Hospitality Degrees in New Zealand

Recent years have seen a huge increase in the number §of hospitality qualifications offered in New §Zealand, after the first degree becoming available §in 1993. There are now six providers of hospitality §degrees. These recent developments raise the issue §of whether industry and providers considered the §ramifications of introducing degree qualifications.§This thesis explores the place hospitality degrees §have here in New Zealand. It takes into §consideration the perspectives of students, §providers and the industry on hospitality degrees. §Industry feels that the degree is not enough to §enter the work force without an amount of work §experience and is very sceptical of what level of §management a graduate should apply for. Providers §felt that it was industry, which had pushed for this §level of qualification although nothing had been §done to make the qualification more acceptable to §industry by introducing a bench marking system for §qualifications for positions within the hospitality §industry. Students felt that the degree was a way §to formalise the experience they had already gained §in the industry to obtain a recognised qualification.