscript.The schoolyear 2012-2013 was the first year that Dr. Macatulad handled research in the five colleges, Education, Business Administration, Hotel and restaurant Management and Information Technology. Initially, research was painstakingly developed to students and took a lot of effort, strategies and techniques to make the students easily understand what is true research. Their research skills need to be developed and strengthened. Every student really found it difficult but there are always the easy way to thresh out the problem. Research was taught for two(2) semesters. Chapter 1 The Problem and review of Related Literature and Chapter 2 Method together with the title and the tool for the research questionnaire included.Chapter 3 Results and Discussion and Chapter 4 Summary, Conclusion and recommendation plus Oral defense for the 2nd semester.During the first semester, the students were made to do research in the Computer Laboratory 1 scheduled by the I.T technician. All the students were excited to do good research for the first time. During the semestral break sometime in November , 2013, a Ph.D student of De La Salle Araneta University and part-time instructor from a public school, a teacher in Mathematics was invited to discuss with all 4 research classes in the four departments in college the statistical treatment of data applicable to the statement of the problem formulated by the group congruent to their research title. Jaysons group exercised punctuality in coming to his research class, a good natured man who works well with his classmates particularly the ladies. He speaks softly, does not raise his voice when angry and he practiced good time management which often requires him to prioritize and re-prioritize as things come up unexpectedly. Having good time management skills also means that he is able to deal with the problem of revisions/changes in their group research. instead of suddenly finding oneself in a crisis. He has also NCII Tesda Certificate. TESDA NCIINCII Food and Beverage 2011 ; 2012After graduation, he was taken in first at New World Hotel as room attendant. After his graduation in March, he applied and was employed in a matter of two months. His second employment is in the Diamond Hotel where he handles the same position as room attendant. He makes sure that cleanliness of the rooms in the hotel is maintained and performs the following tasks: Checks that rooms have been vacated before cleaning Make beds daily and change bed linens Vacuum carpets and upholstery Clean bathrooms and supply with fresh towels and toiletries Check and restock tea, coffee, sugar, milk, and minibar supplies Make sure that television, radios, lights , and airconditioning equipment are working Report to a supervisor, if articles are left behind by guests , If there is damage to rooms or if any items appear to have been stolen.Take laundry and dry cleaning orders from guests.Working conditions and hours vary greatly, depending on where the room attendant work. The work is not usually physically demanding, but lifting, carrying and bending are involved. Personal Requirements: Enjoy practical work Neat personal appearance Good personal hygiene Honest and reliable Able to cope with tne physical demands of the job Able to stay calm in difficult situationsTheir subject in Housekeeping and a Mock Hotel in college made them developed better their housekeeping skills and front-office receptionist skills. Thus, his trainings and practical application of these skills had been extensively used that made his good performance when he became a room attendant to two hotels in Metro Manila.Respondent 4Pamat, Alexandra Jane a.k.a Alex was born March 28, 1994, 20 years old. Started working as a part-time food attendants of Balanlay Catering, Ramelyns Catering, and 2go Travel during her undergraduate days to sustain her educational expenses as a working student at Sta. Cecilia CollegeAs to her personal qualification as assessed by her course adviser Ms. Jinky Macatulad and the Tesda Assessor in NCR , Ms Pamat has good time management, very flexible, willing to work under pressure. She is hardworking, eager to learn new things, creative and innovative when it comes to honing her culinary and baking skills.Her subject in International Cookery obtained the highest grade point average of Outstanding. She earned for herself the following TESDA certificatesBread & Pastry Production NCIIBartending NCIIFood & Beverage Service = NCII Housekeeping NCIIWhen you were a student, you were active in leading events in school with the class in the events management like the celebration of Teachers Day which the school annually celebrates. Were you happy and satisfied with the outcome of events?She said Sometimes immaterial labour is bundled with the notion of affective labour, which is often unacknowledged but is fundamentally important in our school community cause I believe that Sta. Cecilia College and its people have high community spirit.What do you mean?When work is accompanied with love for the work , feeling of satisfaction surpassed the effort extended for the work.I think what we were specifically interested in as students is the kind of work that takes place in the planning of events which is extremely necessary, but is not valued by some and always falls through cracks. For example, a couple of years ago, the HRM department volunteered to help for the Teachers Day celebration. Involved here are the core leaders of the different year level officersof HRM. A consensus has to be decided on who is to help in the event. They chose Ms. Alexandra Jane Pamat as she had extensive experience with the Balanlay , Ramielyn, and Sta Cecilia College Catering Event . Moreover her experience in OJT at Elan Hotel Modern in the Purchasing Department and Kitchen department greatly helped to make the event organized, systematic and fast as time constraint became a problem. This is in connection with the Teachers Day celebration Dec. 5, 2013. HRM department together with assigned heads in the Basic department joined the work. This shows the community spirit was on process..Nevertheless this sort of work that we in the school community often perform for one another is really important. Time/Support creates the possibility for this type of help to be compensated in terms of appreciation and camaraderie, not necessarily by the actual person who requested the help, and certainly not in money, but through the system of Community spirit itself. This is important . Everybody was on the move so cooperation, collaboration and heads were turning to make the preparation finally approved. The venue was the space infront of the canteen . It has simplified the occasion eat together or what they refer to the Boodle fight The Food served were typical Filipino food, fried tilapia, bagoong, green mangoes cut into small pieces and adobong baboy with inihaw na talong. Serving the teachers were done by the HRM students. A short program was prepared to give tribute to the teachers with a short message from the Chief Operation Officer, Engr. Erwinson B. Atanacio. Annually, the student and the administration give importance to the teachers of Sta Cecilia. Most often than not the HRM Department usually houlder the responsibility in the preparation and the service done while teachers partake of the food. Competency in Career EmploymentMs Pamat is currently employed as a Gourmet Specialist of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf almost a year now. Her experiences comes from different companies she had been working as a Team Member of Classic Savory Resta 21 years old . Way back year 2011 when she was still a working student at SCC. She finished her Restaurant Practicum at Pizza Hut and her Hotel Practicum at Greenhills lan Hotel Modern. Alex has also earned government certifications such as National Certificate II (NC II) in Housekeeping, Food and Beverage NCII, Bartending NCII and Bread and Pastry Production NCII given by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).Respondent 5Ms. Guardacasa, Princess Erika, 2013 2014 graduate, 21 years old. To be successful in this HRM course, one must be very observant and attentive in the practical teachings and demonstrations of catering, food & cooking preparation, table preparation, bed and room cleaning, as well as in customer relations. One must be patient and courteous to all customers, as they are considered to be the boss.I enjoyed going around 3 Five Star Hotels when we went on familiarization tour in 2011, 2012 and 2013 namely H2O Hotel, Resort World and Sofitel Hotel. Hotel personnel oriented us about the operation and hotel personnel of the different department.The mock Hotel of the school serves as a simulation of housekeeping procedures, bathroom cleaning, bed make-up and laundry, familiarization to cleaning chemicals, help us HRM students to practice all housekeeping duties in the school .The students act as the front office receptionist taking note of the usual courtesies to the guest taking note of what vacant rooms are available in the De Luxe, Standard and the Suite rooms.The Bar where the glass wares and different wines and liquor are displayed familiarizes students on their different colors, aroma and tastes. Adjacent to the bar is the spacious kitchen where 5 stainless tables are situated for cooking and baking. Two industry based oven are always ready for baking. A big chest freezer is used to contain frozen foods and a big refrigerator for cooling beverages. Adjacent to the kitchen is the stockroom for casserole, laddles and cooking utensils. Two big lavatory are situated near the cooking area. Does your course influence your plans for work in the near future? What core skills imparted to you in school has been transferred to the skills you used in your work?This course is for people like me who are in love with food, good places, and yearn for a fulfilling and interesting career, whether locally or internationally. This is for the people who dream high, work hard and want to explore the world in all it's goodness as you also have a chance to travel if you are assigned to a cruise ship.Experience with the IndustryWhat subject in your course fascinates you to explore further the work skills you have practiced in school?My experience as a tourist guide in Intramuros, made me realized that tourist guides are responsible for helping people when they visit unfamiliar places. They usually make special trips with a group of tourists in order to show them important places of cities. Their work is very important to first timers in the area. They may work in travel agencies and museums.What are the skills you used in tour guiding? Being able to interact with people from different backgrounds Good presentation skills Have good verbal communication skills Good time management skills Having excellent knowledge about points of interest of specific cities Having multiple language skills Enthusiastic and friendly Able to retain historical facts Being able to work with a team flexible and proactiveTrainings, seminars to hone skills learned in theories and translated to practical skills. In terms of On- The Job Training Experience Castillian Carriage and Tour Services- Sta. Clara St. Intramuros, ManilaTourist Guide Makati Palace Hotel Housekeeping Department Pizza Hut Restaurant- New Farmers PlazaBar Attendant and Food Server Fusion Haven Bistro Timog Avenue corner Tomas Morato, Quezon CityPreparation of Sushi, Salad dressing, and cocktail mixing Jan. 13,2013 CATFABS, Pasay City = Fruit and Vegetable Carving Jan. 27, 2012 First Bar Service Management Event Sept.30 2011 Heavy Salad and Dressing Preparation Auguat 2011

Special AwardsAcademic Excellence Award March 25, 2011Academic Excellence Award March 31, Deans Lister June 28, 2013Outstanding in Academic Excellence Awards March 31, 2014Respondent 6 Dianne Bizares Zabala 21 years old Shift Supervisor of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf- June 20141st position Full time BaristaPatience, perseverance, dedication and commitment in your chosen field plays vital role in succeeding HRM.Most of all, I learned that it is not what you get in the four cornered classroom but it is how you apply the knowledge you learned in your daily existence as stated to her course coordinator when she was interviewed-Tell me your school experiences in the classroom and in the industry that left a mark to you as an HRM graduate of Sta Cecilia College just after a month after graduation, May 2014.The most difficult subject for me was thesis or research, from thesis title approval up to the defense is tough and one lacks sleep that often results to have big eyebags, In my batch I believe there are no students who failed, all of our batch passed. Our professor who happens to be our college Dean was really strict and serious about the output of our research.Another difficult subject in HRM were accounting and math --- both involve numbers which reflect that I am not really a fan of anything that pertains to calculations. As for the enjoyable parts, I really loved the subjects that are related to mixing coffee and cooking.There are usually numerous clubs/ organization where we join on campus, where I find one and offer ones services and take part in meetings that will help me to develop additionaltransferable skillsthat will make me a valuable asset in the job market. Taking on leadership roles on campus is something employers love to see on a resume.Work and Ethical Values Needed to Perform well -Get to Know Your StaffAssisting staff in work or participating in some collaborative research will help one develop professional working relationships with them. Not only one learns a whole lot about what they do, one will also create the potential of getting some strong recommendations for future jobs orgraduate programsone may be applying to.Certification PassedNCII Food & BeverageNCII - Bartending NCII HousekeepingSkills acquired as a Supervisor/Barista at Coffee Bean and Tea LeafResponsible to the supervision of the Baristas in maintaining the quality serviceand product. This position enforces all procedures in the absence of the Store Manager. The Shift supervisor will fulfill any other duties the Store Manager or District Manager assigns and will represent The coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in a professional manner.The Barista is responsible for serving all products with friendly, individualized attention towards each customer. He or she is also responsible for educating customers about the premium coffee or tea.Job Requirements Experience in retail/ specialty store or food establishment preferred Excellent verbal and written skills Well organized and detail oriented Register and cash handling experience Bachelors Degree in Hotel and restaurant management or any four year business courseThere are equipment and needed materials which the school lacks like the Espresso Machine in the mixing of Coffee thus the skills of graduates inclined to be Barista are not fully skillful. How traits and competency skills and other related employment based factors be integrated into Sta. Cecilias HRM curriculumSince the HRM curriculum does have a subject on values formation except Business ethics , needed behavioral skills such as interpersonal skills, teamwork, personal skills such as principles, attitudes, values and motives.are to be integrated in the curriculum since these are considered related to employability skills needed by future graduates of HRM in Sta Cecilia College.CURRICULUM VARIABLES, SKILL AREAS COURSES AND DESCRIPTIONS.

FactorDimensionCourses Variables Descriptions

Generic Skill Sets

CommunicationSkillsListening Skills

Speaking Skills

Writing Skills

Presentation Skills

Conceptual SkillsHospitality &Tourism LawDemonstrateknowledge of lawLaw as applied tohotel, food serviceestablishments, and thetravel industry;bailment, contracts,torts, regulations,insurance, andsanitation.

Convention SalesManagement,Hotel ConventionSales ManagementKnowledge of salestechnique andconceptsThe use of personnelselling in thehospitality and tourismcontext. Understandingoperational andmarketing conceptsand enhancinginterpersonalcommunication andsales skills.

Introduction to Hospitality&TourismManagementDemonstrate a clear understanding of the Hospitality IndustryScope, components, development andfuture of the hospitalityindustry. Backgroundon industry structure;overview ofspecialized areasrelating to themanagement of foodservice, lodging, andtravel operations.

Analytical SkillsUsing numericalideas and techniques

Forecasting &Budgeting

Problem-Solvingskills

Critical Reflectivethinking

InterpersonalHospitality &Tourism EthicsEthical Behavior

Hospitality Specific skills

Fundamental curriculum related skills

FundamentalCurriculumrelated skillsCase Studies, labwork, research,field trips,feasibility studies,economic impactstudies, Seminar-PortfolioAssessmentsExperimentallearning &application

Internships,Practicum, Work Experience,Seminar industryexperienceExperience basedlearning &application

Guest LecturesUnderstand currentissues and practicesin the hospitalityindustry

Functional area skills

MarketingHospitalityMarketing

Management;Service Marketingin Hospitality andTourism;

Understandmarketing concepts &apply hospitalitymarketingfundamentals.Using the marketingmix, communicationprinciples andobjectives, selling andmerchandising,advertising andpromotion, analyzingthe communicationprocess, developing anintegrated marketingcommunicationsprogram.

Understand and applyHospitalityPromotion, sales, andadvertisingtechniques

FinanceHospitalityManagerialAccountingUnderstand and applyaccounting dataUse of accounting datafor decision making inhospitality industries,including ratioanalysis, costing, profit analysis, and seasonalforecasting

InformationTechnologyHospitalityComputerApplicationsDemonstrate skillfuluse of IT forprocessing andcommunicatinginformation in thehospitality industry.Basics of hardware and software technology,computer networks and the Internet, and learnhow to use Microsoftoffice suiteapplications.

Concentration area skills

Food &RestaurantsFood and Beverage ServiceMeal ManagementFood Selection and NutritionInternational Cookery

Demonstrate a clearunderstanding of theprinciples of foodfabrication,production, nutrition,safety, quality,services, purchasing,cost controls, andcritical issues.Problems procedures,maintenance, safetytraining, regulatoryrequirements, foodservice sanitationcertification, foodquality, service, foodproducts, commercialequipment, operation of food marketing,selection of foods to meet the food service needs, knowledge of food service nutrition relating to customerand operator needs and requirements in food service operations, andknowledge ofcommercial & contractfood service.

BeverageManagementIdentify types ofbeverages anddemonstrateknowledge ofbeveragemanagementIdentification, origin,production, andavailability ofbeverages. Emphasison the buying, pricing,control, storage,promotion, and sellingof beverages in thehospitality industry.

EventsEventManagement;Meeting,Convention &EventManagement;Special Eventsand conferenceplanningDevelop event,meetings, convention& conferencemanagement skillsProject scheduling andplanning andprogramming an actualevent including itsinception, siteselection, contractnegotiations, selectingsuppliers, obtainingsponsorships, andbudgeting, developinggoals, objectives, andevaluation techniquesrelated to these events

Catering andbanquetingmanagementLearn anddemonstrate cateringand banquetingfunctions and skillsAnalysis andevaluation of food andbeverage systems incatering operations.Emphasis on planning,coordinating andimproving operations.Plan and organize largeon-and-off-campusactivities.

LodgingRooms DivisionManagement;HotelManagement;Advanced HotelManagementHotel Supervision;Hotel Operations;Seminar: ResortManagement.Understand thedifferent functionalareas of hotels, &resorts such as frontdesk, housekeeping,rooms division, guestservices and developmanagerial andsupervisory skills skillsdevelopment inemployee selection,room sales forecasting,labor production,employee staffing,employee scheduling,and departmentalbudgeting anddiagnosing, analyzingand providingresolution of complexhotel businesssituations, emphasizingpractical problemsolving skills andstrategic management.

Tourism & TravelIntroduction toTravel & Tourism;Tourism Policy &Planning;Travel Agencyand TourOperation; TourOperationsManagement;Seminar: WorldWide DestinationsUnderstand theoverall tourismphenomenon anddevelop managementcompetencies intravel & tourismSocial, economic, andenvironmentaldimensions of tourism,trends, operation andmanagement practicesof travel agencies andtour operators, andknowledge ofcomputerizedreservation systemsand tour development,geography of touristdemand, supply andtransportation, anddestinations.

The reasons why traits and competency skills should integrated into the curriculumare that: It focuses on broad learning outcomes for students rather than on the narrower management activities or competencies (Raybould& Wilkins, 2006) Its broad focus enables workers to hold and continually upgrade sets of traits and competency skills that can be transferred across different dynamic employment settings in the new millennium (Curtis & McKenzie, 2001).It acknowledges the role of higher education in preparing students for life and learning rather than simply for employment (Raybould& Wilkins, 2006). Most competency related studies in hospitality have focused on examining specific components of hospitality and tourism management careers. Mayo (2003) identified and ranked relevant competencies needed by graduates of hospitality and tourism programs.TOURISM/HOSPITALITY GRADUATES: ITS PERCEIVED IMPACT IN MANPOWER STAFFING IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

The swift growth in hospitality industry has resulted into the generation of employment worldwide. UNWTO has also confirmed that Hospitality Catering and Tourism (HCT) is among the worlds top creators of jobs. There is huge manpower requirement in hospitality and tourism sector. But a huge gap is perceived between the demand and supply of manpower for Hospitality & Tourism industry. This huge gap is due to the negative perception conceived by the people about the industry like long working hours, low salary package, low profile jobs etc. This gap can be absolved by improving their perception positively. Long trading hours is a key characteristic of industries such as retailing, hotels and catering. These industries are labour-intensive and highly variable in terms of the demand cycle within which they operate. Employers demand for part time labour corresponds with students needs to seek part time employmentUsing college/university students on a part time basis as an on the job trainee seems a flexible option for the hotel industry to ease labour shortage problems. The findings suggest that employers perceive student workers as a high quality workforce. Employers benefit in employing student workers on a part-time basis and most employers are willing to use student workers, especially full-time college/university students, to work in the hotel industry. Employers benefit from cost savings and using manpower flexibly. It seems almost certain that employers will continue using student workers in the hotel industry. Part-timers are generally known as part of the flexible workforce in the employment market. Flexible working provides cost savings and other benefits that encourage employers to reduce their full-time head count by using a variety of outsourced, subcontracted and part-time options which are available ( Lai and Baum, 2005). Fluctuating demand is one of features of the hotel labour market. Since there is variation in demand in hotel operations, employing part-timers allows employers utilize their manpower flexibly. Managers in the industry during visits to the industry agree that part-timers are very important to hotels, and they also think hotels need part-timers who can save costs. All managers think that part timers, as a human resource, are very important to hotels, especially for banquets and catering, which have fluctuating demand characteristics. Therefore, the researcher needs to consider impact of this on labor markets in hospitality. Both students and school educators need to pay more attention on the impact of education in terms of academic performance. Another recent major development that affects the tourism and hospitality program offering is the implementation of the K-12 program. This is an opportunity for the priority being given to tourism, with it being viewed as the engine to economic growth and job creation, to find its way in the elementary and high school education system. Tourism and hospitality orientation can be injected in various subjects, as well as inclusion of skills that would develop students aptitude in tourism and hospitality education. These high schools which are able to develop their curriculum as such can serve as feeder schools of tourism and hospitality management colleges and universities. In order to fill the gaps between supply and demand especially for critical skills in tourism manpower as per the projections for the Philippine tourism industry in the forthcoming years, undergraduate higher education tourism programs in the country should be one that is geared toward occupational preparation. This would imply a vocational focus where sector specific technical skills are honed in the students. However, more than tourism career development where students are prepared primarily for employment, higher education in tourism should likewise provide knowledge and skills that would make one a well rounded graduate.Aside from honing craft based skills that shall enable graduates to perform job requirements efficiently, the tourism program must provide the necessary preparation for graduates to take responsibility for stewardship of the industry.This position is consistent with that of other authors who believe that tourism education must prepare the student for more than just employment noting that there is a need to balance the liberal and vocational aspects of tourism education to eventually have students who are broadly educated, knowledgeable about and responsible in tourism development as well as occupationally functional in tourism (Inui, Wheeler and Lankford, 2006; Lewis, 2005;Stuart-Hoyle, 2003).