To be successful in the hospitality sector, one should have a good education first. And Swiss hotel schools offer that. They value not only theoretical knowledge but also training in real businesses. That is why graduates of these schools do not have problem finding good jobs.
Graduates of Swiss hotel schools do not have problems finding a good job in labor market once they finish their studies. Elodie Fournet, spokesperson for the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL), said that about 75 percent of the graduates from the EHL find employment immediately. Integration is easy for EHL graduates mainly because studying at the school prepares students for variety of jobs in hospitality sector including the positions in management. The fact that the hospitality sector is an area of the economy that is currently expanding helps graduates join the labor market more easily a great deal.
Careers in hotels and restaurants are not the only option for graduates from the EHL. They can also look for jobs in sub-sectors of tourism such as casinos, cruises or airlines. They can make good organizers of meetings and conferences as well. Service industries beyond tourism like audit and consulting firms or private banks are opened for them too. Ernest A. Brugger, professor of development at the University of Zurich, adds that the art of hospitality and providing services to clients is also very important in these occupations.
Professional experience is also highly valued by employers, which is why training in real businesses is part of curricula in many hotel schools. Last year, the Swiss Hotel School of Lucerne EHSL had 102 graduates. However, they did not begin their careers immediately. They continued gaining knowledge and experience through training: mostly in middle management positions in hotels. EHSL graduates do not usually have problems finding jobs as many of them return to the establishments where they did their senior internship.
Before beginning the last semester, EHSL students whose specialization is management studies are required to provide proof of their professional experience. They have to work 36 months at the least in hotels and spend minimum of six months of the whole period in a management position. As a result, EHSL graduates have not had problems finding jobs in private clinics, with airline companies or fast food chains as well. On average, around 60 percent of hotel-school graduates are employed at leadership positions in catering firms or in hotels and around 35 percent of them reach senior positions in the field.