What is the Employment Outlook for the Hospitality Industry?

In a world where jobs of all kinds are disappearing, service jobs, particularly those in the hospitality industry, remain a viable option for people to earn a living. In fact, according to the website Best Hospitality Degrees, the industry is poised for a 33-percent growth spurt in 2018. Within the industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both lodging managers and food service managers are also poised to make gains of 6 and 9 percent, respectively.

Industry Jobs

Other than managers, there is an assortment of jobs throughout the industry. From lowly dishwashers in a hotel restaurant to respected concierges and event planners, people can pursue any one of a great number of paths to success. The industry is diverse, too, because people in all walks of life need service at one time or another during their days.

Travelers need to check in to hotels, motels, or bed and breakfasts. Hungry people who go to restaurants need to be served. In the modern age, people without personal transportation or the time to wait for what is, for all intents and purposes, a woeful mass transit system in the United States need to be able to hire a ride-sharing service.

Certifications and Qualifications

To make oneself more marketable, prospective service industry job hunters should gather relevant skills. For example, a person who holds a qualification to serve alcohol might be a better candidate for a job in a restaurant or hotel because that person could work the front of the house, wait at table, or serve drinks in the bar.

People must also prepare the food and beverages served to the customers. These jobs range from barista to line cook and chef. Handling certain kinds of food and drink require specialized training, so it would be a good idea for prospective job seekers to gain such training as part of their education.

There even have to be people to clean and maintain the various facilities in the industry. Janitors must keep surfaces spotless and free of contaminants and disease. Someone has to replace broken door locks, change dead light bulbs, and perform fire and safety inspections.

Related: Top 11 Great Value Colleges for an Online Associate’s in Hospitality Management

The Top of the Heap

Once someone has been in the industry for a while, that person can move up to either management or other apex jobs. For example, someone who is a hotel concierge can strive to achieve what might be the highest pinnacle of the industry: Les Clefs D’Or®. It is the international society of elite hotel concierges. Even to be considered is a terrific honor, and applicants must have many years’ experience, letters of reference, and also the sponsorship of two current members of the organization. If someone wears the crossed keys, that person is the best of the best. There are fewer than 5,000 members in the entire world.

With a strong prospective growth rate over the next 10 years, service jobs will be the place to go as manufacturing and manual labor jobs are supplanted at an ever-increasing rate by automation. People may have made jokes about the hospitality industry in the past, but those who hold these jobs will, indeed, have the last laugh.