The National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) has expressed its commitment to raise the industry standards in line with Nigeria’s trajectory of skills transfer.
The agency’s Director-General, Dr. Abisoye Fagade, stated this during a stakeholders forum, pledging the agency’s readiness, as the national Sector Skills Council, to champion initiatives that professionalize the sector.
The tourism sector is transitioning from informal apprenticeship systems to the more structured National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), which stakeholders say is an evolution which underscores a national shift toward fostering economic growth, empowering youth, and building a skilled workforce for the future.
Fagade welcomed the commitment of stakeholders in the Travel, Tourism, Hospitality and Allied Trades sector to skills development and capacity building initiatives, as he pledged his agency’s readiness, as the national Sector Skills Council, to champion initiatives that professionalize the sector and raise industry standards. Fagade reiterated the critical importance of skills acquisition over reliance on academic paper qualifications, particularly in the travel, tourism, and hospitality value chain.
Equipping young people with employable skills, he noted, is key to diverting them from social vices, strengthening national security, and addressing pressing challenges such as unemployment, poverty, social instability, and insecurity.
A further boost to the skills agenda came with the circular issued by the Head of Service of the Federation last year, which conveyed the approval by the National Council on Establishment for the inclusion of National Skills Qualification (NSQ) Levels in the Scheme of Service across all public service sectors.
This policy recognizes that persons trained in any skill area, with qualifications from Levels 1-6, are employable and can be placed on salary grades corresponding to their certified competencies.
Explaining the framework, the DG highlighted that the NSQF is anchored on National Occupational Standards (NOS), statements of competence and performance required in specific job roles, alongside the necessary underpinning knowledge.
This, he noted, reinforces the vital role of the Sector Skills Council (SSC) and Awarding Bodies (ABs) in workforce development for travel, tourism, hospitality, and allied trades.Established in 2015, the Hospitality and Tourism Sector Skills Council of Nigeria (HTSSON), coordinated by NIHOTOUR, is mandated to engage employers and industry stakeholders to identify skills gaps, develop, validate, and implement NOS nationwide.
The DG disclosed further that 12 key areas have been identified and their NOS developed and approved by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for the sector. These, he added, include: Airport and Passenger Service Operations, Event Handling Operations Food Preparation, Packaging, and Dispatch, Food and Beverage Production, Food Safety Services, Food and Beverage Service, Front Office Operations, Housekeeping Operations, Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Operations, Tour Operations, Travel Agency Operations, Travel and Tourism Advisory Services.