future career choices of undergraduates of faculty of tourism and hotels, minia university

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Future career choices of Undergraduates of Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University

Mohamed Ahmed Ali Ahmed

Hotel Studies Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University

Abstract

This paper addresses the self-assessment, the future careers, and the employment obstacles of undergraduates of Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University. A quantitative method is used to collect the required data. The sample consisted of 264 undergraduates; all of them were in the final year. The researcher tested five hypotheses to identify the impact of the academic department, demographics, undergraduates' skills, on the undergraduates' future career choices and to declare the statistically significant differences of future career choices between the undergraduates according to the academic department and the demographics. The researcher used SPSS V. 16.0 to analyze data, and statistical analysis included Cronbach’s alpha, linear regression, multiple regression, T-test, analysis of variance, and multi comparisons (LSD). Empirical findings showed that most of the respondents (65.5%) see that the rate of the potential employment of their degree is very poor and poor, 49.7% of them see that they can't talk and write English well, 31.8% of the respondents plan to have career in travel agents and flight companies, and 47% of the undergraduates believed that political conditions is the obstacle will face them to have their future careers. The gender, academic department, professional and practical skills have significant influence on future career choices of undergraduates of Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University.

Keywords: Future career choices, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University, Self-assessment, Skills, Employment Obstacles.

1. Introduction

A career is lifework chosen by a person using his or her personal talent, education, and training(1). The career can be defined as "the sequence of employment related positions, roles, activities, and experience encountered by a person"(2). The career is "a sequence of separate but related work activities that provides continuity, order and meaning in a person's life"(3).

A career requires a significant level of formal education, training, and background to successfully perform in the work area. Career planning is a way of thinking about the future. It starts with the understanding that the students should be concerned and involved in their future career goals(4).

Career planning can help the student to identify an employment pathway that aligns his or her interests and abilities with the tasks and responsibilities expected by employers. The career plan begins with an assessment of his or her values and interests. Then, the student identifies one or more career field that matches those values and interests. After that, the person should review his or her abilities, experiences, and education and match them against requirements for the fields chosen to determine what education and experiences the person needs to get. As student's education progresses, the person will want to take

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advantage of networking opportunities and align his or her self with tomorrow' employment trends. At graduation, the person will be prepared to begin his or her career(1).

Career planning can be divided into social career planning and school career planning. School career planning education is to develop the students' career planning abilities and skills systematically and it is significant for inclusive educational reform of higher education(5). Active engagement defined in terms of exploration and planning for career decision making is significant for teenager career congruence(6). Choosing a career represents a very critical decision for a student’s professional path(7). There are many personal characteristics that influence how people make career choices. They are such as interests, self-image, and personality(8). Even when personality traits of the undergraduates and their education are taken into consideration, we see that the characteristics of the learning environment influence the degree to which and the type of career competencies learned and used by undergraduates(9).

Career exploration was associated with goals and social supports, whereas career planning was associated with self-efficacy, goals, personality and an interaction term for goals and social support that indicated that levels of planning were highest when social support and goals were highest(10).

There are many different views about the employment in the tourism sector(11). Undergraduates who are studying tourism and hospitality in Australia do not believe that this sector offers them the attributes that they see as important in choosing a future career. It was found, that for the majority of the 20 factors examined, there is a significant difference between what the undergraduates see as important in pursuing a future career and the extent to which they feel a career in tourism and hospitality offers these. It has been discussed that the skills shortage within the Australian tourism and hospitality industry will grow basically over the next 10 years if problems are not addressed. It is clear that there are a number of areas, specially pay, promotion opportunities, career prospects, job security, and the working environment, that the industry must focus on to ensure undergraduates are receiving positive experiences and obtaining positive perceptions of tourism and hospitality industry(12).

In addition, given the amount of employment opportunities available in the various tourism sectors and the ability of tourism development to generate careers, tourism education is often the starting point in the training and development of human capital to undertake these careers. So, tourism education is intimately related to employment and careers in the industry from both an individual perspective in terms of their personal career development and opportunities, and an organizational perspective in terms of the supply of labour available for the industry(13).

Post-internship perceptions generally have lower mean values than pre-internship

expectations for the majority of career factors, thus implying that internships may make participants rather gloomy regarding their future jobs. Although these results may be frustrating for human resource managers in the hospitality and tourism industry, they also highlight the future implications for managing an internship program from the perspective of employers in the industry. Eligible social experiences during undergraduates’ internship periods can lead to a change in undergraduates’ perceptions,

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by decreasing negative perceptions toward various career factors in the hospitality and tourism industry(14).

Future time perspective was viewed as a key input to career decision making for undergraduates(15). As the first step to choosing a career, the undergraduate should assess his or her interests, skills, abilities and work values(16). The career planning activities should begin with a self-assessment of the interests, values, and abilities. These three areas will help the undergraduates to understand the careers that will be the best for them. With a comprehensive self-assessment, the undergraduates will be more likely to have a satisfying and successful career(17). Self assessment is a process of scientific, comprehensive, thorough anatomy, aims to understanding ourselves. Undergraduates' self assessment means learning about their self-values, personalities, hobbies, and abilities and so on. Career planning advisors guide undergraduates with the self assessment(18).

Self-evaluations, occupational knowledge, and perceived barriers play an important role in developing career-choice readiness(19). Self-assessment activities, such as self-study workbooks or career planning workshops, focus on providing undergraduates with a systematic way to identify capabilities and career preferences(8). 2. Methodology The aim of this study is to identify the future career choices of undergraduates of Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University. On this study, the questionnaire was chosen as a data gathering method. All respondents were in the final year of their degree programmes. The main mass of the research formed 649 students from tourism studies department, hotel studies department, and hotel guidance department. On the scope of research 500 questionnaire forms were given to students but 326 of them were returned, 264 questionnaires (52.8%) were coded and analyzed for the empirical investigation. These 264 questionnaires applied on SPSS V. 16.0 program to analyze the data.

In the first part of questionnaire there are demographic questions about their academic department, age, sex, graduated high school type, and place of residence. In the second part of questionnaire there are quintet Likert scale prepared statements to recognize the self-assessment of the undergraduates (Knowledge and understanding skills, Intellectual skills, and Professional and practical skills, language skills, and General and transferable skills). In this part scale measured from most negative (1 – I strongly disagree) to most positive (5 - I strongly agree). The third part constitutes of three questions about the field of the future career, future careers of the undergraduates, and the obstacles that will face them to have these future careers

2.1. The pilot study

A pilot study was conducted to determine the clarity and readability of the questionnaire, and to test the internal reliability of the measures. Questionnaires were distributed to 25 undergraduates. The pilot study suggested some clarifications to the survey. So, the researcher deleted some statements such as I have can deal with the people because the respondents of pilot study stated that this statement is not clear and incomprehensible. 2.2. Research questions

This study investigates about Future career choices of undergraduates of Faculty of

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Tourism and Hotels, Minia University. It will answer the following more specific research questions:

1. Do the undergraduates of Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University feel that the education they receive at the university is adequate?

2. How would they rate the employment potential of their degrees? 3. What are undergraduates ' self-assessments? 4. What are the future careers that undergraduates plan to have it? 5. What are the obstacles that the undergraduates think it will prevent them to have

their future careers? 2.3. Research Hypotheses

Given the research framework above, a number of hypotheses have been tested in the results section. These hypotheses as the following:

H1: The academic department influences significantly on the undergraduates' future career choices. H2: The demographics influences significantly on the undergraduates' future career choices. H3: The undergraduates' skills influence significantly on their future career choices. H4: There are statistically significant differences of future career choices between the undergraduates according to the academic department. H5: There are statistically significant differences of future career choices between the undergraduates according to the demographics

3. Results To test the reliability, the Cronbach’s alpha of the questionnaire was determined. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient found as 0.723. As it is seen, one can say that the questionnaire is reliable.

Table 1. Reliability analysis

Cronbach's Alpha No. of Items

0.723 27

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Table 2. Demographic characteristics of respondents (N=264)

Attribute Frequency Percentage Academic department

Tourism Studies 58 22 Hotel Studies 86 32.5 Tourist Guidance 120 45.5

Gender Male 155 58.7 Female 108 40.9

High school Regular High School 260 98.5 Tourism High School 4 1.5

Age

20 53 20.1 21 164 62.1 22 35 13.2 23 9 3.4 24 3 1.2

place of residence Minia 164 62.1 Sohag 21 8 Assiut 41 15.5 Aswan 8 3 Luxor 18 6.8 Giza 1 0.4 Hurghada 2 .8 Cairo 3 1.1 Qena 5 1.9 Kafr el-Sheikh 1 0.4

Table 2 shows the demographic data of undergraduates who took part in questionnaire. About 59% of the respondents are males and about %41 are females. According to the age classification, most the respondents (%62.1) are 21 years old, %20.1 of participants are 20 years old, and 13.2% of the sample are 22 years old. The majority of the questionnaire participated students (%98.5) are graduated from regular high school, and 1.5% of the respondents graduated from tourism high school. The respondents who study in Tourist Guidance Dept. constitute 45.5% of the total number of the sample, 32.5% of the respondents study in Hotel Studies Dept., and 22% study in Tourism Studies Dept. According to the place of residence, most of the respondents (62.1%) stay in Minia Governorate, 15.5% of the respondents stay in Assiut Governorate, and 6.8% of the respondents stay in Luxor Governorate. In the next table (table 3) declares that 44.7% of the respondents see that the education they receive at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University is inadequate. On the other hand, just 27.7% see that the education they receive is adequate.

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Table 3. The respondents' opinions about the adequacy of the education they receive at the university

Frequency Percentage Strongly disagree 43 16.3

Disagree 75 28.4 Neutral 73 27.7 Agree 66 25

Strongly agree 7 2.7

Table 4. The respondents' opinions about the rate of the employment potential of their degree

Frequency Percentage Very poor 80 30.3

Poor 93 35.2 Fair 61 23.1

Good 28 10.6 Very good 2 0.8

Table 4 indicates that most of the respondents (65.5%) see that the rate of the potential employment of their degree is very poor and poor. Otherwise, just 11.4% of them see that the rate of the potential employment of their degree is good and very good.

Table 5 explores that 47% of the respondents think that they have basic general knowledge in the field of study, 22.3 % of them don't agree nor disagree, and 30.7% of the sample don't believe that they have basic general knowledge in the field of study. Also, table 5 shows that more than the half of sample (53.4%) see that they have the intellectual skills in the field of study, and just 10.6% of the respondents don't see that. Around 47% of the sample could not decide that they have the professional and practical skills in the field of study or not, 18.1% of them don't believe that they have the professional and practical skills in the field of study, and 35% of the respondents think that they have the professional and practical skills in the field of study.

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Table 5. The respondents' self-assessment about Knowledge and understanding skills, Intellectual skills, and Professional and practical skills

Knowledge and understanding skills Frequency Percentage

Strongly disagree 29 11 Disagree 52 19.7 Neutral 59 22.3 Agree 106 40.2

Strongly agree 18 6.8 Intellectual skills


Disagree 24 9.1 Neutral 95 36 Agree 131 49.6

Strongly agree 10 3.8 Professional and practical skills

Frequency Percentage Strongly disagree 8 3

Disagree 40 15.1 Neutral 124 46.9 Agree 86 32.7


Table 6. The respondents' self-assessment about languages

English Frequency Percentage

Strongly disagree 44 16.7 Disagree 87 33 Neutral 75 28.4 Agree 49 18.6

Strongly agree 9 3.4 Second language




Table 6 explores that around half of the respondents (49.7%) see that they can't talk and write English well, 22% of them see that they can talk and write English well. Most of the respondents (68.1%) see that they can't talk and write the second language well and 16% of the sample see that they can talk and write the second language well.

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Table 7. The respondents' self-assessment about General and transferable skills

Time management Frequency Percentage

Strongly disagree 7 2.7 Disagree 37 14 Neutral 59 22.3 Agree 131 49.6

Strongly agree 30 11.4 Effective communication skills



Strongly agree 26 9.8 Effective presentation skills



Strongly agree 41 15.5 Computer skills


Disagree 66 25 Neutral 80 30.3 Agree 87 33

Strongly agree 16 6.1 Research skills



Strongly agree 70 26.5 Decision-making


Disagree 10 3.8 Neutral 21 8 Agree 125 47.3

Strongly agree 105 39.8 Teamwork




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Table 7( continued) Leadership



Strongly agree 45 17

Table 7 indicates that most of the sample (61%) think that they manage the time well, 16.7 of the respondents don't think that. About 47% of the respondents see that have the effective communication skills, and 23.2% of them don't think that. Most of the sample (61.3%) see that they have the effective presentation skills, just 14.8% of the respondents don't see that. About 40% of the respondents see that they have the computer skills and around 31% of them don't think that. Majority of the respondents (89%) consider that they have the research skills, just 2.2% of them believe the opposite. The majority of the respondents (87.1) believe that they have the ability to make a decision, 4.9% of them don't think that. The most of the respondents (75.8) believe that they work in teamwork; just 8.3% of them believe the opposite. Most of the sample (69.3%) think that they have qualities of the leader, 9.9% of them don't think that.

Table 8. The respondents' opinions about the field of future career

Academic department Hotel studies Tourism studies Tourist guidance

Hotels 58 1 9 68 Travel agents and airlines

7 44 33 84

Tourist guidance 0 0 54 54 Other 21 13 24 58 Total 86 58 120 264

As shown in the previous table (table 8), travel agents and flight companies are the most sectors that the undergraduates plan to have career in it (31.8%), followed by hotel field (25.8%), Tourist Guidance (20.5%), and other fields (21.9%). Most of the students of hotel studies (67.4%) and tourism studies (75.8%) plan to have a career in the same field of their study. On the other hand, just more than the half of tourist guidance students in the sample (55%) will not plan to have a career in tourist guidance field in the future. Table 9 declares that 19.3% of the respondents plan to have a career in travel agents or airlines. More than 46% of tourism studies department undergraduates plan to have a career in these companies. Moreover, 35.8% of tourist guidance students plan to work as a tour guide in the future. On the other hand, 32.6% of hotel studies students plan to have any career in hotels, 31.4% of them plan to have specific profession in hotel sector such as receptionist (12.8%), employee in hotel kitchen (7%), employee in accounting department (3.5%), employee in marketing department (3.5%), employee in human resources department (2.3), employee in housekeeping department (2.3%). About 6.1% of the respondents plan to work as a teacher, 3.7% of them plan to have any career in tourism sector, 3.4% of the sample plan to travel abroad and have any career there, 6.1% of the respondents plan to have acts of free, 2.6% of the sample plan to have a career in

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airports, 2.3 % of them plan to work as air hostess, and 1.5% of the respondents plan to work as tour leader. About 2.2% of the students plan to have careers as scholars in academia (1.1%) and employees in computer sector (1.1%). About 2.4% of the undergraduates plan to have careers as clerical (8%), police officer (8%), and footballer (8%). At last, 2.8 of the respondents plan to have careers as employee in communication company (0.4%), employee in Foreign Affairs ministry (0.4%), housewife (0.4%), government employee (0.4%), employee in pharmaceutical company (0.4%), armed forces officer (0.4%), and bar man (0.4%).

Table 9. Future careers of the respondents

Department Hotel

studies Tourism studies

Tourist guidance

Employee in travel agent or airline 4 27 20 51 Tour guide 0 0 43 43 Any career in hotels 28 1 2 31 Any career 3 2 15 20 teacher 3 4 9 16 Receptionist 11 0 5 16 Acts of free 9 3 4 16 Any career in tourism sector 3 0 7 10 Any career abroad 4 3 2 9 Employee in airport 0 4 3 7 Air hostess 0 5 1 6 Employee in hotel kitchen 6 0 0 6 Tour leader 1 1 2 4 Scholar in academia 1 2 0 3 Employee in computer sector 2 1 0 3 Employee in accounting department

3 0 0 3

Employee in marketing department 3 0 0 3 Clerical 1 0 1 2 Police officer 0 1 1 2 Footballer 0 0 2 2 Employee in human resources department

2 0 0 2

Employee in housekeeping department

2 0 0 2

Employee in communication company

0 0 1 1

Employee in Foreign Affairs ministry

0 0 1 1

Housewife 0 1 0 1 Government employee 0 1 0 1 Employee in pharmaceutical company

0 1 0 1

Armed Forces Officer 0 1 0 1 Bar man 0 0 1 1 Total 86 58 120 264

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Table 10. The obstacles that will face the respondents to have their future careers

Academic department Hotel

studies Tourism studies

Tourist guidance

Political conditions 28 23 73 124 Weakness of foreign languages 14 12 20 46 Low level of training 10 9 10 29 Wasta 5 3 8 16 Estrangement 3 1 4 8 Habits 4 0 3 7 Inadequate courses 2 3 0 5 Marriage 1 1 0 2 Lack knowledge of career future 1 1 0 2 Weakness of effective communication skills

1 1 0 2

Weakness of computer skills 2 0 0 2 No obstacles 15 4 2 21 Total 86 58 120 264

Table 10 displays that 124 (47%) of the undergraduates believed that political conditions is the obstacle will face them to have their future careers, followed by Weakness of foreign languages (17.4%), Low level of training (10.9%), Wasta (6%), Estrangement (3%), Habits (2.6%), Inadequate courses (1.9%), Marriage (0.8%), Lack knowledge of career future (0.8%), Weakness of effective communication skills (0.8%), and Weakness of computer skills (0.8%). There are 21 (8%) of the respondents believe that no obstacles will face them to have their future careers. Testing of Hypothesis H1: The Academic department influences significantly on the undergraduates' future career choices

To verify this hypothesis, the researcher calculated linear regression and correlation between the respondents' department and their future career choices. Table 11. Linear regression results of the respondents' department on their future career choices

R R2 Adjusted R2

F Sig. T Sig.

Beta Unstandardized coefficient B Std.

error Constant

14.430 0.00 16.561 1.147

Department 0.384a 0.147 0.144 45.329 0.00 -6.733 0.00 -0.384 -3.357 0.498

a. Predictors: (Constant), Department

To predict the goodness-of-fit of the regression model, the multiple correlation coefficient (R), coefficient of determination (R2), and F ratio were examined. First, the R of independent variables (respondents' department) on the dependent variable (future career choices) is 0.384, which showed that there was significant positive correlation between future career choices (as dependent variable) and the respondents' department (as independent variables). Second, the R2 is 0.147, suggesting that more than 14% of the

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variation of future career choices was explained by the respondents' department. Last, the F ratio, which explained whether the results of the regression model could have occurred by chance, had a value of 45.329 (p=0.00) and was considered significant. The regression model achieved a satisfactory level of goodness-of-fit in predicting the variance of future career choices in relation to respondents' department, as measured by the above –mentioned R, R2, and F ratio. In other words, respondents' department was important in contributing to future career choices.

The regression equation is as the following: Future career choices = 16.561 - 3.357 undergraduates' department.

H2: The demographics influences significantly on the undergraduates' future career choices. The testing of Hypothesis 2 requires the use of stepwise regression analysis to examine the interaction of selected variables

Table 12. Stepwise regression results of the respondents' demographics and future career choices

R R2 Adjusted R2

F Sig. T Sig.


error Constant

10.291 0.00 14.170 1.376

Gender 0.221a 0.049 .045 13.439 0.00

-3.666 0.00 -0.220 -3.385 0.923

a. Predictors: (Constant), Gender

To predict the goodness-of-fit of the regression model, the multiple correlation coefficient (R), coefficient of determination (R2), and F ratio were examined. First, the R of independent variables (gender) on the dependent variable (future career choices) is 0.221, which showed that there was significant positive correlation between future career choices and gender. Second, the R2 is 0.049, suggesting that more than 4% of the variation of future career choices was explained by the gender. Last, the F ratio, which explained whether the results of the regression model could have occurred by chance, had a value of 13.439 (p=0.00) and was considered significant. The regression model achieved a satisfactory level of goodness-of-fit in predicting the variance of the future career choices in relation to undergraduates' gender, as measured by the above –mentioned R, R2, and F ratio. In other words, the gender was important in contributing to the future career choices.

The regression equation is as the following: Future career choices = 14.170 -3.385 undergraduates' gender

High School type, age, and place of residence have no influence significantly on future career choices. H3: The undergraduates' skills influence significantly on their future career choices. To verify this hypothesis, stepwise regression and multiple correlations have calculated between future career choices and undergraduates' skills.

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Table 13. Stepwise regression results of the respondents' skills and future career choices

R R2 Adjusted R2

F Sig. T Sig.


error Constant 2.098 0.03 4.315 2.056

Professional and practical skills

0.155 a 0.024 0.020 6.478 0.01 2.545 0.01 0.155 0.754 0.296

a. Predictors: (Constant), Professional and practical skills

To predict the goodness-of-fit of the regression model, the multiple correlation coefficient (R), coefficient of determination (R2), and F ratio were examined. First, the R of independent variables (professional and practical skills) on the dependent variable (future career choices) is 0.155, which showed that there was significant positive correlation between future career choices and professional and practical skills. Second, the R2 is 0.024, suggesting that more than 2% of the variation of future career choices was explained by the professional and practical skills. Last, the F ratio, which explained whether the results of the regression model could have occurred by chance, had a value of 6.478 (p=0.01) and was considered significant. The regression model achieved a satisfactory level of goodness-of-fit in predicting the variance of the future career choices in relation to and undergraduates' professional and practical skills, as measured by the above –mentioned R, R2, and F ratio. In other words, the professional and practical skills were important in contributing to the future career choices.

The regression equation is as the following: Future career choices = 4.315+0.754 undergraduates' professional and practical skills

Effective communication skills, effective presentation skills, computer skills, time management, research skills, decision-making, teamwork, and leadership have no influence significantly on future career choices.

H4: There are statistically significant differences of future career choices between the undergraduates according to the academic department. The researcher calculated analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare means of the respondents' future career choices with respect to the department.

Table14. Analysis of variance of the perceptions of respondents' future career choices with respect to the department

Career Sum of Squares

df Mean square

F (Sig) P.value

Between Groups Within Groups Total

2741.08 12672.90 15413.98

2 261 263

1370.54 48.55

28.22 .00

Table 14 reveals that there are statistically significant differences between the respondents' career future choices with respect to their departments. In an effort to further identify which variables differ from each other, a post hoc test (LSD) was conducted. The results of the Post Hoc test are summarized below in table 15.

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Table 15. Results of LSD test between the respondents' career future choices according to the department

(I) Department (J) Department Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.

95% Confidence Interval

Lower Bound Upper Bound

Hotel Studies Tourism Studies 6.702* 1.184 .000 4.37 9.03

Tourist Guidance 6.955* .984 .000 5.02 8.89

Tourism Studies Hotel Studies -6.702* 1.184 .000 -9.03- -4.37-

Tourist Guidance .253 1.114 .820 -1.94- 2.45

Tourist Guidance Hotel Studies -6.955* .984 .000 -8.89- -5.02-

Tourism Studies -.253- 1.114 .820 -2.45- 1.94

*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

As presented in table 15, there are significant differences between the mean scores of undergraduates of Hotel Studies and Tourism Studies undergraduates and between undergraduates of Hotel Studies and Tourist Guidance. On the other hand, there is no significant difference between the mean scores of undergraduates of Tourism Studies and Tourist Guidance at the significance level of 0.05. H5: There are statistically significant differences of future career choices between the undergraduates according to the demographics The researcher calculated T-test in order to compare means of the respondents' future career choices with respect to the gender.

Table 16. Results of T-test between the respondents' career future choices according to the gender

Male (N= 155)

Female (N= 108)

Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances

Mean

Mean

F Sig.

Career

10.77 7.40 5.48 .020 246.14 3.66 .000

The results of the Levene’s Test indicated that each group has not the same variance. As presented in table 16, there is a significant difference in the respondents' future career choices between males and females. The mean score of males' future career choices is significantly higher than that of females' future career choices.

The researcher calculated analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare means of the respondents' future career choices with respect to the age.

Table17. Results of ANOVA between the respondents' future career choices with respect to the age


df Mean square

F (Sig) P.value


618.85 14795.13 15413.98

4 259 263

154.71 57.12

2.70 .031

Table 17 reveals that there are statistically significant differences between the respondents' career future choices with respect to the age. To identify which variables

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differ from each other, a post hoc test (LSD) was conducted. The results of the Post Hoc test are presented in table 18.

Table 18. Results of LSD test between the respondents' career future choices according to the age

(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.

95% Confidence Interval

Lower Bound Upper Bound

20 21 1.935 1.194 .106 -.42- 4.29

22 -1.546- 1.646 .349 -4.79- 1.70

23 -1.939- 2.725 .477 -7.30- 3.43

24 -5.384- 4.485 .231 -14.22- 3.45

21 20 -1.935- 1.194 .106 -4.29- .42

22 -3.481* 1.407 .014 -6.25- -.71-

23 -3.875- 2.588 .136 -8.97- 1.22

24 -7.319- 4.403 .098 -15.99- 1.35

22 20 1.546 1.646 .349 -1.70- 4.79

21 3.481* 1.407 .014 .71 6.25

23 -.394- 2.825 .889 -5.96- 5.17

24 -3.838- 4.547 .399 -12.79- 5.12

23 20 1.939 2.725 .477 -3.43- 7.30

21 3.875 2.588 .136 -1.22- 8.97

22 .394 2.825 .889 -5.17- 5.96

24 -3.444- 5.039 .495 -13.37- 6.48

24 20 5.384 4.485 .231 -3.45- 14.22

21 7.319 4.403 .098 -1.35- 15.99

22 3.838 4.547 .399 -5.12- 12.79

23 3.444 5.039 .495 -6.48- 13.37

*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

Table 18 shows that there are significant differences between the mean scores of undergraduates who are 21 years and who are 22 years old. The researcher calculated analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare means of the respondents' future career choices with respect to the place of residence.

Table19. Results of ANOVA between the respondents' future career choices with respect to the place of residence


Df Mean square

F (Sig) P.value


350.28 15063.71 15413.99

9 254 263

38.92 59.30

0.656 0.74

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Table 19 reveals that there are no statistically significant differences between the respondents' career future choices with respect to the place of residence. 4. Discussion The present research indicates that most of the respondents (65.5%) see that the rate of the potential employment of their degree is very poor and poor. Otherwise, just 11.4% of them see that the rate of the potential employment of their degree is good and very good. These results may be because the political situation is unstable since 2011 Egyptian revolution and its impact on tourism or because the nature of tourism sector which has many characteristics such as seasonality and the great sensitivity to political and economic problems. These characteristics may be the reasons which make the employment in tourism sector poor. These findings are consistent with Richardson who stated that undergraduates who are studying tourism and hospitality in Australia do not think a career in tourism and hospitality offers them the factors that they find significant in choosing a future career(12). On the other hand, these findings are not in consistent with Saukkonen et al., who declared that the survey which conducted on the Finnish University Network for Tourism Studies undoubtedly proves that the undergraduates’ motivation level towards tourism studies is high and many of the graduates aim at finding employment in the tourism industry (80–90%)(20).

Around half of the respondents (49.7%) see that they can't talk and write English well, 22% of them see that they can talk and write English well. Most of the respondents (68.1%) see that they can't talk and write the second language well and 16% of the sample see that they can talk and write the second language well. These findings are momentous, whereas the foreign languages are important in tourism sector as stated by Leslie and Russel for three major points. First, the added value those skills in foreign languages bring to business in general and arguably more so to the tourism sector. Secondly, the importance of good, effective communications, particularly in promotional campaigns and at the host/guest interface. Communication in this area is all important—the first contact always impacts the client experience—yet it is an area that has gained little attention in the tourism sector. Third, the comparative scarcity of attention to the value of these skills in the tourism sector, including education and training(21). Travel agents and flight companies are the most sectors that the undergraduates plan to have career in it (31.8%), followed by hotel field (25.8%), Tourist Guidance (20.5%), and other fields (21.9%). Most of the students of hotel studies (67.4%) and tourism studies (75.8%) plan to have a career in the same field of their study. On the other hand, just more than the half of tourist guidance students in the sample (55%) will not plan to have a career in tourist guidance field in the future. It is consistent with Walmsley who stated that tourism students’ initial engagement with tourism in vocational terms occurs at different stages in their career development. There is very hesitant nature of early career decisions, and the variability of early career paths. Studying tourism may not be a strong indicator of commitment to the tourism industry(22). As well, the study of Wu who

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explored that most of the graduates of hospitality and tourism programs chose to be civil careers in multiple fields, rather than being involved in hospitality and tourism areas(23). One of the important findings of this study is that 124 (47%) of the undergraduates believed that political climate after 2011 Egyptian revolution is the obstacle will face them to have their future careers. This finding is an impact of the political violence on tourism and the employment in tourism sector as a logical consequence of it. Tourists are sensitive to the political violence in their holiday destination because such events put a relaxed and unconcerned holiday in a risk. The policy makers in tourist destinations are rightly concerned about safety and stability. Considerable increases in political violence lower tourist arrivals in the long run by about one-quarter in the world. Interestingly, those mildly dependent on tourism receipts are more vulnerable to the impact of political violence(24-26). Wasta is one of the main obstacles the students think that will face them in the future. This finding supports comments found in previous studies such as the study of Khakhar and Rammal who declared that Wasta is considered to be an important influence on decision-making in Arab countries(27). Wasta is a fixture of everyday life in the Middle East(28). Estrangement and habits are important obstacles that will face the undergraduates to have their future careers. This result support Wu when he declared that some barrier factors, such as the social and family pressures are culturally sensitive. They clearly reflected specific social and cultural characteristics, such as values of family obligation in conservative societies, traditional views toward career, and nostalgia about their hometown. Further, there are some distinctive themes to this specific context, such as concerns on a range of shocks, especially related to political stability and religious issues(23). About 11% of the respondents think that low level of training is the obstacle will face them to have their future careers. Undergraduates' professional and practical skills have a significant influence on future career choices. These findings are consistent with Kim and Park who stated that the field training programs can encourage communication and collaboration among students, faculty, and industry leaders. Therefore, not only should faculties develop and maintain the effective operation and quality of training programs, but the industry should also build up strategies for creating opportunities for the students to socialize with co-workers and supervisors, thereby establishing a win–win situation for both parties. Social experience during hospitality and tourism field training programs can be a great starting point for students’ career development(14). Undergraduates tended to select specialty areas that matched their gender. Women and men are still socialized into gender roles that fit society’s expectations(29-30). Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that the undergraduates' gender has a significant influence on future career choices and there is a significant difference in the respondents' future career choices between males and females

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Recommendations Based on the findings and discussion, specific recommendation should be made pertaining to have the future career for undergraduates of tourism and hotels generally and undergraduates of Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University especially as follows:

1. Taking a career planning course is an excellent way to ensure that at least a minimum amount of planning for the future will be done in the faculty.

2. Career conversations between students and lectures. Guiding students not only in their academic growth, but also in their lifelong career development.

3. The faculties of tourism and hotels should try to develop strategies for creating opportunities for field training to socialize with the hospitality establishments.

4. It is worth to students to develop their skills to have many choices to their future career. On the other hand, the faculties of tourism and hotels should develop their courses to improve their students' skills specially the professional and practical skills and the foreign languages.

5. Activate follow-up graduates unit in the faculty. This unit is responsible for the contacting with the graduates to find the graduates' pathways after the graduation, the obstacles that face them, the suitability between the Intended Learning outcomes (ILOs) and the requirements of labor market, and guiding undergraduates and graduates to find a career. On the other hand, this unit is responsible for helping the hospitality establishments looking for staff to access the graduates and recruit those qualified and following up the occupational performance of the graduates to take feedback about them which can help in turn evaluate the faculty academic departments.

6. Activate measurement and evaluation unit, this unit is responsible for evaluate the undergraduates' skills to find the ways to improve it.

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جامعة المنيا -اختيارات المھن المستقبلية لطMب كلية السياحة والفنادق

، وعقبات توظيف طxب كلية السياحة والفنادق، يةمھن المستقبلالالتقييم الذاتي، الدراسة تتناول ھذه 264تكونت عينة الدراسة من .كمي لجمع البيانات المطلوبةالسلوب ا�ستخدم قد او .جامعة المنيا

العوامل ، ا�كاديمىالقسم تأثيراختبر الباحث خمس فرضيات لتحديد . من طxب الفرقة الرابعة -اختيارات المھن المستقبلية لطxب كلية السياحة والفنادقعلى الطxب ومھارات ، الديموجرافيةبين الطxب ختيارات المھن المستقبلية�حصائية ا�د�لة الفروق ذات ال توضيحو جامعة المنيا

تالتحليx لتحليل البيانات وقد استخدم. العوامل الديموجرافيةوا�كاديمى لقسم لالجامعيين وفقا ، تحليل التباين، والمقارنات Tألفا كرونباخ، ا�نحدار الخطي، ا�نحدار المتعدد، اختبار ةا�حصائي

ى جخريترى أن معدل توظيف )٪(65.5 وأظھرت النتائج أن معظم أفراد العينة (LSD).تعددة الم٪ منھم يرون أنھم � يستطيعون التحدث 49.7، وضعيف جداً ضعيف كليات السياحة والفنادق

السفر وشركات ا�توكبللعمل ٪ من المستطلعين تخطط 31.8والكتابة باللغة ا�نجليزية بشكل جيد، فى مواجھالعقبة التى ست أن الظروف السياسية ھي ھؤ�ء الطxبمن ٪47ان، ويعتقد الطير

الجنس، القسم ا�كاديمي، والمھارات المھنية والعملية واظھرت ايضاً الدراسة ان .مستقبلھم المھني .ياطxب كلية السياحة والفنادق، جامعة المنللھا تأثير كبير على الخيارات المھنية في المستقبل

أمكن التوصل إلى عدة توصيات وھى والنتائج الدراسة الميدانية ،استناداً على الدراسات المرجعية

:كالتاليلتوعية الطxب عن كيفية تخطيط مستقبلھم وسيلة كالتخطيط الوظيفي يتناولمقرر طرح -١

.المھنىتاحة فى الوظائف الم للحوار عناعضاء ھيئة التدريس والطxب بين عقد ندوات -٢

أيضا في تطوير حياتھم بل و ا�كاديمي التطورالطxب ليس فقط في رشاد � المستقبل .المھنية

مع لطxب لكليات السياحة والفنادق وضع استراتيجيات التدريب الميداني ينبغى على -٣ .العمليةخبرات المما سيساعد على اكسابھم المختلفة مؤسسات الضيافة

.المھنىالعديد من الخيارات لمستقبلھم حتى يتاح لھم بالطx تطوير مھاراتضرورة -٤لتحسين الدراسية كليات السياحة والفنادق تطوير مناھجھا علىمن ناحية أخرى، ينبغي و

.مھارات طxبھم خصيصا المھارات المھنية والعملية واللغات ا�جنبيةلمعرفة مع الخريجين عن ا�تصال المسئولةوھى ،الخريجين بالكلية متابعة تفعيل وحدة -٥

مخرجات التعلم مxئمةبعد التخرج، والعقبات التي تواجھھم، ومدى الوظيفية مساراتھموظائف فى توجيه الطxب والخريجين �يجاد ايضاً ومتطلبات سوق العمل، وبالكلية

مساعدة مؤسسات الضيافة للوصول إلى الخريجين ،من ناحية أخرىو .المستقبل وتطوير برامج تقييم ىلمما يساعد عومتابعة ا�داء المھني منھم وتوظيف المؤھلين

.ا�قسام ا�كاديمية بالكليةوتطويرھا عن تقييم مھارات الطxب المسئولةھي و بالكليةوالتقييم تفعيل وحدة القياس -٦

.حسب حاجة العمل

future career choices of undergraduates of faculty of tourism and hotels, minia university

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