Collaboration between the hotel industry business entities and industry-specific higher education institutions as a contributor to improved competitiveness of graduates

With the hotel industry developing through a replanning and a redesign of existing hotels, a construction of new hotels, a development and promotion of the high-profile hotel sector, an increase in the hotel room capacity, and creating new jobs in the sector, the demand for tourism- and hospitality-related professions sees a rapid and significant growth. A vast majority of employers frequently face qualified personnel shortages, thus, the quality of specialist knowledge and skills as demonstrated by graduates is coming to the forth. The most urgent issue to be deal with at the current stage of the establishment and reformation of industry-specific higher education is the process of a comprehensive adaptation of the skills and competences that students acquire as part professional education to the demands and requirements of today's labour market. The article covers different approaches to the definition of “competitiveness on graduation”, considers the key criteria of a graduate's competitiveness evaluation, and substantiates the need for a more synergetic and productive collaboration between industry-specific HE institutions and the hotel-industry professional community in developing and implementing personnel training. The author identifies the best theoretical and practical aspects of the collaboration, which must significantly contribute to graduates' competitiveness in the sphere of hospitality.