Tourism HR Canada President and CEO Philip Mondor recently delivered a keynote address at the 2024 International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE) Conference in Montreal. The event, which ran from July 24 to 26, brought together researchers and academics from around the world to share their innovative research and to elevate the role of university education in tourism and hospitality. The conference was co-hosted by l’Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ), Canada’s leading school in tourism, hotel management, and restaurant services.
The presentation drew attention to the clear links between the workforce needs of the sector and the role of tertiary education. As the sector faces mounting pressures from an increase in tourism demand, demographic shifts in the workforce, geopolitical instability across the world, and the impacts of global climate change, the need for a highly educated and nimble workforce has never been more acute. The roles and responsibilities of most jobs in tourism are shifting in response to technological innovations, renewed investment in environmental stewardship, and the operational realities of businesses working with smaller teams, and education needs to be more responsive to these evolving expectations.
Tourism HR Canada also presented research it has been conducting through its ESDC-funded Belong project, aimed at making the tourism sector a more welcoming and supportive employment destination for all Canadians. The research project was a mapping exercise undertaken by CNIB to evaluate the National Occupational Standards for 25 tourism occupations against the employment expectations and capabilities of persons with disabilities. This work will feed into the development of a toolkit for employers who are interested in making their jobs and workplaces more supportive environments for the nearly 8 million Canadians who live with disabilities and long-term conditions.
The conference also afforded Tourism HR Canada the opportunity to connect with a wider range of universities, both within Canada and abroad, and to raise the profile of the newly created Canadian Universities Tourism Coalition (CUTC). The CUTC will work to advocate for the role of universities in training the next generation of sector leaders in Canada, and representatives will be taking part in a panel discussion on the relationship between education and industry at the Tourism Industry Associations of Canada’s (TIAC) upcoming 2024 Tourism Congress in December.