Author: Pang, Chee Kong Justin Matthew
Title: Continuing professional education in Singapore's hospitality & tourism industry : the disparities between the hospitality and tourism employers and the mid-career mature workers
Advisors: Lo, Ada (STHM)
Degree: DHTM
Year: 2018
Subject: Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Tourism -- Study and teaching -- Singapore
Hotel management -- Study and teaching -- Singapore
Continuing education
Adult education
Department: School of Hotel and Tourism Management
Pages: xviii, 314 pages : illustrations
Language: English
Abstract: This study investigated into the differences in motivations and expectations between the hospitality and tourism mid-career adult workers and the employers from the companies in relation to the CPE programme that the workers are attending. It also looked into the motivations and reasons why mid-career adult workers have taken on a CPE programme and the benefits and challenges that they had to face. In order to assess if there are any disparities in expectations between the adult learners and their work establishments, the views of the employers were also collected. This study looked up past literature reviews on the characteristics of the hospitality and tourism industry. The concept of andragogy was explored in detail and the benefits and challenges adult learners were scrutinised. It also reviewed theories on training, learners' motivations to attend training. Models on CPE programmes and andragogy were analysed in relation to the research. The expectations and deliverables of the CPE programme was also looked at from the employers' perspective. As this study involved the conduct of interviews, a qualitative approach was taken. Both employers and adult learners' insights and perceptions were collected through purposeful and snowball sampling. The pilot study and main data collection used semi-structured interviews, followed by a coding exercise to derive common keywords and themes. The QSR Nvivo software system was used to analyse the data collected. The findings from the study revealed that there were disparities between the mid-career adult learners and their employers. The adult learners were generally unhappy with their superiors due to poor working conditions and bad relationships with their management. Most of the adult learners had embarked on the CPE programme with hopes that the certification obtained the CPE programme could help them in their progression in their careers, however, many also felt that they wanted to leave the hospitality industry with hopes of securing better jobs with their newly acquired academic qualifications and documentations. Many of the adult learners faced challenges from physical body aging issues and with time management with their social groups and families. From the perspective of the hospitality and tourism employers, many felt that although CPE programmes and training are important, they have not planned forms or avenues of rewards or career progressions for their CPE workers, further compounding the unhappiness and negativity of mid-career workers on the CPE programmes.
Rights: All rights reserved
Access: restricted access

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/9843