THE-ICE Business Alliance Partners Russell Partnership Technology and STR SHARE Center shared insights about their online simulation and certification training offerings, and discussed graduate employability and industry recovery with more than 60 experts from THE-ICE member network across 12 countries.
On Thursday, 23rd April 2020 THE-ICE hosted their fourth COVID-19 webinar, with attendees hearing from representatives of THE-ICE Business Alliance Partners Mr Peter Russell (Russell Partnership Technology) and Mr Steve Hood (STR SHARE Center). Mr Russell and Mr Hood provided an overview of their products to attendees, and further discussion followed regarding the role and impact of simulations and certifications on graduate employability and industry recovery.
Online Simulations, Russell Partnership Technology
Mr Peter Russell introduced attendees to Russell Partnership Technology (RPT)’s range of simulation products:
- HOTS – the hotel and hospitality management simulation
- REVsim – the hotel management and forecasting simulation
- F&Bsim – the food and beverage management simulation
- ASSETsim – the asset management simulation
- Revenue Management App – the revenue management decision application
- Hospitality Business Acumen – the online course focused on industry understanding
- KP Education – the online learning environment for culinary arts
Mr Russell confirmed that these products work equally well for online and face-to-face delivery, and that they can be delivered synchronously or asynchronously, with students working in teams or individually. These programmes are also delivered to industry, from entry level managers to general managers, and are adaptable and customisable.
Mr Russell emphasised that all RPT products focus on experiential learning and, while simulations can never replace hands-on training and experience, they provide a similarly active learning environment. Simulations help to prepare students for industry by allowing them to attempt tasks in a controlled environment before they undertake them in a real workplace, and to become familiar with the mechanics and metrics, which can increase their employability. RPT uses a bespoke Learning Management System (LMS) for student onboarding, which ensures that students understand how to use and comprehend the product, and Train-the-Trainer modules are now available online to assist educators. All products are designed for low bandwidth, to increase accessibility in areas with less reliable digital infrastructure.
Certification Training, STR SHARE Center
STR tracks data from hotels everywhere and provides data to almost 70,000 global customers. STR SHARE (Supporting Hotel-related Academic Research & Education) Center makes that data available to over 900 universities from 75 countries, and can provide current data to academics for research and classroom use as well as training-related resources and industry-relevant training programs.
Mr Hood provided an overview of STR SHARE Center’s key certifications:
- Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA)
- Provides recognition of attaining a thorough knowledge of foundational data analytics and strategic benchmarking.
- A comprehensive training package is available for professors/academics delivering the certification training, and a thorough PowerPoint which can be personalised is also available.
- Hotel Industry Foundations and Introduction to Analytics (HIFIA)
- Less content and simpler material than CHIA, while still building a strong foundation.
- Online Train-the-Trainer sessions are available.
- Certification in Advanced Hospitality and Tourism Analytics (CAHTA)
- Advanced analytics training, with completion of CHIA a pre-requisite to undertaking CAHTA.
- Focused on experiential learning, with hands-on experience analysing industry data and presenting findings to an audience.
- Can be undertaken entirely online, given the current circumstances.
From the ensuing discussion between attendees and panellists, the following key takeaways also emerged:
- Having an industry mentor to give feedback on the decisions made and reports generated would be valuable to students undertaking simulations or certification training.
- The TH&E industry will be highly competitive as it recovers, and upskilling and certifications can help graduates to stand out in this competitive job market.
The recording of the webinar can be accessed here.
For information about upcoming webinars in THE-ICE COVID-19 webinar series, click here.