Untitled

education courses or training modules but also
includes a wide range of informal learning
situations including those which may not be
actually recognised as such. Formal HRD includes
the general educational investment which the state
and individuals make in preparing young people
from pre-school age for their role in society and the
workplace. It includes both general and vocational
education in schools, colleges and universities. The
inclusion of reference to tourism and the development
of awareness about the industry and its
generic skills needs �customer care, quality) is
growing internationally, in both the elementary
and secondary school curriculum, and thus is the
starting point for HRD in tourism. The macro
socioeconomic perspective on HRD is one often
neglected in HRM texts. In the context of tourism,
the true vocational focus may come early in the
process, as within the German dual system or may
take place at undergraduate or postgraduate level
in universities. Formal HRD also includes programmes
in which employees of organisations
participate, leading to publicly accredited trade,
academic or professional qualifications. Informal
HRD is that which takes place within and external
to the organisation but which has no formally
accredited outcomes.
HRD may be located within the organisation
and include activities such as on-the-job training
�OJT), in-company training and the workplace
classroom. In larger tourism organisations, HRD is
the responsibility of a specialist department or a
specific unit within human resource management.
This allows HRD to be planned and organised in a
strategic manner, based on identified training and
educational needs within the organisation and
designed to balance individual development aspirations
with the wider requirements of the company.
In small organisations, a dedicated training or
HRD section is less common and the function may
be one that is shared along with wider HRM
responsibilities. In many smaller tourism organisations,
HRD is likely to be a responsibility subsumed
within the role of a member of the senior
management team, and may not receive the
attention or priority it requires. Formal HRD
within tourism's micro-organisations is frequently
neglected and may be one contributing cause to
the declining competitiveness of the small tourism
human resource development 289
business sector in some countries. HRD may also
take place external to the organisation, through
programmes in colleges and training centres which
are company specific or of a more general nature.
An HRD programme operates at a variety of
levels and stages within an individual's career in a
company. It has an important role to play at point
of entry into a company �or even prior to it)
through induction training, which can relate to
technical preparation for the workplace but generally
also has a strong organisation cultural focus.
It is a training process which has equal applicability
�with different focus) for junior, entry-level positions
and senior managers. Further, HRD is at the core
of individual and organisational development.
Companies frequently recruit on the basis of the
potential contribution which an individual can
make, but achieving that potential requires significant,
structured investment in the skills and
wider development of that individual. To optimise
individual potential, the programme can be
through specific courses or qualifications. However,
this may take the form of an extended option of
exposure to and experience in various departments
of the organisation over an �extended) period of
time. Individuals may also be targeted for promotion
within an organisation's succession planning
system, and HRD initiatives are used to prepare
them for their intended responsibilities.
At an organisational level, HRD plays a key role
in supporting or planning for change which, in this
context, may relate to new technical demands on
the workforce �for example, the introduction of
new types of aircraft into the fleet). It may reflect
new communication systems such as the introduction
of e-mail for all staff. Marketing and
market changes can necessitate organisational
HRD efforts in order to prepare employees for
such change. For example, this may include a focus
on language skills to meet new route intentions in
an airline, or to reflect promotional investment by
a destination in specific new tourism markets.
The traditional model of HRD in tourism is
based on the `front-loading' of skills principle in the
sense that skills development is concentrated prior
to entry into the industry or during the early stages
of employment. This model assumes that once
skills are honed, the working environment remains
largely unchanging so that the qualified pilot, chef