B.Voc Hospitality from FrontEdge Academy for hotel, hospitality courses

FrontEdge Academy Pvt. Ltd. is the Vertical Anchor for the Hospitality Sector with Tata Institute of Social Sciences – School of Vocational Education (TISS-SVE).

Need of the hour: Vocational Education! Author: Pooja Hande, Sr. Manager – Operations , FrontEdge Academy Pvt Ltd

Industry today is unable to meet their requirements of skilled manpower at the entry level on account of the mismatch between their needs and the skills provided to students equipped only with formal education. Industry, therefore, invests heavily in training their staff at the entry level to make them come up to industry expectation. Hence, the urgent need for vocational education which, by definition, is designed and developed on the basis of industry requirements. Vocational education integrates theoretical education with On-the-Job Training (OJT) leading to seamless absorption of entry level work force into the industry.

FrontEdge Academy Pvt. Ltd. is the Vertical Anchor for the Hospitality Sector with Tata Institute of Social Sciences – School of Vocational Education (TISS-SVE) B.Voc programs. The role of a Vertical Anchor involves content design and creation in line with industry requirements, skill gap analysis, geographical demand – supply mapping, selection of Training Hub Partners and facilitation of their success. The role also involves connecting industry partners with training hubs and students, thereby facilitating OJT for the students.

Most of the demand for skilled manpower from the industry comes from the top 8 metros and tourist hotspots such as Goa, Kerala, Agra, Jaipur and so on. The strategy for the location of Training Hub Partners has taken this, pattern of demand, into account.

Hospitality industry has various segments such as Hotels, Restaurants of all types, QSR, and Catering organizations. Our flagship program(s), which meets the requirement of all these segments, are the two B.Voc Degree Programs, one in Hotel Management and another in Hospitality Management. This program is of 3 years’ duration comprising of 6 semesters and requires the student to attend 270 hours of classroom sessions & a minimum of 360 hours of OJT with an industry partner every semester. The 270 hours of classroom training ensure that the students receive holistic education in terms of core hotel management subjects as well as generic subjects like communication skills & computing skills.

Apart from the B.Voc program, we offer Certification and Skill Enhancement programs which are targeted at the existing workforce in the industry. At present, the Hospitality Vertical collaborates with 76 industry partners. Amongst these are one of the top hotel chains and one of the Top 3 corporate catering organizations in India.

Students for the B.Voc program can be broadly categorized into (a) those from economically weaker sections from all over the country who benefit from the “Earn while you Learn” nature of the program and (b) those from relatively better-off backgrounds mainly in the larger cities who have chosen to pursue the B.Voc program in preference to full time hotel management programs offered by reputed institutions.

The basic requirement to apply for this course is 10+2. The students receive certification on completing each year, i.e Diploma, Advanced Diploma & Degree after the completion of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year respectively. The industry has received our B.Voc programs extremely well. Many organizations have expanded their engagement with the program after an initial pilot batch. A large number of the student-interns, pursuing this course, regularly receive recognition from our industry partners for their quick skill acquirement and contribution at the work place. Some of the benefits to the industry are (a) the interns come with an aptitude to learn on the job and since their OJT is linked to education, they form a stable workforce, (b) through this program, the industry can build a team of skilled professionals over a period of 3 years & absorb some or all of them at the end of the course.

It has been a great journey so far & we look forward to building a larger ecosystem of Hubs, SKPs & students in the coming months to give this program its rightful recognition.