The Determinants Of Career Decision Making Of Hospitality Undergraduate Students Enrolled In Universities Within Nairobi Metropolis, Kenya

ABSTRACT

The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing compared to other sectors of the global economy and account for more than one third of total global services trade. In line with the tremendous growth of world and local tourism industry, there has been a rise to many challenges, specifically the human resources problems as related to the deficit in the workforce. In Kenya, the hospitality industry is in shortage of 30,000 skilled and professional staff. There has been a proliferation of Universities offering hospitality undergraduate course. Hospitality students are seen as the needed workforce that would address the shortage. Therefore, this study sought to fill this gap by establishing the determinants of career decision making within the context of hospitality undergraduate students while incorporating the influence of internship experiences. Specifically, the current study investigated the effect of demographic factors (gender and age), individual background factors, career outcome expectations and internship experiences on career decision making of hospitality undergraduate students. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Purposive sampling technique was used to select accredited universities offering hospitality degree courses and study participants (4th year hospitality management students). Stratified sampling technique was used to segment the population into two groups based on the type of the university (that is public and private university). Random sampling technique was used to select the study participants from each stratum. Data were collected from 98 participants. Pre-field approach through expert review was used to pretest the questionnaires for validity. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal reliability of the questionnaire and coefficients ranging from 0.67 to 1 were considered adequate for data analysis and reporting. Data were collected using self-completed questionnaires with both structured and unstructured questions. Descriptive statistics (mean, mean ranking, standard deviations) were used to analyze quantitative data whereas qualitative data was analyzed through data reduction and drawing inferences about the students’ views and perceptions. Data were then reported in frequencies, graphs, percentages and verbatim quotes. For inferential statistics, multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the independent variables (demographic factors, individual background factors, career outcome expectations, and internship experiences) and dependent variable (career decision making) of the study and to test the set hypotheses. Findings revealed that majority of participants (69%) were females and many (71.9%) had joined hospitality career with secondary school qualifications. Captivatingly, majority (85.4%) were intending to seek a career in the hospitality industry following graduation. Multiple regression results revealed that, among the significant predictors (positive and negative internship experiences, gender, individual background factors and career outcome expectations), positive internship experiences was the most significant. Thus, the study concludes that internship experiences influence participants career decision making where positive ones encourage participants to seek a career in the hospitality industry and negative ones has a high probability of dissuading them from seeking a career in the hospitality industry. This thesis recommends to the hospitality practitioners a need to develop well-structured internship programmes that would meet the interns’ expectations thus generating positive experiences. This would encourage them to seek a long-term career in the industry. Hospitality also has a role to play by ensuring students are well prepared for the internships.