ABUJA- The Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ozo Mmamel, has called for collaboration between tourism and hospitality practitioners to ensure access to suitable skilled workforce in the industry.
Mmamel made this known in a telephone interview with newsmen in Abuja.
He said the industry was projected to experience continued growth in the years to come and needed the right calibre of workforce to meet the challenges.
“To facilitate this projected growth, the industry must work together to ensure we have access to quality workforce.
“Appropriate skilled and quality personnel are integral to the success of business in any industry and this will provide an advantage because customers already expect higher services from our businesses.
He said the practitioners should seek out innovative and flexible ways to manage the existing and future staff.
The commissioner said the approach would require looking beyond traditional methods and sources to attract and retain staff.
He urged practitioners to articulate the vision of their staff through better workforce plan.
Mmamel advised employers to look beyond traditional workforce issues and consider how they could develop attractive and productive workplaces.
“The aim should be to ensure that quality staff will choose to work in the industry over other sectors,’’ he said.
He said people look for jobs in oil companies just because of the bumper pay.
According to him, if overall business performance is to improve, the issues surrounding appropriate workforce must be addressed.
Workers, he added, should have rewarding and secured jobs that offer career paths and competitive salaries.
He said employers across the industry face the same challenge of attracting and keeping people with requisite skills, attitudes and attributes that would move it forward.