The Ultimate Training Myth

There's a myth about training lurking in the tourism sector and we think it's about time the truth prevails.

It's no secret that tourism is a hectic sector, constantly abuzz with things to do in order to meet the travel, accommodation, and gastronomic needs of visitors. As a result, many tourism employers are more concerned with the day-to-day operations of their organizations than they are with training staff.

This can make training programs hard to find and even harder to implement, thus lending credence to the myth that there are no good training programs for tourism sector professionals.

Myth: Training programs for staff in the tourism sector are difficult to find and even more difficult to implement.

Fact: There are three factors that affect your capacity as a tourism operator to find great training programs and to implement the lessons learned once the programs are delivered.

1. Employer and employee motivation: The motivation to learn is a desire that both employers and employees must have in order for an organization to be truly successful in training staff. Find out how your staff learns—classroom setting, discussion, workshops, hands-on, mentorship, feedback—and look for available programs that meet their needs. Delivering training programs that meet employees’ individual needs will not only motivate them to learn, but also will make participants feel more at ease and comfortable in the learning process.

2. Availability of organizations that offer training: In every province and territory across Canada, there is one organization that specializes in training tourism sector professionals. In our province, this organization is the Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC). STEC provides a variety of training opportunities that have the potential to meet the learning needs of all employees, from face-to-face workshops to online learning, mentorship opportunities, and more. The best part of this training is that it’s standards-based, developed by the industry for the industry. All of your training needs should be met by going to www.stec.com, and if they’re not training consultants are available to discuss how they can meet your specific needs with customized training programs.

3. Goals and objectives to strive towards after training is delivered: A discussion needs to take place before, during and after training programs are delivered in order to determine the goals and objectives of both employers and employees. What do managers and frontline staff members hope to gain from the training? What lessons are being taught in the training program that applies to these goals? What changes and improvements is staff committed to make in order to meet them? Are there any measurements in place to ensure that the objectives of employers and employees are being met? Goals may include improved services, increased profit, and low turnover. Even if you belong to an organization where these goals may seem difficult to achieve at the outset, remember with the right motivation, training programs and objectives the only way to move is forward.

For more information on STEC training programs, click here.