Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003
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Tamil Nadu
By S. Ganesan
The State Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, only State-run hotel management institution in Tamil Nadu, has reported a 50 per cent increase in demand for its craft certificate and diploma courses, though they are self-supporting programmes with free and payment seats. Most private institutes also claim a sharp rise in demand this year after having undergone a testing time over the past few years. There is a 60 per cent increase in the number of applicants this year, said the principal of a city-based private catering college. The managements attribute it to the waning craze for engineering. The SIHMCT attracted over 1,200 applications for 120 seats for the three-year diploma programme in Hotel Management and Catering Technology. Another 1,000 applicants are vying for 222 seats in five craft courses — Food Production, Food and Beverage Services, Bakery and Confectionary, House-Keeping and Front Office. The SIHMCT is also offering free short-term flexible programmes to attract low-income group students. Significantly, a large number of students with high Plus-Two scores have applied for the courses unlike as in the past, when the cream of talent shied away from the hospitality industry. Several applicants have more scored than 1,100 marks while the minimum is 950. The cent per cent placement record of the SIHMCT over the past few years is indeed an attraction to the students. "The services sector is definitely in for a boom and projections are promising for the students, unlike as in other fields where there is a mismatch in the demand-supply situation. The average annual growth in tourist arrivals in the country has been between seven and nine per cent since 1995. We have reached a stage where even without international arrivals, the hospitality industry could stay comfortably afloat with domestic tourist flow," L. V. Kumar, SIHMCT principal, said.
Word of caution
However, an industry observer has a word of caution to the students in view of the mushrooming growth of colleges. The State now has over 200 institutes and only a handful are approved by the All-India Council for Technical Education. "Unfortunately, many of these institutes sell dreams and fleece the students. They have very poor infrastructure and lack qualified faculty. Ultimately, students who are not properly trained end up being underemployed," he observed. It was imperative that the students checked the infrastructure, the placement record and the reputation of the institution. They should also realise that not all could become managers, and the focus should be on acquiring multiple skills and communication abilities to help them climb up the ladder, he said.
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