Author Identifier (ORCID)

Hana Hadinejad: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3036-8899

Abstract

Demand for a skilled hospitality workforce has accelerated post-pandemic. However, limited research has explored the core competencies desired by the hospitality sector and their alignment with graduate outcomes from bachelor’s programs. Consequently, this study uses the Australian accommodation sector as an exemplar case to examine the alignment of skill supply and demand in the sector. An analysis of 28,000 Australian job advertisements reveals that employers seek a combination of soft and hard skills. Soft skills prevalent in job advertisements include communication, customer-orientation, teamwork, and adaptability. Hard skills that emerged include quality assurance, property management, culinary expertise, hospitality proficiency, and safety. The findings reveal a potential mismatch between core competencies sought by the industry and those developed by Australian universities. To address this, a matrix model is proposed to assist educational institutions in aligning their programs with the practical needs of the job market, enhancing graduate employability and sector relevance.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

1-1-2025

Volume

25

Issue

3

Publication Title

Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

School

School of Business and Law

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Comments

Amrollahi, A., Hadinejad, H., Moyle, B. D., & Thomas, N. (2025). Graduate outcomes of Australian hospitality educational institutions and skills desired by employers: a matrix model. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 25(3), 235–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313220.2025.2541326

First Page

235

Last Page

259

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1080/15313220.2025.2541326