Tourism Management Foundation Degree Course: IFSP graduates’ employability, perspectives and perceptions

Abstract

The emergence of foundation degree courses in Tourism Management has deeply changed Tourism Higher Education scene in Brazil. However, there are little information about graduates’ employability, perspectives and perceptions. In order to contribute to Tourism foundation courses’ planning, this paper presents the results of a survey carried out with 338 graduates from the Tourism Management Course of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of São Paulo – IFSP. The study collected data on their relationships with labor market, further studies and perceptions on the course. Results show that IFSP graduates have achieved high levels of employability, especially in tour operators, travel agencies, hotels, events and airline companies. Low wages offered by tourism industry and the fact of being already established in another sector are the main reasons that keep some graduates away from tourism jobs. On the other hand, the study reveals an increasing employment rate, which could be related not only to course improvements, but also to the increasing recognition of the course by tourism companies. In general, those graduates that work in the Tourism sector are satisfied with their jobs.