Community college steps up to meet tourism demands

STELLARTON - Nova Scotia Community College has introduced a new program to meet the growing demands of the tourism industry.
Beginning in September, a new, two-year Tourism Management diploma program will be offered at NSCC, Pictou campus. (The program is already offered at NSCC campuses in Yarmouth, Bridgewater, Kentville and Dartmouth.)
Students who earn Tourism Management diplomas will be qualified to enter their third year of study in Mount Saint Vincent University's four-year bachelor of tourism and hospitality management program.
"We used to offer a similar one-year diploma program here, but it was suspended about four years ago," says Jim Bate, academic chair for the college's School of Business. "Students in the one-year program were getting entry-level skills and students in the new, two-year diploma program will get that as well. But students who do the degree program will also receive an extra level of management skills."
Candace Blayney, tourism co-ordinator at Mount Saint Vincent University, says students who do the degree program will take courses in business, accounting and economics as well as in the arts and sciences. Those courses are designed to enhance students' managerial and problem-solving skills, she says.
"While graduating students don't necessarily need degrees to get jobs in the tourism industry, having that extra education will help them if they wish to work in management, specifically hotel management," Blayney says.
Meanwhile, Cindy MacKinnon, executive director of the Pictou County Tourist Association, says there is a labour shortage issue in Pictou County regarding the tourism industry. She figures having students trained locally in tourism management will help curb that problem. Currently, many students graduating from other tourism programs are not looking for work in Pictou County, which has created a labour shortage here, she explains.
Students graduating from the new program should find work in Pictou County, she says. "I think there will be many opportunities for students to find placements," says MacKinnon.
"But this will also help tourism operators because it will offer well-trained staff that they can employ not just for front-end jobs but for the planning and developing positions as well."