Representatives of the world’s leading companies have visited Les Roches Marbella, one of the top four hotel management training schools globally, to interview their students as part of a virtual career day.
Les Roches, which has increased its enrolment by 65% over the past 10 years to nearly 2,000 students by 2023, welcomed international recruiters including Marriott International, Silversea Cruises, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels, Barceló Hotel Group, Rocco Forte Hotels and Minor Hotels. Eighty six companies completed almost 1,800 conversations, with 441 students attending throughout the day.
Ninety-two percent of the companies present were looking for students for internship positions, 53% for training programs in supervisory positions, 74% for entry-level jobs and 47% for supervisory and senior roles.
Every year, approximately 300 important national and international brands come to Les Roches’ campuses and expect not only the necessary competencies from their future employees to develop the service with excellence, but also soft skills that demonstrate their motivation, attitude and effort.
This year, the need for personnel with a customer-focused attitude, especially in service and cuisine, has materialised. In fact, 35% of recent Les Roches graduates are recruited to work in non-hospitality industries.
“Les Roches’ ethos is based on integrating digital education and technology strategies to train our students in the latest trends in sustainability and innovation, as well as encouraging multiculturalism and the development of soft skills,” said Carlos Díez de la Lastra, CEO of Les Roches. “We train people and future leaders in both the hotel sector and the various premium brands recognised worldwide.”
Today’s hospitality industry is finding it difficult to find well-qualified personnel. Recruitment processes are changing and more formal resources are being invested to prepare potential employees for a supervisory or management position, guaranteeing them the possibility of joining the workforce upon completion of their program.
Roberto Rodriguez, Director of the Les Roches Career Services and Internships Department in Marbella, explained: “In general, all hotel companies are making an effort to better understand current needs. For example, the Middle East is the region that is recruiting the most talent, due to the enormous amount of job opportunities and accommodation facilities they offer to employees. On the other hand, some leading companies in the Caribbean area are recovering activity approaching pre-pandemic levels.”
In 2022, tourism accounted for 61% of Spanish GDP growth, and is expected to end 2023 with 3% growth. In 2022, the Travel & Tourism sector contributed 7.6% to global GDP worldwide. The sector created 21.6 million new jobs in 2022 to reach more than 295 million globally – that is one in 11 jobs worldwide. Tourism is thus proving to be one of the main drivers of the world economy and its quality depends directly on employment in the sector.
Díez de la Lastra added: “At Les Roches, we have been contributing to the excellence and growth of the luxury hotel industry for almost 70 years, and proof of this is the professionalism of our students. After a few years of crisis, tourism is returning to pre-pandemic levels and companies are once again demanding a high percentage of specialised talent. This is reflected in the average of five job offers that Les Roches students receive upon graduation.”
As part of Les Roches’ commitment to reviving and boosting tourism, since 2017 it has been collaborating with the World Tourism Organization in key areas such as entrepreneurship, youth empowerment and digital transformation.
Les Roches is a benchmark in specialised hospitality and tourism education thanks to its on-campus education with students from more than 100 different nationalities. Students experience working life and acquire the best grounding/training through programs that merge the Swiss experiential method and excellence.
“We want our students to discover what they are really passionate about so they can perform their jobs with excellence,” said Stephanie Ruiz de Jongh, Director of Career Services and Industry Relations at Les Roches. “We teach them how to deal with people from different cultures, not only in restaurants and hotels but also in any company that provides a premium service or sells a product. Through theoretical and practical learning, students start at the most junior positions to gain a real insight into the industry, and eventually acquire the management skills needed to lead teams.”