Tag Archives: Dubai College of Tourism

More than 100 human resources experts from Dubai’s hospitality sector attended the 2nd Dubai College of Tourism HR Forum organised recently by the Dubai College of Tourism (DCT). The Forum was designed to provide recruitment and training specialists in hotels the opportunity to get a better understanding of UAE’s labour laws and find solutions to various work-related challenges. DCT, an institution established by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism),  plays a key role in human resources development in the emirate’s tourism industry and serves as a crucial link between Dubai Tourism and the trade to further enhance the quality of tourism services and the overall visitor experience. During the event held at The Address – Boulevard Hotel, speakers from government and private sector entities addressed the gathering of human resources professionals, covering topics such as Emiratisation, labour laws, and recruitment of staff. The participants were able to glean useful information and get advice from experts during the Q & A session that followed each presentation. Olivier R. Harnisch, CEO of Emaar Hospitality praised the work done by DCT and highlighted the fact that its Emiratisation objectives align with that of Emaar Hospitality. Major Majid AlZarouni, Head of Licensing Department, Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA), a unit of Dubai Police that is responsible for the training of security guards, spoke on issues related to the hiring of security guards including their visas and salaries.

This year, Dubai Tourism has provided alternate higher education options for high school leavers, who dont wish to take the traditional academic route to university. The newly inaugurated Dubai College of Tourism, a government-backed institution that will specialise in vocational training for the Emirate’s thriving tourism and hospitality sectors, is now accepting applications for its September 2017 ‘Introduction to the Tourism Industry’ course. The vocational courses offered by DCT have been designed to provide a middle ground between on-the-job training and a purely theoretical degree. Students will learn practical and marketable skills that have a direct application in real life, and the training will open new doors, allowing students to explore a myriad of exciting and rewarding career opportunities. DCT’s courses are focused around five core faculties – Tourism, Events, Hospitality, Retail and Culinary Arts – and aims to help young people learn various trade and soft skills from established professionals in the industry. The college aims to educate and empower the future leaders, entrepreneurs and employees of Dubai’s expanding tourism industry, ensuring a steady pipeline of highly trained hospitality professionals for the city. Until now, there have been very limited options for this type of vocational training within Dubai. According to a 2014 Deloitte study, only one to three percent of Dubai’s students enrol in vocational education after high school, something which could lead to labour shortages within key industries in the future. With Dubai’s tourism and hospitality sectors set to employ a workforce of more than half a million by 2020, the dedicated industry-focused vocational training offered by DCT, has never been more important.

Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), part of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), hosted the first HR Forum at the Grand Hyatt Dubai. The event, attended by more than 150 people from over 100 hotels operating in the city, focused on DCT’s efforts to train and empower the emirate’s tourist-facing workforce, which is expected to grow to more than half a million by 2020. Ensuring a knowledgeable, well-rounded hospitality workforce that delivers exceptional service is a critical component of Dubai Tourism’s strategy towards meeting its Tourism Vision 2020 goals, which include welcoming 20 million visitors per year by the start of the next decade. The event was an opportunity to introduce forthcoming DCT programmes, including Dubai Way, a detailed online training course designed to improve the knowledge of the tourist-facing workforce, as well as the Tourism Employee System, a unified platform created by Dubai Tourism and Dubai Police that maintains the industry’s employment records and is designed to improve administrative efficiency. Also on the agenda was Dubai Tourism’s new ‘Medyaf’ initiative that seeks to place UAE nationals in customer-facing roles within the tourism industry. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, commented: “Dubai is already well known for its exceptional service and visitor experience, but as we work towards increasing the number of visitors to the city in line with our Tourism Vision 2020, it’s crucial that we not only maintain these levels, but also raise the bar even higher. To that end, Dubai Tourism and Dubai College of Tourism are committed to working closely with our public and private sector stakeholders and partners by offering world-class training programmes. This is to ensure …