A Framework for Human Resources Development Strategy at the Macro-Level - A Situational Analysis of Tourism Human Resources in Bahia, Brazil

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A Framework for Human

Resources Development

Strategy at the Macro-LevelLionel Bcherel

a

aInternational Tourism Consultancy, 14 Latchmere

Road, London, SW11 2DX

Version of record first published: 12 Oct 2008.

To cite this article:Lionel Bcherel (2001): A Framework for Human ResourcesDevelopment Strategy at the Macro-Level, International Journal of Hospitality &Tourism Administration, 1:3-4, 73-97

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A Framework for Human ResourcesDevelopment Strategy at the Macro-Level:

A Situational Analysis of TourismHuman Resources in Bahia, Brazil

Lionel Bcherel

SUMMARY. This article focuses on human resources development(HRD) strategy for the tourism sector. It describes a framework basedon the strategic planning process comprising a series of steps to ex-amine the conditions of tourism employment and the labour market at adestination and to identify barriers to HRD. Experience shows that thesuccess of a strategic plan relies on the involvement of all players in thetourism industry in its elaboration and implementation, and it is arguedthat an advisory body must be created to develop HRD strategy.

A case study is presented illustrating one of the stages of the pro-cess--a situational analysis of tourism human resources and educationprovision in the northeastern Brazilian State of Bahia. [Article copiesavailableforafeefromTheHaworthDocumentDeliveryService:1-800-342-9678.

E-mail address: Website: ]E2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rightsreserved.

KEYWORDS. Macro-level human resources strategy, strategic plan-

ning process, manpower planning, training needs analysis, labour mar-ket signals, competitive strategy

Lionel Bcherel is Director, International Tourism Consultancy, 14 LatchmereRoad, London SW11 2DX (E-mail: [email protected]).

[Haworth co-indexing entry note]: A Framework for Human Resources Development Strategy at theMacro-Level: A Situational Analysis of Tourism Human Resources in Bahia, Brazil. Bcherel, Lionel.Co-publishedsimultaneouslyinInternational Journal of Hospitality& TourismAdministration (TheHaworthHospitalityP ress, animprint ofTheHaworthPress,Inc.) Vol. 1, Nos.3/4, 2001, pp. 73-97; and: TourisminSouth

America(ed: GuiS antana)TheHaworthHospitality Press, animprint ofTheHaworthPress, Inc.,2001, pp.73-97.Single or multiple copies of this article are available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service[1-800-342-9678, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EST). E-mail address: [email protected]].

E2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 73

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TOURISM IN SOUTH AMERICA74

INTRODUCTION

Baum (1995, 227) notes that human resources planning for tourism andhospitality at the macro level whether involving a community, region or at atransnational level is one of the most neglected in the literature. A search ofthe literature reveals that most tourism and hospitality research into humanresources at the macro level focuses on employment trends and labour marketpolicy implications, the perceptions of industry as an employer, and industrialrelations--with the greater concentration on the hospitality sector (Lashleyand Watson 1999).

Tourism human resources planners working at the macro level must con-

tend with a number of difficulties. The industry is fragmented and multi-sec-torial; there are many organisations, both private sector and public sector,which have an interest in planning tourism manpower; and there is often nocoordinating authority to plan for the industry as a whole (Baum, 1995).Furthermore, the tourism industry is mostly made up of Small and MediumSized Enterprises (SMEs) employing less than ten workers.

One objective of this paper is to present a method to help public sectorstrategists devise human resources strategies which take into account theroles and needs of stakeholders-- tourism industry employers, educationand training providers, and the public sector--and which identifies barriersto the successful implementation of these strategies. Attempts to developappropriate tourism manpower in a destination cannot merely rely onquantitative forecasting exercises to match supply with demand in order toavoid shortages. Decision-makers need a greater wealth of information tounderstand market signals and to be able to formulate realistic and achiev-able strategies and policies.

THEORETICAL DISCUSSION

Approaches to Manpower Planning

Historically, manpower planning was based on linear extrapolation of pasttrends. Several authors argue that this simplistic methodology fails to provideaccurate enough information for decision-making (Ahamad and Blaug, 1973;Psacharopoulos, 1984; Youdi and Hinchcliffe, 1985; World Bank, 1991; Psa-charopoulos, 1994). Psacharopoulos (1994) explains that technological ad-vances, economic progress, and shifts in societal conditions bring about unan-ticipated changes and inject too much uncertainty to make linear forecasts

meaningful in planning manpower. He concludes that planning is based onlong-term visions but, given the high level of uncertainty, the focus of man-power planning should be on a continuous analysis of the labour market and onformulating short- and mid-term policies to react to unexpected changes.


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Lionel Bcherel 75

The meagre literature on manpower planning for the tourism industrytypifies the historical approach. Inskeeps method is mostly quantitative. Headvocates a four step methodology: (1) Evaluating the present utilisation ofhuman resources in tourism and identifying any existing problems and needs;(2) Projecting the future human resources needed by estimating the numberof personnel required in each category of employment and determining thequalification for each category of job; (3) Evaluating the human resourcesavailable in the future; (4) Formulating the education and training pro-grammes required to provide the requisite qualified resources (1991, 404).However, it is clear from the research that has been carried out that greateremphasis must be placed on understanding and constantly monitoring the

tourism labour market.Analysts are now concerned with identifying issues that affect the labour

market and consider such areas as:

S labour supply and demand;S employment structure;S wage rates and working conditions;S labour mobility;S labour turnover;S employment policies and the agencies that formulate and control them;S education and training policies and the agencies that formulate and con-

trol them;S awareness of tourism employment and tourism employment opportuni-

ties by the local population;S recruitment practices; andS career paths.

Richter (1986, 13) defines market signals as the most recent indicators ofthe situation and trends in the labour market(s). Manpower planners require

long-term market signals that look at aspects such as global trends, popula-tion growth versus employment growth, structural unemployment and labourmobility, and migration. Education and training planners find the greatestvaluein mid- to short-term market signals, whichincludevacancydata, movementsinrates ofunemployment, labourturnover, incentives,and soon. Thisinformationcan be fed into programming the appropriate training courses to deal withimmediate and medium-term needs.

Manpower Planning and Vocational Training Planning

Tourism can be described as a hands on industry requiring employeeswith well-honed vocational skills. Therefore, the tourism industry reliesheavily on vocational training programmes to develop its human resources.


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However, in many destinations there is little coordination between the tour-ism industry and the educational and training institutions to match needs withprovision.

According to Richter (1986, ibid), there has traditionally been an uneasyrelationship between manpower planning and vocational training planning.

Manpower planning research at the macro level is often undertaken as partof, or in conjunction with, national planning activities. Generally, the man-power requirements approach produces predictions of the number of peopleneeded for each job or occupation. Vocational training planners complain thatthe forecasts are too often inaccurate and do not provide enough informationto allow assessment of training needs to devise the appropriate training pro-

grammes.In other words, manpower planners usually take a top down approach,

focusing on the overall needs on industry whereas vocational planners followa bottom-up approach, focusing on the occupational content of trainingprogrammes, appropriate methods of delivering the contents, and the capac-ity of students to learn.

Richter views training needs assessment as a process that requires closepartnership between manpower and vocational training planners. The processstarts with gathering all the relevant information about the current labour

market and future manpower situation from government departments andagencies, industry and education and training institutions by primary andsecondary techniques and by analysing it. He advocates publishing the analy-sis and making it available to all stakeholders concerned with training. Thisfeeds training planners with the information to design appropriate pro-grammes. Finally, the process should include a monitoring system to ensurethat the programmes are relevant to the needs of industry, to introduce im-provements if necessary, and to monitor the career paths of graduates.

The process described by Richter is based on the strategic planning pro-

cess. He explains the need for close collaboration between manpower plan-ners and vocational training: Training needs assessment and monitoring thatis to make full use of labour market signalling requires the building up of areal partnership between manpower planners and vocational training plan-ners. Each must understand what to expect from the other, including theirrelevant contribution to the partnership and the mutual benefits they couldderive. In this context, vocational training planners will learn how to defineclearly the nature and scope of information they need to have for each specificpurpose. Manpower plannerswill have to learn to put forwarda convincingcase

for the usefulness of labour market signals for training needs assessment . . .(1986, 17).Therefore, it is clear that developing tourism human resources requires a

framework that integrates manpower planning and training planning.


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Lionel Bcherel 77

The Strategic Planning Process

Baum (1995) suggests that planning at the macro level should be based ona process similar to the corporate planning process for companies. This offersa basic planning framework, although it needs to be adapted to themacro-levelconditions of the tourism sector.

The strategic planning process advances a methodology that reduces un-certainties in strategy formulation. The process is systematic, and a numberof questions are considered at each stage. The first stage is defining themission. This provides an overall vision of what is to be achieved. It asks thequestion:What is it we want?

The second stage is situational analysis. This is where many of the re-search techniques are applied. The situational analysis falls into two catego-ries, the external analysis and the internal analysis. The external analysisexamines the macro-environment, which generally comprises uncontrollablefactors. The internal analysis examines the factors that directly affect theobject of the research. These are often factors that can be controlled. Thesituational analysis asks the question: Where are we now?

Once the information has been collected and analysed, forecasts can bemade for the life span of the strategic plan. Assumptions taking into accountissues that will affect the future are factored into the forecasts to draw up themost likely scenarios of what the future will hold. This stage asks the ques-tion:Where do we want to go?

Given the possibilities and threats uncovered by the analysis, the beststrategic method is chosen to achieve the mission. Plans of activities must beelaborated to produce the desired results, taking into account the resourcesavailable to implement them. Sequences of events are set out in precisetimetables, budgets are allocated and responsibilities are assigned to carrythem out. This stage asks the question: How do we get there? (the imple-mentation stage).

There are several approaches to the implementation stage. Strategy can beimplemented by developing a long-term planning basis, developing severalshort-term plans, reacting to changes in conditions and emerging trends or bydeveloping a combination of all of these. The favoured approach to imple-mentation will affect the type of strategy pursued.

The final stage of the process is, in fact, ongoing and continuous through-out the whole process. The plan must be monitored on a constant basis toensure that the actions are achieving the desired results within the desiredtime scale and that the resources are used efficiently. Many changes will

occur during the life of the plan, and a system must be in place to react andadapt to them. This stage asks the question: Did we get there?At the micro-level, HRD strategy focuses on the needs of the company and

does not consider many of the human resources development issues at the


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macro level. Tourism businesses are concerned with three levels of strategy:corporate strategy, business unit strategy, and operational strategy or func-tional strategy (Bcherel and Vellas, 1999; Bratton and Gold, 1999; Asch andBowman, 1989). The focus of strategy is to ensure the survival and success ofthe business. At the macro level, tourism human resources strategy is inextri-cably linked with the destinations competitive strategy.

Tourism Human Resources in the Destinations Competitive Strategy

The success of a destination depends on its competitiveness, and one of

the key elements of competitiveness is the quality and efficiency of its humanresources. Part of the travel experience is the quality of the services that thevisitor receives and the skills of the local population in providing theseservices. The way people are treated is a competitive factor that will encour-age the flow of tourists to the destination. On the other hand, if other elementsthat make up the destination are deficient, such as its products, its infrastruc-ture, its facilities, and its political and economic situation, then the flow oftourists will weaken, resulting in fewer jobs available in the industry and,quite often, a lack of investment in the development of human resources.

The tourism industry is a fast changing industry. To succeed in a competitivemarket, the destination must keep up with the pace of change and adapt to newconditions brought by change. Therefore, human resources development mustbe dynamic and directedstrategically inorder toadjust tothe perceivedopportu-nities and threats in the environment. Most importantly, barriers to developingthe most appropriate human resources for the destination must be identified.

Several stakeholders are involved in the planning of tourism human re-sources and include: tourism industry employers; education and trainingestablishments (both public and private sector run); public sector departmentsand agencies; and non-governmental organisations and pressure groups.

Often, the primary purpose for developing tourism human resources willdiffer according to the stakeholder, and they rarely co-ordinate their actions.

Industry wants skilled employees that can perform the required tasks andservices efficiently at the right level of quality. However, margins are tight intourism, and employers may be reluctant to pay the rates that qualified job seekersexpect, so they employ staff without qualifications and train them on-the-job.Many employers in SMEs consider staff training to be a burden rather than aninvestment, both in financial terms and in terms of time taken away from the job.

Educational institutionsareconcerned with equipping studentsfor thefuture

and see their role as encouraging personal development. These objectivesmaybe in conflict with those of employers who are primary interested in staff trained toperform specific tasks. Furthermore, in many countries, tourism and hospitalitycourses are popular and are seen as a passport to glamorous careers. Providers,


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Lionel Bcherel 79

particularly those in the private sector, may capitalise on financial gains brought bydeveloping popular courses with little real regard to industry needs.

The public sector is concerned with reducing unemployment and stimulat-ing business to maintain political stability and to increase government reve-nue. In reality, the public sector in many countries has a poor understandingof the structure of the tourism industry and the interrelationship between thesectors. It does not collect the information needed to devise the right HRDstrategies and formulate policy. Responsibilities may not be shared nor mayactivities be coordinated between different government departments and lev-els. Non-governmental organisations (i.e., trade unions, pressure groups)pursuing specific agendas may influence government action.

If the competitiveness of a destination is in part dependent on the skillsand commitment of employees in the tourism industry, then a frameworkmust be devised to identify and surmount obstacles that may hamper thedevelopment of the right type of tourism human resources.

The next section has two objectives: first, it reviews primary researchundertaken in the state of Bahia in Northeast Brazil, provides information onthe current tourism human resources situation in the state, and relates therecommendations made from the study; second, it describes a methodologyto collect the information and puts forward a framework for developing

human resources strategy at the macro-level.

A SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF TOURISMHUMAN RESOURCES NEEDS IN BAHIA

The study was commissioned by SEBRAE, the Brazilian organisation thatprovides support for SMEs, and was backed by the public sector body--theSecretariat do Turismo e Cultura.

The report serves to show how part of the research stage of strategy is

conducted and should be seen as indicative rather than precise. A morein-depth study is needed to support the results and to examine certain areasthat have been uncovered.

Aims and Objectives of the Study and Methodology

The main objective of the study was to identify the deficiencies in tourismand hospitality education and training provision in Bahia by quantitative aswell as by qualitative research and to focus on the needs of the tourism

industry. The research presents valuable labour market information on thesectors.Before being in a position to forecast future manpower needs, planners

must have a greater understanding of factors influencing the tourism labour


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market. A complete picture of employment and education and training at thedestination needs to be built up. On the demand side, this is usually achievedthrough surveys and interviews with industry representatives and opinionleaders (or key informants) in each of the tourism sub-sectors. On the supplyside, the performance and influence of education and training providers isassessed. Teaching facilities, skills of educators, and course contents areaudited to evaluate quality and efficiency.

The research in this study corresponds to the second stage of the strategicprocess-- the situational analysis--and concentrates on the demand for tourismhuman resources. However, it should be noted that the investigation wasfocused on industry and the bulk of the research was carried out with the

industry sub-sectors. Some of the training institutions were visited tointroduce the study and to explore the general feelings about tourism humanresources in the state, but a thorough audit was not undertaken. A secondinvestigation needs to be carried out to look in much greater detail at educa-tion and training provision in Bahia in order to assess its correspondence totourism industry requirements and to its future development. This wouldconstitute an analysis of the supply of tourism human resources.

Analysing Tourism and the Tourism Industry at the Destination -Background to the Development of Tourism in Bahia

A Growing Sector

The state of Bahia is located in the north-east of Brazil. It is blessed with avariety of tourism products, which include 600 miles (1,103km) of beaches, arich cultural heritage with indigenous, European, and African influences,popular and lively culture, and protected ecological areas. Tourism is consid-ered to be a great sector for growth. CODETUR, the Division for TourismDevelopment at the State Department for Culture and Tourism, is an agency

actively encouraging investment in the sector, and it provides a range ofsupport services, such as statistical information, technical support for theimplementation of projects, advice on financing, and fiscal incentives fortourism projects and promoting development partnerships.

In recent years, tourism in Bahia has grown at a steady rate. In 1996, 2.8million tourists visited the state--a year-on-year increase in arrivals from 1990when they stood at 1.7 million. Over 90 per cent of visitors are domestictourists. It should be noted, however, that international tourist arrivals fellback from 322,000 in 1995 to 272,000 in 1996.

However, prognostics for the future are very positive. Bahiatursa, thestates tourism department, predicts that by 2005 the total number of touristsvisiting the state will have increased to 4 million and receipts to US$3 billionfrom US$1.75 billion in 1996.


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Lionel Bcherel 81

Tourism Development

The public authorities have identified seven tourism zones for prioritydevelopment. According to CODETUR: . . . the Tourist Zones are priorityareas for the expansion and development of tourism, and were selected on thebasis of the quality of their tourist attractions, their proximity to already-es-tablished tourist centres, the availability of real estate for the environmentallysensitive creation of leisure, entertainment and lodging facilities (Govern-ment da Bahia pamphlet [1997]: Bahia, a great place for tourism; an evengreater place for doing business) (see Figure 1).

FIGURE 1. Priority Tourism Development Zones in Bahia

Salvadorde Bahia

Porto Seguro


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The tourist zones offer several products and investment opportunities

S The Coconut Palm Coast (Costa dos Coquieros): The Coconut PalmCoast and the All Saints Bay Tourist Zone are situated in the northernsection of Bahia. They boast over 400km of coastline, many islands,rivers, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and sand dunes. The state capital--Salvador-- is located in All Saints Bay (Baia de todos os Santos). Its his-toric district, the Pelourinho, has received substantial public sector in-vestment to develop its tourism potential and is on the UNESCO WorldHeritage list. The main high category leisure and business hotels are lo-cated in Salvador. The zone is well served in terms of infrastructure,

particularly around the capital. This includes basic facilities (water,electricity, sanitation, and telecommunication), international and re-gional airports, paved highways and roads, an international seaport, andpublic transport services. Planned developments include resort hotels(for instance, the Odebrecht resort development project at Saupe),theme parks, sporting facilities, spas and marinas, and ecological parks.

S The Dende Coast (Costa do Dende): The Dende Coast is named afterthe palm oil produced in the area, which is a staple ingredient of Bahiancuisine. Located south of the Coconut Palm Coast, it has good potentialfor tourism development. The main attractions include unspoiledbeaches, many small inhabited islands in a large bay, a tidal archipela-go, and lush vegetation on the mainland. There are several landingstrips in the zone and a regional airport is under construction. Mostareas on the Dende Coast have basic infrastructure and services such aspaved roads, electrical power, telecommunications, and water supply.There are development projects underway for the improvement and ex-pansion of drinking water supply, sewerage, and solid waste disposalfacilities for some communities. Planned tourism projects include re-sort hotels and small bed and breakfast lodgings, spas, theme parks, ma-

rinas, fishing centres, and equestrian clubs.S The Cacao Coast (Costa do Cacao): Cacao has been cultivated on this

coast since the 19th century, and this has brought the added benefit ofpreserving the natural forests. The zones many ecological assets, suchas rich flora and fauna, freshwater lakes, white river rapids, and man-grove swamps, are under environmental protection. The area is interna-tionally known through the writings of the famous Brazilian authorJorge Amado, who set, his novels on the coast, and for its excellent wa-ter sports facilities such as surfing and deep-sea fishing. There is a na-

tional airport in Ilhus and a regional airport in Canavieras, a good net-work of paved roads to the beaches, and air and bus transport services.Most communities have drinking water supplies, electric power, andtelecommunication and projects are underway to expand these services


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Lionel Bcherel 83

and provide sanitation and solid waste disposal for the communitiesthat need them.

S The Discovery Coast (Costa do Descubrimento): This is the coastwhere Portuguese explorers first arrived in Brazil in 1500. The resort ofPuerto Seguro is the second most visited town in Bahia-- in fact, bothSalvador and Bahia are amongst the five most visited towns in Brazil.The tourism industry in the resort comprises small tourism enterprises(family hotels, local firms, etc.) which have put in place a collaborativestrategy to ensure their sustainable development, competitiveness, andquality. Recently, the Discovery Coast Tourism Council has been estab-lished to stimulate participation and partnership between the private

sector and public agencies. The region has the largest remaining area ofAtlantic Forest on the Brazilian coast, a number of environmentalprotection areas, such as the Monte Pascoal National Park, indigenouspeoples reservations, and excellent beaches. An international airport atPuerto Seguro serves the zone, and a transport infrastructure and net-work provides access to areas of interest. Most communities in the areaenjoy good infrastructure and, where needed, expansion of water, sew-er, and solid waste disposal facilities programmes are underway. Manytourism development projects are being planned, including resort ho-

tels, eco-lodgings, ecological parks, spas, theme resorts, museums, fish-ing centres and marinas, and country and equestrian clubs.

S The Whale Coast (Costa das Baleiras): The main attraction of this areais the yearly arrival of hundreds of whales migrating from Antarctica tothe undersea coral formations in the Albolhos National Marine Park.The park comprises a group of islands and is a protected habitat for sea-birds and marine life. The coast has beautiful beaches, small fishing vil-lages, lush vegetation, and coconut groves. There is a regional airporton the mainland, and local communities benefit from all basic infra-

structure. The development of resorts, floating hotels, small hotels, ma-rine theme parks and museums, and diving centres as well as countryclubs and equestrian clubs are planned.

S Chapada Diamantina: The mountainous and ecological Chapada Dia-manta National Park is an ideal region for adventure tourism and eco-tourism. The natural attractions include exotic flora and fauna, rivers,springs and waterfalls, underground lakes and mountain peaks over2000 metres (Pico de Barbado). This was also thesite of the 19th centurygold and diamond rush, thus providing the area with historical interest.

The zone is under environmental protection, and infrastructure has beenintroduced with this in mind. The emphasis is on low-density tourism,and areas have been set aside for tourist-related enterprises. ChapadaDiamanta benefits from a regional airport at Lenis, paved highways


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to the principal towns and natural areas, and regular bus services, aswell as basic infrastructure. The water system is being expanded andsanitary sewers introduced for the communities that still do not havethem.

Although not specifically singled out as main areas for tourism develop-ment, other zones in the state present good potential for tourism in the future.The So Fransisco River Valley in the north of the state cuts across a varietyof different landscapes from semi-arid regions to irrigated fruit plantations.The river has several dams to generate electricity and large man-made lakeshave been created where water sports can be practiced. The western side of

Bahia offers exotic landscapes in a hot, dry climate with rivers, waterfalls,white-water rapids, caves, uplands, ponds, and archaeological sites.

Investment for Tourism Development

Since 1992, Bahia has benefited from an investment programme to stimu-late the development of tourism. PRODETUR, financed by the Inter-Ameri-can Bank (60%) and the government, has received US$392 million for devel-opment projects that include the creation of basic infrastructure, the expansionof airports, the renovation of historic sites, and the establishment of protectedecological and environmental zones (APAS). In total, the government has pledgedUS$2 billion in investment for the tourism sector between 1991 and 2002.

The public sector is also keen to attract private sector investment and,according to CODETUR, by 2012, US$4.4 billion will have been invested inprivate sector projects state-wide.

Although the picture is very positive, there are immediate issues affectingthe development of tourism and tourism human resources in Bahia. This isillustrated by the following situation in the hotel sector.

There are few major hotel chains in Salvador, so virtually no central

administration and hotels tend to be small units run by the owner. Occupationrates are falling in Salvador. This, according to the president of the hotelassociation, is because there are too many hotels in the city and the marketingtactics used are inappropriate or inadequate. As a result, 5 star hotels arediscounting the cost of rooms to keep occupancy up. Guests who wouldusually stay at 3 and 4 star hotels are upgrading to 5 star hotels. Indeed,statistics compiled by Bahiatursa would seem to support this contention. In1995, 5 star hotels accommodated over 50% of tourists staying in classifiedhotels, this is nearly an 11% variation on 1994. For all other categories,

occupancy fell in 1995 compared with 1994. (see Table 1)Thus, profits are low in the sector, and this has a direct effect on therecruitment of the workforce. To stay within their limited budget, hotelierstend to hire people that are not qualified. Furthermore, labour legislation is


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Lionel Bcherel 85

strict and complex and the social costs are very high. Although salaries arelow, the social costs represent 104% of the salary.

Tourism and Hospitality Education and Training Provision in Bahia

Tourism education and training is available at all levels in Bahia. SENACis a nationwide professional training institution. It provides courses frombasic to postgraduate level. The Sao Paulo SENAC offers degrees; the BahiaSENAC plans to offer them in the future. Programmes are available to theopen market and can also be tailored on an individual basis to the specificneeds of companies. There are 6 units in Bahia. In total, 5,000 people a yearare trained by SENAC in hospitality, catering, and tourism functions rangingfrom short tailor-made courses to longer formal courses.

The CTET-BA (Centro Federal de Educacao Tecnologica da Bahia) hasbeen in existence for 80 years and is under the control of the Ministry ofEducation. It provides high level education and training for the 2nd and 3rdgrade. It covers all areas of the economy, and the National Council of Educa-tion approves the curricula for the courses. In the tourism and hospitalityfields, it offers 9 technical courses at 2nd grade level and 5 at 3rd grade level.There are 4 other units of the college in the state. Since 1978, the college hasoffered a two and a half-year course in Hotel Administration with an output

of 60 students a year. A period of practice in industry is included at the end ofthe course. There is a practical facility for catering at the college but norestaurant.

High level education is provided by universities, such as the Faculdade deTurismo da Bahia, which offers bachelor degrees in tourism and hospitality(output about 100 graduates a year), FACS--Faculdade de Salvador (outputapproximately 80 graduates a year), and the Universidade Federal de Bahia(output 50 graduates a year). There is great demand for these courses; forinstance, in 1996, FACS had 820 applications for 80 available places. Since

TABLE 1

1994 1995

% of tourists % of tourists VariationCategory staying in staying in 95/94

classified hotels classified hotels

5 Star 45.91 50.05 10.81

4 Star 25.44 24.27 3.043 Star 20.31 19.06 4.602 Star 6.76 5.52 17.061 Star 1.58 1.11 28.59

Source: BAHIATURSA -- BOHs


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Lionel Bcherel 87

The questionnaires comprised both structured and open-ended questionsand the results were analysed using statistical software.

The qualitative research consisted of in-depth interviews with experts andopinion leaders in the sub-sectors as well as with senior staff of institutionsthat provide tourism and hospitality training and education in Salvador.

Opinion leaders interviewed included: representatives from the hotel sec-tor--ABIH; the travel agency and tour operator sector--ABAV; the restaurantsector--ABRASEL; a development agency, SUDANE; a major investor intourism, ODEBRECHT; the public sector, BAHIATURSA and CODETUR;senior SEBRAE staff; and representatives from educational and traininginstitutions.

The primary research collected by the survey and the interviews was sup-ported by secondary data in the form of published information and statistics.

FINDINGS

Quantitative Measurement of the Industry and Structure of the Industry

To be in a position to plan future manpower, it is vital to measure thenumber of employees in each occupation of the tourism sub-sectors and ateach professional level. Research by Riley (1991) shows that nearly two-thirds (64%) of employees in the hotel and restaurant sectors work at theoperative level, that is, semi-skilled and unskilled workers. The craft (orskilled) level accounts for 22%, the supervisory level 8% and the manageriallevel just 6%.

Methods used to measure tourism employment and to gather informationabout the labour market are more or less effective. These include economicmodels (e.g., multiplier studies and input-output models, econometric mod-els, the manpower requirement approach, and the proportional method); cost

benefit analysis (i.e., return-on-investment analysis); statistical extrapola-tions (i.e., time series projections, normative methods); and the internationalcomparison method, which consists of studying other countries with higherlevels of development but with similar conditions to estimate future employ-ment needs (Baum, 1995; Richter, 1986). The survey method with stakeholdersand opinion leaders is recognised as being a fairly accurate technique ofcollecting quantitative information on tourism human resources as well aslimited qualitative information. The flexibility of the method allows explora-tion of tourism labour market issues. However, its weaknesses lie in the

danger of market researcher bias and error and defective questionnaire design.Quantitative measurement of the size of the tourism labour market and thedefinition of employment structure in terms of professional levels are impor-tant stages of the analytical process as they provide a basis for forecasts.


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It is possible to extrapolate average number of employees per room in eachcategory hotels from the information collected by the survey.

Table 2 shows that 5 star hotels employ on average fewer employees perroom than 4 star hotels. This is a result of a price war instigated by the 5 starhotels to increase occupancy (see previous section).

The employee-to-room ratio is an important human resources as well asquality indicator in the hotel sector. The labour to room ratio in Bahia is low:in the higher category hotels it is 0.64 for 5 star hotels and 0.66 for 4 starhotels. This is a consequence of the high cost of labour in Brazil and the pricewar. This would also explain why 5 star hotels have lower labour to roomratio than 4 star hotels. To compensate for the large discounts that they are

offering, productivity gains have had to be made by streamlining the work-force.

International comparisons of room to labour ratios in developing countrieswhere labour is cheap (e.g., Indonesia) for 4 to 5 star hotels is as high as 1.8.In semi-developed and rapidly developing countries where there is a labourshortage and escalating cost of hiring, it is 1.2 to 1.4. Developed countrieswith high labour costs (e.g. Northern Europe) typically have ratios of 0.6 to0.8 with labour saving in-built minimum service provision. Bahia should beconsidered as a rapidly developing region with low labour to room ratio.

Tourism Manpower in Bahia

Bahiatursa estimates that in 1996 there were 102,000 jobs directly relatedto tourism and 466,000 indirectly related to tourism. However, this is not

TABLE 2. Numberof Employees per Room/Bed in Different Category Hotels

Size of the No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of

Hotels No. of Permanent Rooms Employees Beds EmployeesRepresented Hotels Employees per Room per Bed

5 Star Hotels 5 769 1,205 0.64 2,452 0.31

4 Star Hotels 16 1,189 1,747 0.66 3,423 0.35

3 Star Hotels 32 945 1,865 0.51 4,146 0.23

2 Star Hotels 10 123 303 0.41 775 0.16

No Category 41 418 1,327 0.31 3,093 0.14

TOTAL 104 3,444 6,447 0.53 13,889 0.25

Source: Bahia Manpower Survey, 1996


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Lionel Bcherel 89

TABLE 3. Employment Structure in the Tourism Private Sector

By Department -- (Percentage)

Hotel Sector Restaurant Sector Travel Firms Sector

Food and Beverage 28 Service 53 Ticketing 50

Administ ration 19 Kitchen 38 Operations 19

Front Office 17 Administration 10 Product Development 14

Housekeeping 4 Marketing 5

Others 32 Others 12

By Professional Level -- (Percentage)

Hotel Sector Restaurant Sector Travel Firms Sector

Managers 7 Managers 7 Managers 26

Supervisors 7 Supervisors 5 Supervisors 7

Skilled Operators 44 Skilled Operators 44 Skilled Operators 52

Semi/nonskilled 41 Semi/nonskilled 44 Semi/nonskilled 16Operators Operators Operators


broken down into sub-sectors and the method used to obtain these figures isnot explained. Discussions with representatives appear to contradict thesefindings.

Therefore, the main objective at this stage of the research was to determinethe structure of employment. However, to forecast future employment needs,further research was needed, mainly:

A. To obtain accurate figures for the current size of the tourism industryworkforce and the rate at which it has grown in the last few years.

B. To understand some of the specific conditions that influence the labour

market; an area the research has just touched upon.Employment Structure

Employment by sector will vary according to the type of tourism offeredand the balance between incoming and outgoing activity. The survey indi-cated that the Bahian tourism industry has the structure shown in Table 3.

The employment structure of the hotel and restaurants sectors in Bahiabroadly corresponds to the proportions found in Rileys UK survey.

Industry experts interviewed estimated that there are approximately30,000 employees in the Bahian hotel industry. Food and Beverage is thelargest department accounting for 28% of all hotel employees. If the estima-tions by the experts are correct, then there are 8,400 food and beverageemployees and over 4,000 managers and supervisors.


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Representatives of the restaurant sector could not estimate the size of theworkforce. Customer contact staff account for over half the staff in therestaurant sector. As expected, nearly 9 employees out of 10 are skilled,semi-skilled, or unskilled operatives.

The travel firms sector includes travel agencies, outbound tour operators,and incoming tour operators. According to industry experts, the workforce inthis sector accounts for approximately 3,500 employees-- just over a tenth ofthe size of the hotel workforce.

Ticketing staff represent half the staff in travel firms. These are skilledoperatives who need specialised qualifications. Travel firms tend to be smallwith several departments, each with management structures. Therefore, man-

agement accounts for a higher proportion of employees than in other sectorsof the tourism industry.

This methodology is appropriate for a broad estimation of the current sizeof the workforce. However, to forecast future human resources needs otherfactors must be taken into account. The size of the workforce does notgenerally increase (or decrease) at the same rate as the number of arrivals at adestination. Rises in employment (direct as well as indirect) may be calcu-lated using economic models, such as multiplier models and input-outputmodels, but even these figures are considered indicative rather than precise.

The survey provides a clearer idea of the labour market in Bahia andidentifies the most used methodsto recruit employees, the jobsthat are difficultto fill, and the most serious human resources problems in the industry.

Methods of Employee Recruitment

The main recruitment method in Bahia is through the recommendation of thefirms employees (see list in order of importance below). Two-thirds of travelfirms and hotels recruit employees in this way. Other methods include:

1. Recommendation of employees,2. From other firms,3. Personal relations,4. Advertising,5. From academic institutions.

Poaching from other firms is high and represents the second most used methodof recruitment. Nearly half of travel firms recruit from other firms in their sector.This would suggest that there is high staff turnover and little loyalty to thefirm,and it is a view supported by the interviews carried out with representa-

tives of the sectors.The restaurant sector shows a much more even spread in recruitmentmethods. Nearly half recruit on the recommendation of their staff, but poach-ing from other firms is lower than in other sectors and advertising is higher.


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Lionel Bcherel 91

In general, there is low recruitment directly from academic institutions.More research is necessary to uncover the reasons why. Restaurants are morelikely to recruit from academic institutions, reflecting the fact that training forthe catering industry has been established longer by organisations such as SE-NAC.

Respondents were asked whether they were satisfied with training andeducation provision in Bahia. Unanimously, they were satisfied at all levels;however, there was a general feeling that more communication betweenindustry and training institutes is needed. Certain areas are not covered andindustry would like to have a greater input in the curricula.

Therefore, it is clear a problem of communication exists and that there is

little collaboration between industry and educational institutions.

Why Positions Are Hard to Fill

Respondentswereasked toidentify themain barriersto recruitingemployees.The following reason were most mentioned (in order of importance):

1. Lack of skills2. Low salary3. Lack of candidates

Lack of skills in all departments is the greatest impediment to employeerecruitment. However, salary offered is also an important consideration. Sala-ries are low but social costs are high. In effect, they double the cost ofemployment, which means that employers tend to recruit staff that have notbeen trained whenever possible because they cannot afford qualified staff.This lowers standards in the industry.

In the restaurant sector, salary offered is a greater impediment to recruit-ment than in the hotel sector.

Employees in the travel firms generally have a higher level of education so

their earnings expectations tend to be higher. Furthermore, there are fewerspecialised courses for this sector, which explains why the lack of suitablecandidates has been highlighted as an obstacle.

Finding trained and skilled staff is the greatest recruitment problem. Onthe other hand, few firms recruit from training institutions where skilledpeople are being prepared.

Again, this suggests that greater contact between training institutions andindustry and collaboration in designing appropriate courses is essential.

Human Resources Issues

Respondents were asked what they considered to be the most importanthuman resources issues for their sector; in other words, the difficulties that


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the industry is experiencing. Table 4 shows how the different sub-sectorsranked human resources issues.

An important issue for the hotel and the restaurant sectors is the recruit-ment of competent managers. This is corroborated by interviews with opin-ion leaders. Higher category hotels recruit people who have completed man-agement courses and train them internally. Managers tend to be highlyeducated but the rest of the workforce has little training. The middle level isparticularly lacking. According to the experts, training for this level is notappropriate. New employees arrive with preconceptions and expect to beassuming a management role straight away. There are few courses for middlelevel functions, such as Front Office, Guest Relations and Housekeeping.

Furthermore, just 10% of hotels in the survey offered a management-trainingprogramme to their employees. Not surprisingly, higher category hotels aremost committed to developing their managers.

Keeping competent staff is important in all sectors. Opinion leaders com-mented that employee turnover is high because there is little commitmentbetween employers and employees.

A majority of hotels and travelfirms saidthat their employeesstudiedforeignlanguages, mainly English and Spanish. Although recognised asa future prob-lem, it isnot an immediate priority in therestaurant sector. Just one restaurant in

ten said that their employees were currently studying foreign languages.In restaurants, operational job skills and keeping competent managers areserious human resource issues. This is supported by the fact that managersneed much training when they first reach their position.

The survey also identified concerns about the future of the labour marketand about the future of the industry. Respondents from all the tourism sub-sectors mentioned that their staff needed a greater knowledge of languages

TABLE 4. Most Serious Human Resources Issues

Rank in order of importance

Hotel s Restaurants Travel Fir ms

Recruiting Competent Managers 1 2 4

Keeping Competent Staff 3 3 2

Customer Service 4 4 1

Skills of Operational Staff 6 1 5

Initiative and Motivation of Managers 5 5 3

Knowledge of Foreign Languages 2 6 6

1 = most serious 6 = least serious



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Lionel Bcherel 93

and better customer service skills. Restaurants were concerned about thenecessity of improving the skills of its workforce and keeping current withchanges in the industry. Travel firms were worried that they would not beable to compete with the large operations from outside the State. They wereconcerned that their staff do not have enough technical expertise. Indeed,they would like more specialised courses to be available in Bahia in subjectssuch as itinerary building, costing and tariff setting, as well as internationalmarketing.

Skills and Education

The third area considered in human resources strategy is the skills andqualification of the workforce. In other words, whether tourism employeesare well educated and well trained and whether they have followed trainingprogrammes organised by their firms since starting work--the concept ofreskilling of the workforce.

The survey showed that nearly two-thirds of hotel employees followednon-specialised middle level education; the rest studied at technical trainingcentres and professional training schools and a few at university or at a

tourism facility. There was a relatively greater proportion of employees whostudied at technical training centres and professional training schools in therestaurant sector. There are well-established courses available in Bahia forthis industry. Travel firms have educated employees and nearly 30% of staffhave followed university or tourism education. Public sector employees arevery highly educated with 80% having been to university.

Training

Training should be seen as a continuous process and reskilling pro-grammes are necessary to upgrade the skills and knowledge of employeesand to keep them up-to-date with changes in the industry.

The survey investigated whether employees had the opportunity of contin-uing training once they embarked on their careers. Training is seen by manyemployers to be an expense rather than an investment.

Hotels, particularly the higher category ones, are most likely to organisetraining for their staff--both internally and outside the establishment--but low-

er category hotels are less committed to training. Few restaurants and travelfirms organise training programmes.In conclusion, staff development is currently a low priority in the Bahian

tourism industry.


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Employees That Need the Most Initial Training

Respondents were asked to identify the jobs where employees tend to bethe least equipped to do the job when they are first hired. The objective of thiswas to detect the type of initial training courses that are needed by industry.

Most respondents in the hotel sector agree that receptionists need the mostinitial training. It seems that there is a lack of front office courses in Bahia.Most respondents in restaurants selected kitchen staff and managers andsupervisors as needing the most initial training, supporting the informationpresented in the previous table on human resources needs. Not surprisingly,ticketing staff in the travel sector, which account for half the staff of travel

firms, need the most training.

Courses That Will Improve the Sector

Industry representatives, who are the ultimate customers of the traininginstitutions, were asked which courses they thought were needed to improvethe industry.

Table 5 shows that all the sectors considered Quality and Customer Ser-viceand Foreign Languagesas being very important.

Travels Firms and the Public Sector particularly highlighted internationalmarketing to bring foreign visitors to Bahia. Hotels require training for recep-tionists and courses for middle management. A number of respondents iden-tified the need for a specialised training centre such as a hotel school. It wasfelt that in addition to industrial placements during their course, studentsmust be able to perfect their skills in a simulated environment. Too often,they are used as cheap labour during the placement and are not exposed to thetype of practical training that they would ideally need. Jobs in the tourismindustry are mostly craft jobs, and training should be competency-based ratherthan theoretical. This is training by demonstration.

Restaurants are particularly keen on upgrading and reskilling courses fortheir chefs and cooks. The Travel Firms sector highlights the need for techni-

TABLE 5. Courses That Will Improve the Industry

All sectors: Quality/ cust omer serviceForeign languagesMarketing

Hotel sector Restaur ant sector Tr avel fi rms sector Publ ic sector

Courses for:

Courses for Tourism courses HR management

Recepti oni sts Chefs/ cooks Course for: Environmental

Need for hotel school Waiters Guides Ecotourism



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Lionel Bcherel 95

cal and specialist courses. Public Sector respondents feel that human re-sources managementand environmental and ecotourism courses would im-prove their future.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The research that has been carried out so far is limited in scope and servesas the first stage of a larger process to understand all the complexities of thelabour market in Bahia. Analysts should use these results as a guide fordeeper investigation. However, it is already clear at this stage that there is a

need for greater communication, collaboration, and coordination between thetraining institutions, the tourism industry, and the public sector. Based onthese preliminary results, a set of recommendations was put forward.

The Formulation and Implementation of a Strategic Plan

for Human Resources Development

If Bahia is to benefit from a well-trained and well-qualified workforceadapted to a fast changing industry, it needs the direction of a strategic humanresources plan that will encompass the needs of all stakeholders. It is impor-tant to spell out a clear mission. It must be explicit and understood by allinvolved. The human resources strategic mission must reflect the tourismdevelopment and management mission of Bahia.

Forecasts must be prepared, taking into consideration issues that mayaffect tourism and tourism human resources in the future. Alternative scenar-ios should be evaluated and the best plans of action selected. It is critical toinvolve the different stakeholders. Experience shows that for a strategic planto be developed successfully, all players in the tourism industry must beinvolved in its elaboration and implementation. There must be a sense of

shared ownership of the plan and of shared objectives. The strategies topursue should be agreed upon, and the implementation phase of the planshould be directed and coordinated by the interested parties.

This plan must be formulated and agreed upon by a body representing allthe parties concerned. The body must meet on a regular basis to guide andcontrol the implementation of the plan.

The Development of a Communication SystemBetween Stakeholders

To achieve this, a committee or a board must be formed comprising repre-sentatives from each of the trade associations, education and training orga-nisations, concerned NGOs, and the public sector.


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This committee would be responsible for selecting the best strategies andfor developing action plans for implementation. Responsibilities would beallocated and budgets agreed upon. Accountability for delivering the strate-gies would need to be precisely defined.

A clear role should be defined for such a board. Duties would include:

S formulating strategy and policy direction;S creating a forum for discussion to develop strong communication chan-

nels between education and training authorities, the private sector andthe government. This would enable continuous exchange of informa-tion and feedback necessary:

1. to eliminate barriersto appropriate human resourcesdevelopment;2. to consider the concerns of each stakeholder and build consensus; and3. to develop and maintain effective tourism education;

S advising on the nature and general contents of education and trainingprogrammes in relation to industry needs;

S providing a standard training system that allows successful graduates tobe employed and promoted within the tourism sector-- transferablevocational qualifications;

S establishing a process which allows employees currently working in theindustry to follow training programmes to upgrade their knowledge andto learn new skills--reskilling programmes;

S ensuring cooperative management between the public and private sec-tors of the destinations labour, education, and training requirements forthe tourism sector, whilst ensuring that the content of programmes ispertinent and applicable to current trends

S identifying employment linked indirectly to the tourism industry (e.g.taxi drivers, customs officers . . .) and devising seminars and training

programmes to ensure that the employees understand the importance oftheir role in the tourism industry;

S developing awareness programmes directed at both the public and thepotential and existing labour force which would provide accurate infor-mation on employment and training issues and opportunities;

S constantly monitoring and reevaluating strategy to ensure that it is im-plemented properly and that it is flexible enough to adapt to changes inthe environment and that appropriate policy changes follow suit.

The Establishment of a Reporting and Monitoring System

The board should be informed on a regular basis about developments anddifficulties encountered so that actions can be taken to keep the plan on track


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Lionel Bcherel 97

and, if necessary, amend it. A system must be established to collect theinformation needed so that the board can perform its role effectively. Thiswould involve continuous research and regular meetings and evaluation ses-sions.

Manpower planning and analysis theory at the macro-level for the tourismsector is still at an early stage. Although it is a growing area of research,actual development cases need to be compiled, analysed, and compared inorder to progress the body of knowledge.

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Ahamad, B. and Blaug, M. (1973). The Practice of Manpower Forecasting: ACollection of Case Studies. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

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Becherel,L.(1997).Pesquisa Sobre Recursos Humanose a Necessidade de Treina-mento para a Indstria do Turismo Baiano. Salvador: SEBRAE, BA.

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Psacharopoulos,G.(1994),FromManpowerPlanningtoLabourMarketAnalysis.InRichards, P. and Amjad, R. (eds.)New Approaches to Manpower Planning and

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A Framework for Human Resources Development Strategy at the Macro-Level - A Situational Analysis of Tourism Human Resources in Bahia, Brazil

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