ENHANCING GRAUDATES’ EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS & COMPETENCIES FOR HOSPITALITY & TOURISM PROGRAM THROUGH THAI QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK AND CREDIT TRANSFER

Abstract

As Thailand remains one of the major tourist destinations of the world, demands for Human Resources to serve the Hospitality and Tourism Industry still increased consistently. Higher Education Institutions in Thailand both public and private Universities offering academic programs in Hospitality and Tourism Education have expanded significantly during the past decade. To empower graduate employment in Hospitality and Tourism Industry, prime importance must be emphasized on learning outcomes, program specification, course specification and field experience specification under the Thai National Qualification Framework for Higher Education (TQF:HEd) specially developed and co-designed by Higher Education Institutions , stake holders of Hospitality and Tourism Industry such as Thai Hotel Association (THA)Tourism Authority of Thailand( TAT) Thailand International Convention Association (TICA), resource persons from both public and private sectors in the industry. Thai Qualification Framework aims to produce ideal graduates who possess the following competencies and skills in Hospitality & Tourism Industry through the five domains of learning outcomes: 1. Ethics & Moral 2. Knowledge 3. Cognitive Skills 4. Inter-personal Skills and Responsibility 5. Communication, Information Technology and numerical skill Thai Qualifications Framework will serve as the driving force to establish international accreditation, quality standard and quality assurance for Higher Education. Moreover, graduates will greatly benefit from Thai Qualification Framework which will definitely enhance students exchange through credit transfer with Asia Pacific Higher Education Institutions under the UCTS (University Mobility for Asia Pacific Credit Transferred Scheme).