The future of the tourism and hospitality workforce begins at home

This chapter first explores the problems faced by the tourism and hospitality industry in Wales in the light of a number of studies on employment characteristics and the nature of this industry in Wales. This sets the scene in terms of the future quality and competitiveness of the industry in Wales from a human resource perspective. The chapter then examines relevant literature on the role of parents in the career decision making (CDM) processes of young people and how attitudes represent a predisposition to behaviour. Results are then presented of a 1999 questionnaire survey of parents' (n=463) attitudes in Wales towards career in hospitality and tourism. The findings illustrate that a career in tourism and hospitality would incorporate the majority of the important career factors, and yet few parents selected tourism or hospitality as career choices for their child. This demonstrates that, although attitudes represent a predisposition to behaviour, how individuals actually act in a particular situation will be dependent upon the immediate consequences of that behaviour. It is concluded that the future of the tourism and hospitality workforce begins at home and employers must appreciate this factor in order to sustain a skilled workforce.