Jyoti Bharti
The Hospitality Sector has a vital role to play in the present scenario to create opportunities for the youth as a career. The career has wider connotations and employment opportunities for the students who want to pursue the career in the sector which has global employment opportunities.
The sector is gaining importance in view of the post covid scenario as people have started moving from one place to another place not only adding to the domestic tourism but across the globe as well. The domestic tourism has grown during the last two years considerably and contributed in the growth of GDP of the country. Out bound Tourism has also grown because of ease of covid restrictions. Around 50 percent of Foreign Tourist Arrivals are for business and professional purposes, medical and leisure holiday and recreation which add to the Foreign Exchange Earnings (GDP) of the country to a large extent. The Hospitality and Tourism sector has been the prime focus of J&K Govt. over the years. It has been the backbone of J&K economy over many years because of natural scenic beauty, weather conditions, gifts of nature in terms of mountains, meadows, rivers, sceneries etc to generate tourism for round the year. The thrust on Tourism by J&K Govt. has been to a large extent yielded results. The post covid scenario has shown a tremendous impact in J&K during the last two years with most of the hotels and trains to J&K running to maximum capacity. The number of flights both at Jammu and Srinagar Airports have considerably increased. J&K has become the destination for tourists for 12 months in a year, in view of the facilities created by the Govt. and the policies to prolong the stay of the tourists in J&K with various initiatives at every level. The combined efforts of the Govt. and industry have shown record tourists visiting J&K during the last year and the trend is going to be better this year as well. The endeavour of the Govt. has been to provide better facilities, explore new tourist areas in respect of leisure, adventure, pilgrimage, offbeat locations, homestays etc. The Department of J&K Tourism, is the main developmental, promotional and regulatory arm of J&K Govt.
“Atithi Devo Bhava” the tag line of India Tourism, has been in the blood of J&K people since ages because of the tourism in J&K over centuries.
As a further step towards skilled manpower for the Tourism and Hospitality industry, Govt. of India and Govt. of J&K are laying thrust on skilling the youth in the related field so as to create the required manpower for the industry in J&K as well as other parts of the country and across the globe as well. As a step towards that Govt. of J&K has come up with an institute called Food Craft Institute Jammu with Department of Skill Development, J&K Govt. which is skilling the youth in the area of Food Production (chefs), Food & Beverage Service (servers), Front office (Receptionist), Housekeeping and Bakery & Patisserie (Bakers).
The Food Craft Institute Jammu (www.fcijammu.org) is a premier hospitality education and training institute located in Jammu. The institute is affiliated with the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT) Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India and offers a range of courses in hospitality sector.
The Food Craft Institute Jammu offers several diploma and certificate courses in various disciplines such as Food Production, Bakery and Confectionery, Food and Beverage Service, and Housekeeping Operations. The courses are designed to provide students with a strong foundation in both theoretical and practical aspects of hospitality and culinary arts.
The institute has a state-of-the-art infrastructure with fully equipped kitchens, training restaurants, and modern classrooms. The faculty members are highly experienced and are committed to providing quality education and training to students.
In addition to academic courses, the institute also offers short-term courses and workshops for industry professionals and enthusiasts. The institute has tie-ups with leading hotels and restaurants for internships and placements, which helps students gain practical experience and secure employment in the hospitality industry.
Overall, the Food Craft Institute Jammu is a leading hospitality education institute in India that offers quality education and training to students and prepares them for successful careers in the hospitality and culinary arts industry.
The thrust of the Govt. is to fill the gap of skilled and unskilled manpower as skilled manpower in the industry can double the efforts of the Govt. in tourism promotion. The satisfied guests with good experience at any place can become their brand ambassadors. The skilled manpower can have their own start ups in the industry like good guest houses, homestays, food eating outlets with good hygiene, ambience, baking outlets which not only provide them employment but also offers employment to others as well. They become job givers instead of job seekers. The skilled manpower in the industry has great demand in the upcoming hotel and restaurant industry in the areas where many chain/ star hotels are coming up creating ample employment opportunities. The demand of skilled manpower can be gauged from the fact that there is always shortage of skilled manpower in the industry in view of lucrative careers not only in J&K but other parts of the country and abroad as well. The dream of hospitality professionals for working in the cruise line ships having 7 star facilities/ luxuries can also be fulfilled by these professionals with passion, hardwork and sincerity.
I hope that the youth of J&K having interest and passion for the hospitality sector can become enlightened to avail such kind of facilities in Jammu to seek a bright career in the field.
(The author is Principal Food Craft Institute Jammu)
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