‘Students Need To Learn About Various Career Opportunities,Options Within The Industry’

HECI (Hospitality Education Consultancy India) is the pioneering attempt of an education consultancy service that caters exclusively to the hospitality industry. Sameer Malkani, co-founder of the company in conversation with Vyas Sivanand provides details of the service it provides

EH&C: With the burgeoning of the Indian hospitality industry, there is a lack of available information for the students. How does your organisation plan to change this scenario?

SAMEER MALKANI: Although hospitality is seeing a phenomenal growth surge, students studying in hospitality training institutes are yet to learn about the various career opportunities and options within the industry. Students today are a misguided lot and end up taking any course just to gain a qualification in a particular sector, which may or may not be of use to them in the long term.

HECI imparts knowledge on overseas education opportunities within the hospitality industry enabling students to select and enrol in some of the best of institutes abroad. It helps to spread awareness through several activities, which include holding counselling sessions with students, releasing advertisement in leading dailies and publications, distributing information leaflets, etc.

Many government recognised, as well as independent hospitality institutes have sprung up across the country. Do you believe that this is a dangerous situation since the kind of education imparted is not always up to the mark?

There will always be institutes of all categories. It depends entirely on the choice made by parents and students when it comes to selection of an institute. They need to be more aware and research the various courses and institutes thoroughly. As most of the courses are expensive, students should make enquiries and also take a second opinion from educational consultants to accurately gauge the credibility of institutes.

Are you satisfied with the kind of hospitality education being provided by Indian institutes? If not, what do you believe is lacking?

Indian hospitality institutes need to be more professional and focused. The course contents need to be upgraded and standardised. More guest speakers and industry speakers should be called in and institutes should have alliances with institutes abroad. To provide benefits and exposure to students, placements should be taken more seriously. The institutes need to lobby and connect more with the industry so that they can provide the relevant resources with the desired expertise and skill sets.

Are there any other service providers in the country or is this a pioneering attempt as far as hospitality education consultancy is concerned?

We have chosen to be industry specific and although there many other service providers, we are one of the firsts with an industry focus and hope to provide value to the sector and industry in the long run.

What services do you provide for students hoping to gain acquire a hospitality degree?

We add a personal touch by spending time with parents and students to answer their various queries with respect to particular institutes, course contents, opportunities, placements, etc. We also ensure that all our information and guidance is factual so that parents/students coming to us get a true picture on ground realities that exist today.

We also provide consulting on the pros and cons of taking up hospitality as a profession and counsel students on which department of hospitality is best suited to them. We also process and co-ordinate applications of students, provide loan assistance, visa information, travel related assistance, etc.