Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi (May 2021)
Turizm Eğitimi Alan Öğrencilerin Mesleğe Yönelme Faktörleri, İstihdam Görüşleri Ve Kariyer Beklentilerine Yönelik Bir Araştırma
Abstract
Emek yoğun bir sektör olan turizmde müşteri memnuniyetinin sağlanabilmesi için kalifiye işgücü yetiştirmek ve eğitimli işgücünün istihdamı büyük önem arz etmektedir. Ancak turizm sektöründe yapılan araştırmalar, turizm eğitimi alan öğrencilerin önemli bir kısmının mezuniyetlerinin ardından turizm sektöründe çalışmadıklarına işaret etmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, turizm eğitimi alan öğrencilerin turizm mesleğine yönelme faktörleri ile turizm sektöründeki istihdam ile ilgili görüşleri ve kariyer beklentilerini ortaya koymaktır. Araştırmanın evrenini 2019-2020 akademik yılında, Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi Ilgaz Turizm Ve Otelcilik Yüksekokulu ile Meslek Yüksekokulu Turizm ve Otel İşletmeciliği programında kayıtlı öğrenciler oluşturmaktadır. Araştırma sonucuna göre, öğrencilerin turizmde meslek sahibi olmaya yönelme algıları (kendi işini kurma, sosyal olanaklar ve eğitim ve öğretim boyutları) cinsiyet ve daha önce turizm eğitimi alıp almamış olmalarına göre farklılık göstermektedir. Ayrıca katılımcıların turizm sektöründe istihdam algıları (toplumun turizmde istihdam algısı boyutunda) ve kariyer beklentileri kayıtlı oldukları programı tercih değişkenlerine göre farklılaşmaktadır. EXTENDED SUMMARY Background Tourism education is one of the educational areas, but it is a type of education that is applied to meet the expectations of the sector in terms of Tourism. It is possible to express the concept of education in the field of tourism as “education system that aims to train students in the quality desired by the tourism sector and to transfer the information that has been the subject of tourism to the students” (Mısırlı, 2002, p. 41). The tourism sector, where competition conditions are very intense in the national and international arena, is a sector in which human power is essential. However, according to World Tourism Organization reports, despite the increase in the number of tourism graduates, it is noteworthy that the uneducated workforce is employed in the tourism sector among the problems faced by developing countries in terms of tourism employment (Cömert, 2014, p. 51). Research conducted in the tourism sector shows that the employees in the sector are mainly composed of people who have not received tourism education (Ünlüönen and Boylu, 2005, p. 25). Although one of the most important components of tourism, which is a labor-intensive industry, is the educated and qualified workforce that produces and delivers the service, the working conditions of the tourism industry cause students who receive tourism education to have a negative attitude towards the sector (Türker et al., 2016, p. 313). When it is considered that they are potential representatives of the sector and that they are likely to be employed, it is important to determine the thoughts of the students in the education process of the students (Atay and Yıldırım, 2008, p. 7). The studies point to some factors underlying the orientation of students who have studied tourism to different fields of study after graduation. It is emphasized that this negative situation arising in the studies on career choice is largely due to the perception that the tourism profession has low social reputation (Seymen, Bolat, Bolat, and Kinter, 2017). As the reasons for the low perception of this reputation; low wages, long working hours, tiring and irregular, insufficient job security and security and high employment turnover, not giving the necessary attention to education, etc. (Pelit and Öztürk, 2010; Avcı, 2011; Türker et al., 2016; Akış Roney and Öztin, 2007). Purpose This study, in which the students who take tourism education, are interested in the tourism profession and their perspectives on making a career in the sector, will make an important contribution to the literature. For the purposes of the study, the relationship between gender, the type of program they are enrolled in and the preferences of the participants and their views on employment in the tourism sector and their career prospects were examined. In addition, the relationship between gender, background of tourism education and family employment in tourism and perceptions of orientation to become a profession in tourism was examined. Methodology The universe of the research consists of undergraduate and associate degree tourism students at Çankırı Karatekin University. In the research, a questionnaire, one of the quantitative data collection techniques, was used to collect primary data. The questionnaire used consists of three parts. The first part of the questionnaire is to define demographic features such as gender, education level, previous tourism education, tourism internship, the presence of employees in the family tourism sector and the preference status of the registered program. In the second part, the scale consisting of 30 expressions and 8 factors, which was created by scanning the previous article of Sarıışık (2007), was used to determine the factors leading the students who received tourism education to have a profession in the tourism sector. In the third part, a scale consisting of 22 expressions and 6 factors developed by Aymankuy and Aymankuy (2013) for determining the employment and career expectations of students in the tourism sector was used. The research scales were prepared in five-point Likert type (1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Agree, and 5=Strongly Agree). The data obtained from the questionnaires were evaluated with the IBM SPSS program. Descriptive statistics, Independent Samples T Test and One-Way ANOVA correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results and Conclusions As a result of this research, it was determined that the students ' orientation towards the tourism sector was to know different cultures and people (x=4.18); to travel further (x=4.07); and to wish to see new and different places (x=4.06). The statement that has the least impact on the students ' orientation towards the tourism sector is that their family has a job related to tourism (x=2.67). When the opinions of the tourism students about employment in the tourism sector and their career expectations are examined, the view that working in the tourism sector is enjoyable and fun is the expression of the highest average value (x = 4.02). The opinion (x = 4.02) that it is easier to study in the tourism sector by getting tourism education at the undergraduate / associate level attracts attention. Working hours are regular in the tourism sector, the expression with the lowest average value (x = 2.60). This result, which shows that students' perceptions about working conditions in the sector are negative, is in line with the results of other studies in the literature (Türker et al., 2016; Kuşluvan and Kuşluvan, 2000). The results of this research show that social status and wages are important factors that motivate students to work in the tourism sector (Zubaidah et al., 2016, Lu and Adler 2009; Sarıışık, 2007) coincide with the results of previous research. This situation indicates a merit-based application requirement in terms of employment, promotion and wage in the sector. Employers should implement an appropriate wage system to prevent well-educated employees from leaving the industry and moving to different fields. This study was limited only to students who were considered candidates for the profession. For future studies on this subject, it may be useful to carry out studies for those who are currently employed in the tourism sector and managers. Investigating the differences and similarities between the graduates who are employed in the sector and the students who continue their education can make important contributions to the literature.
Keywords
