STAKEHOLDERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT INTERNSHIP AT UCC

ABSTRACT Internship is one of the most effective models of practical learning in Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) education. It has become necessary to ensure that graduates are equipped with appropriate practical skills. Furthermore, the combination of theory and practice is viewed as an essential component of a student’s HTM education. However, there is still much debate on the nature of training collaboration that exists among the stakeholders. This thesis investigates stakeholders’ perceptions of HTM internship. Data for the study were obtained through a survey for 121 final year HTM students from the University of Cape Coast and interview guide for 10 faculty members and employers in the industry. A census was conducted for the students; purposive sampling for faculty members and a multi-stage sampling technique was used for selecting employers. Generally, the study found that some form of training collaboration exists among stakeholders regarding placement, duration and assessment; however, this collaboration is somewhat weak and must be improved. The study also revealed that stakeholders generally have a positive perception about the HTM internship. Based on the findings, it was concluded that collaboration among stakeholders is somewhat weak and therefore a positive perception about the effectiveness of internship will be achieved when stakeholders strengthen the existing collaboration among them in order to train students during internship.