Hospitality, Leisure, Retail and Tourism

By Zoe Flood

Published: 15 August 2004

What do you come out with? BA

Why do it? You want to work in some of the world's fastest expanding industries, you love interacting with people (and don't mind all the holiday disasters they bring with them) and enjoy the challenges demanded by management - you are prepared to develop a broad range of skills to deal with them. Employment prospects are good - the hospitality and tourism industries are two of the largest sectors of the UK economy, and the explosion in international travel means that you have a good chance of getting work abroad.

What's it about? Courses in this field are highly vocational and industry focused. While students will study the theory behind their roles, taking modules such as ?Understanding consumers in society' and ?Design and planning of work and leisure spaces', and will learn a range of management techniques, the emphasis is less on the academic and more on the professional. Students will generally spend half of their degree time covering the basics of HR, marketing, finance and operations, and then tailor-make the rest according to their interests. Most degrees include a compulsory or optional placement that will often provide students with their first job on graduation. At Oxford Brookes, students of the international hospitality and the hotel and restaurant management degrees spend a year in industry - in the past, undergraduates have been sent to work on the QE2, at the Breakers resort on the West coast of America and at Raymond Blanc's famous restaurant Le Manoir, near Oxford. Other courses have optional vocational placements, but all students have experience in the working restaurant on-campus. Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies (BCFTCS) offers a plethora of different degrees in the field, and has excellent links with industry, meaning that students have little difficulty finding paid placements with companies such as Holiday Inn or the Whitbread Hotel Company, for hospitality students, and Debenhams or Marks and Spencers, for those studying retail. Students at Gloucestershire must complete a 48-week placement as part of their degree.

How long is a degree? Three to four years, depending on whether you do a placement year.

What are the students like? A real mixture, but most have had some experience in the industry. A large number of mature students who have been working in the field opt for such degrees with the aim of doing some management training. Courses are popular with international students, particularly international hospitality management.

How is it packaged? It depends on the degree. Assessment will often be by module, but whether this is by coursework or exam will depend on the content of the unit. Finance-based modules, for example, will typically be assessed by written exam. Others will use group/individual presentations, essays and reports.

How cool is it? Very, if that's what you want to do. Degrees tend to fast track you into the industry.

What A levels do you need? Any, really. Certain subjects, such as geography and business studies are seen as useful, but not essential.

What grades? Brookes asks for CCC for tourism courses and CDD for hospitality courses; typical offers from Gloucestershire fall in the range of 160 to 220 points, and must come from at least two A levels; BCFTCS asks for 160 points or Merit/Pass/Pass from a National Diploma.

Will you be interviewed? Generally not. If you are made an offer, you may well be invited to a Visit Day.

Will it keep you off the dole? Yes. Although tourism, hospitality and retail are fluctuating industries, they are on the up at the moment, and with the industry contacts that result from placements, students are well on their way before they graduate.

What do students say? Dagmara Jaroszewska, a recent graduate in Hospitality and Leisure Management at BCFTCS. "All the staff at the College are very friendly and helpful, with everything from advice with personal problems to help with exams, research and career guidance. They help to find the perfect placement for you, ensuring that you'll gain the experience that you need to support your career ambitions."

Where can you study it? All over the place. Institutions include Abertay Dundee, Bangor, Bath Spa University College, Birmingham College of Food, Tourism & Creative Studies, Bournemouth, Brighton, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, University of Wales Institute - Cardiff, Central Lancashire, Derby, Glasgow Caledonian, Gloucestershire, Greenwich, Huddersfield, Leeds Metropolitan, London Metropolitan, South Bank, Manchester Metropolitan, Middlesex Napier, Oxford Brookes, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Robert Gordon, Salford, Sheffield Hallam, Strathclyde, Teesside and Thames Valley.

Where's the cutting edge? University research centres in this field tend to be focused rather on consultancy work for industry than discovery. Tutors at Brookes have recently consulted the Defence Catering Services, amongst other organisations, about the strategies behind their food provision.

Who are the stars? Stephen Page at Stirling has written and co-authored 12 books on tourism and advises government agencies; Ghislaine Povey at Wolverhampton specialises in marketing, finance and heritage management; Caroline Wiscombe, also at Wolverhampton, is an expert on license retail management and quality systems.

Added value: Brookes has an operational module which makes use of the on-campus restaurant and gives students experience of front-of-house, the kitchen and of customer service. BSFTCS has three working restaurants on-site.