Vocational education in tourism at undergraduate level in Himachal Pradesh, India: exploring the gap between industry expectations and academic deliverables

ABSTRACT This research was conducted among 50 participants from the tourism industry and 356 students pursuing vocational (tourism) education at the undergraduate level in government colleges of Himachal Pradesh (India). Industry professionals were sampled to identify a list of competencies that they expect in graduates, while, students were surveyed to understand whether educators are effective in delivering such competencies. The research aimed to explore the industry-academia gap in Vocational Tourism Education (VTE) at the undergraduate level. A seven-point Likert-type opinionnaire which included a list of competencies confirmed by industry professionals was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were utilized for data analysis. Results led to the identification of 35 competencies that industry expects of its potential employees. The study revealed the efficiency of educators in delivering most of the generic competencies. Whilst there exists a scope of improvement in most of the generic-vocational, vocational, and applied competencies.