Qualification - Proficiency Award In Tourism and Hospitality

Course CodeVTR001
Fee CodePA
Duration (approx)500 hours
QualificationProficiency Award

ONLINE COURSE HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM

An Introduction to the Travel and Hospitality Industry

Lay the foundation for a career in the tourism or hospitality industry with this practical, comprehensive foundation course of study.

This is awarded on completion of:

  • The units Hotel Management, Food & Beverage Management and Ecotour Management
  • A workplace project or work experience (approved by a tutor from the school, and equal to 200 hours)

Modules

Core ModulesThese modules provide foundation knowledge for the Qualification - Proficiency Award In Tourism and Hospitality.
 Industry Project BIP000
 Industry Project II BIP001
 Ecotour Management BTR101
 Food & Beverage Management (Catering) BTR102
 Hotel Management BTR202
 

Note that each module in the Qualification - Proficiency Award In Tourism and Hospitality is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.


 

Workplace Projects

There are four options available to you to satisfy this requirement:

Alternative 1.

If you work in the industry that you have been studying; you may submit a reference from your employer, in an effort to satisfy this industry (i.e. workplace project) requirement; on the basis of RPL (i.e. recognition for prior learning), achieved through your current and past work experience.

The reference must indicate that you have skills and an awareness of your industry, which is sufficient for you to work in a position of responsibility.

Alternative 2.

A one module credit (100 hrs) can be achieved by verifying attendance at a series of industry meetings, as follows:

  • Meetings may be seminars, conferences, trade shows, committee meetings, volunteer events (eg. Community working bees), or any other meeting where two or more industry people or people who are knowledgeable about their discipline.
  • Opportunity must exist for the student to learn through networking, observation and/or interaction with people who know their industry or discipline
  • A list of events should be submitted together with dates of each attended and times being claimed for each
  • Documentary evidence must be submitted to the school to indicate support each item on the above list (eg. Receipts from seminars, conference or shows, letters from committee or organisation secretaries or committee members. All such documentation must contain a contact details)

Alternative 3.

Credits can be achieved by completing standard modules Workshop I, II and/or III

Each of these modules comprises a series of “hands on” PBL projects, designed as learning experiences that involve interaction with the real world. (This approach is based upon tried and proven learning approaches that originated in American universities but are now widely used and respected by academia throughout many countries). See the web site or handbook for more detail.

Example:

Workshop I

There are 3 lessons, each involving a PBL project, as follows:

1. Workplace Tools, Equipment and Materials: Identifying and describing the operation of tools and equipment used in the workplace; routine maintenance of tools and equipment; identifying and comparing materials used in the workplace; using different materials to perform workplace tasks.

2. Workplace Skills: Determining key practical skills in the workplace; identifying and comparing commonly-performed workplace tasks; determining acceptable standards for workplace tasks; implementing techniques for improving workplace efficiency.

3. Workplace Safety: Identifying health and safety risks in the workplace; complying with industry OH&S standards; developing safety guidelines for handling dangerous items.

What is PBL? Problem-based learning has been defined as: “A learning method based on using problems as a starting point for acquisition and integration of new knowledge.”

Alternative 4.

If you do not work in the relevant industry, you need to undertake a project as follows:

 

Procedure for a Workplace Project

This project is a major part of the course involving the number of hours relevant to the course (see above). Although the course does not contain mandatory work requirements, work experience is seen as highly desirable.

This project is based on applications in the work place and specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.

Students will design this project in consultation with a tutor to involve industry based activities in the area of specialized study which they select to follow in the course. The project outcomes may take the form of a written report, folio, visuals or a mixture of forms. Participants with relevant, current or past work experience will be given exemption from this project if they can provide suitable references from employers that show they have already fulfilled the requirements of this project.

For courses that involve more than 100 hours, more than one workplace project topic may be selected. For example, 200 hours may be split into two projects each of 100 hours. This will offer the student better scope to fulfill the needs of their course and to meet the number of hours required. Alternatively, the student may wish to do one large project with a duration of 200 hours.

Students will be assessed on how well they achieve the goals and outcomes they originally set as part of their negotiations with their tutor. During each 100 hours of the project, the students will present three short progress reports. These progress reports will be taken into account when evaluating the final submission. The tutor must be satisfied that the work submitted is original.

If the student wishes to do one large 200 hour report, then only three progressive reports will be needed (however the length of each report will be longer).

How to Proceed:

1. Students are expected to select a suitable project or task to complete that allows the student to apply and integrate the knowledge and skills they have obtained as part of their studies.

2. The student should submit a draft proposal outlining their proposed project, study or task. The expected outcomes of this project should be clearly stated. This will be looked at by a tutor and comments made. Students are welcome to visit the school or to talk to a tutor to obtain advice on how to draw up their proposal. The proposal should indicate what the student intends to do, how they intend to do it, where they intend to do it, and what they expect to produce (e.g. a written report, a folio, references from an employer) as a means of showing what they have achieved during their project/study/task.

3. A refined proposal will be submitted by the student incorporating changes based on the comments made by the tutor. This updated proposal will either be accepted as being suitable or further comments made. The proposal may need to be submitted several times before it is finally accepted.

4. The student will then be expected to carry out the project, study or task.

Progress Reports

The student will be expected to submit three progress reports during the duration of the progress. This is in addition to the final project product (e.g. report, folio). Each progress report should show what you have done so far (e.g. what research you have done, what tasks you have carried out, etc.). It should also cover any problems you have had so far, and if so, what you have done to overcome these problems. Each progress report should be in the vicinity of 300 - 500 words in length.

Progress Report 1.

This should be submitted about one quarter of the way through your study/project/task.

Progress Report 2.

This should be submitted about one half way through your study/project/task.

Progress Report 3.

This should be submitted about three quarters of the way through your study/project/task.

Final Report

This report is to be typed and submitted to the school.

The final report should summarise the objective of the workplace project, and be set out like a professional report.

Although content is the most important factor in determining a pass grade for the workplace project, your report should exhibit elements of professional report writing (in regards to spelling, grammar, clarity and presentation).

Final Report Length

For 100 hours Workplace Projects:  Complete and submit a report of 1,500 to 3,000 words.

For a 200 hour Workplace Project: Complete and submit a report of 3,000 to 5,000 words.

 
 

Scope and Nature of Tourism

Tourism has become a major recreation pursuit and a worldwide commercial industry. It is so significant today that the economies of some regions (even some countries) are more heavily dependent upon tourism than anything else.

The tourism industry encompasses the provision of all those services used by people when traveling away from home, including booking services, transport, accommodation, tourist retail outlets and attractions.

Worldwide, millions of people are employed in the tourism industry – from coach drivers to travel agents through to hotel concierges, as well as all the other hundreds of occupations that cater for tourists and travelers.

Tourists travel to almost every country across the globe, looking for adventure, recreation and entertainment. They seek both new and familiar experiences, close to home and far abroad. Some travel independently, others in organised groups. Some look for security, others prefer their travel spiced with excitement and danger.

Tourism is never static – almost more than any other industry, tourism is affected by such things as natural disasters, political instability, and economic downturns. Adverse circumstances such as a tsunami or civil conflict in one area can lead to a boom in tourism in another, safer area. More predictably, the tourist industry is also affected by seasonal swings – with thousands of tourists visiting favoured destinations in the ‘high’ or peak season and then abandoning them in droves during the ‘low’ season.

Anyone involved in the travel and tourism industry needs to be prepared for such changes. They must also have excellent product knowledge: including knowledge of their customers, the services those customers will use, and the destinations they will travel to.

Travellers and Tourists
Tourism is largely a recreational pursuit. In other words, it is a holiday that involves traveling to a destination. Not all travelers are tourists however since the purpose of many travel trips is business. A sales rep who travels interstate to visit clients or an executive who travels overseas for meetings would not be considered a tourist. Similarly, a family member visiting and staying with a relative might not be considered a tourist.

Often, though, the boundaries between ‘tourists’ and other travelers overlap. Many business travelers, and other people traveling for non-leisure purposes, spend at least some time during their trip making use of ‘tourist’ facilities - such as visiting local attractions or staying in tourist accommodation.

Regardless of whether a person is a ‘traveler’ or ‘tourist’ when they travel away from home, they use many of the same facilities and services that cater for the travel industry, for example, booking agents, airlines, and vehicle hire services.

Tourism Industry Sectors

Tourists travel to destinations. They need transport systems to get to their destinations and once they have arrived they require accommodation, entertainment (or ‘attractions’) and other amenities (e.g. shops, garages, medical facilities).

The tourism industry is comprised of sectors that deal with the tourist’s needs. Sectors include:

• Marketing specialists – travel agents, tour wholesalers, and tourism promotional agencies
• Carrier or transport services – including rail, coach, airlines, and shipping services
• Accommodation sector – including hotels, resorts, motels, campgrounds, B&Bs, caravan parks, restaurants and cafes
• Attractions sector – including theme parks and other tourist-orientated entertainment facilities
• Tour operators – tourism guides, tour group leaders, drivers, and hosts.
 

 

ACS Learning Facilities

ACS follows the old fashioned idea that “the student comes first”. Our staff are told to treat every student as an individual and respond promptly to their enquiries; and the facilities we have developed and continue to develop, are all focused on that goal. Facilities include:

  • Offices in two time zones (UK and Australia) –which means an international team of academics are responding to students 5 days a week and 16 hours a day.
  • An online student room with unique resources that are only available to students studying our courses, including online library.
  • Bookshop offering quality downloadable e books
  • A data base of 20 million words of unique information written by our staff over 3 decades that can be drawn upon if needed by academics for use in supporting our students.
  • Systems that ensure assignments are tracked, marked and returned to students, fast -commonly within a round 1 week & rarely more than 2 weeks (note: many other colleges take longer).
  • The school is active in social networking and encourages students to connect with us and each other.
  • No automated handling of student phone enquiries. When you call you get a real person; or leave a message and a real person will call you back within a day, but more commonly within an hour or two.
  • No additional charges for extra tutor support over the phone or email.
  • Free careers advice for graduates –It is our policy to provide support and advice to our students even after they graduate. If a graduate needs help with getting a CV together, or advice on setting up a business or looking for work; they only need ask.
  • The quality of academic staff is higher than many other colleges.

 

 How our Courses Differ

  • Courses are continually improved –we invite feedback from all graduates and change courses immediately the need is detected.
  • Courses are relevant to the whole world –we try hard to teach make the learning transferable to any region or country because the world is increasingly a global economy
  • Courses written by our staff, teach different skills to standard courses; giving a unique mix of skills and knowledge to provide a career advantage. Do you want an accredited certificate and the same skills as 100 other job applicants; or one of our courses with skills that no other applicants have?
  • Certificates and diplomas are longer. They teach you more, and our qualifications have built a reputation amongst academics and industry as being a very high standard for this reason.
  • We are focused on helping you learn in a way that improves your capacity to understand your discipline, apply knowledge, and continue learning and developing your capabilities beyond your course.

These things cannot be always said of other colleges.

 

Career Opportunities

Study alone can never guarantee career success; but a good education is an important starting point.

Success in a career depends upon many things. A course like this is an excellent starting point because it provides a foundation for continued learning, and the means of understanding and dealing with issues you encounter in the workplace.

When you have completed an ACS course, you will have not only learnt about the subject, but you will have been prompted to start networking with experts in the discipline and shown how to approach problems that confront you in this field.

This and every other industry in today's world is developing in unforeseen ways; and while that is unsettling for anyone who wants to be guaranteed a particular job at the end of a particular course; for others, this rapidly changing career environment is offering new and exciting opportunities almost every month.

If you want to do the best that you can in this industry, you need to recognise that the opportunities that confront you at the end of a course, are probably different to anything that has even been thought of when you commence a course.

 

 

Books

Visit our School bookshop at www.acsebook.com

  • Downloadable ebooks that can be read on ipads, PC’s, Laptops, or readers like a Kindle.
  • Titles are written by our principal and staff.
  • Anyone can purchase books –ACS students are offered a student discount




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