Fielding, Mark

2025-02

This is pre-published version of CAUTHE 2025 conference presentation. PowerPoint is also available in this Repository.

Generational transformation is required in the way that the hospitality workforce is attracted, developed and retained if a sustainable future for the industry is to be realised. The hospitality industry has a history of struggling to retain staff, a problem that has been exacerbated and become more visible in the post-covid years. In addition, early career attrition reflects the challenges that hospitality graduates face. In response to these challenges, the design of a hospitality management course in a Victorian tertiary institution was motivated by a desire to develop a sense of vocational identity and belonging in the graduate cohort. Vocational identity, which refers to a sense of self derived from one's work or occupation (Chan, 2020), has been identified by researchers as benefitting both employers and employees in a number of ways. These include increased employee job satisfaction and motivation; higher productivity and enhanced job performance; and clarity in job role and responsibility. Research has also shown that vocational identity guides workers' practices and influences their performance, or competence (Klotz, et al. 2014). As a result, identifying strategies in tertiary education that effectively develop a sense of vocational identity are expected to positively contribute to both employee performance and long-term career commitment.

Holmesglen Institute

Bachelor of Hospitality Management

https://holmesglen.intersearch.com.au/handle/20.500.11800/417

Higher Education and Applied Research

Vocational identity

Belonging

Curriculum development

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT)

Developing vocational identity and belonging in the hospitality workforce of tomorrow – assessing the effectiveness of a curriculum-driven approach

Conference Paper

Publication