Nicola Wakelin-Theron - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Nicola Wakelin-Theron

African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 2015

The current study was conducted to increase the understanding of graduate retention perspectives ... more The current study was conducted to increase the understanding of graduate retention perspectives on human resource training and additional skills required to sustain employment within the tourism industry. Increased attention needs to be paid not only to the quality of products and services, but also to the quality of human resources. Staffing is a major asset of this industry, since tourism is essentially a service industry that is concerned with people. Retention within the tourism industry remains a contentious issue that is influenced by a variety of factors of a personal or external nature. An explanatory sequential mix method research design was followed. The study consisted primarily of a self-administered survey questionnaire that was conducted in accordance with the requirements of a 5-point Likert scale. The research entailed an empirical examination of 101 graduates from a comprehensive university, the University of Johannesburg, which offers both a Tourism Management Dip...

World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Sciences, 2016

Studia Periegetica

The amount of millennial employees who are employed in the hospitality and tourism industry has i... more The amount of millennial employees who are employed in the hospitality and tourism industry has increased significantly. The millennial generation does not endorse the same level of commitment and work ethic to their careers as previous generations. The millennial are more likely to develop mental health problems as they are often dissatisfied with the working conditions. The purpose of the study was to determine the optimal shift length for chefs between the ages of 25 and 39 to promote resilience. A quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional design was used. Two groups of chefs working various work shift lengths were identified. Shift length was dived into two categories: up to 8 hours and more than 8 hours. The Adult Resilience Measure (ARM-R) was used to measure resilience. There were 150 millennial chef participants who took part in this study. The study found that the millennial chefs who worked more than 8 hour shifts are less resilient than those who worked more th...

Tourism and Hospitality Management, 2021

Research purpose – The purpose of the study was to explore the students’ perceptions towards auto... more Research purpose – The purpose of the study was to explore the students’ perceptions towards autonomous service robots, using interviews and, in a novel manner, also their drawings, to generate data. The paper contributes to current knowledge claims around the Techno-Economic Paradigm by providing a greater understanding of, and student response to, autonomous service robots. Additional insights were gained on transformational skills set for tourism practitioners. Design/Methodology/Approach – A qualitative approach followed a participatory research design which was set in a public higher education institution. Undergraduate tourism and hospitality students who had previous exposure and engagement with robots were the purposive sample. The paper draws on the Techno-Economic Paradigm to illuminate how, according to students’ experiences and perceptions, autonomous robots interact in, and disrupt, the tourism industry. Findings – Four main drawings essentially expressed tourism and ho...

African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 2019

The aim of this study was to determine tourism graduates' employability, knowledge, skills, a... more The aim of this study was to determine tourism graduates' employability, knowledge, skills, and competencies in a VUCA world by constructing a tourism employability model. The concept of employability differs depending on the context, as well as the views of the people making employment decisions and those seeking employment in a VUCA world. It has become imperative to ensure an adequate level of preparedness among tourism graduates in a world dominated by technology, by understanding what the important knowledge, skills, and competencies are to enhance graduates' chances of securing and sustaining employment in the tourism industry in South Africa. The researcher adopted a sequential explanatory mixed method, which entailed combining quantitative and qualitative methods. A significant relationship was found between professional skills, personality traits, knowledge skills, and operational skills in the tourism industry. The originality of this study is that it developed a t...

Tourism is the world‟s largest and fastest-growing industry. The South African tourism industry (... more Tourism is the world‟s largest and fastest-growing industry. The South African tourism industry (TI) contributes to the creation of employment (National Department of Tourism (NDT) 2011), and the development and growth of the country‟s economy. Yet, the South African TI experiences a critical skills shortage. This results from the fact that many tourism graduates do not possess the skills required by the world of work. Put another way, tourism graduates are not adequately prepared for absorption in the tourism industry. This, in turn, prevents them from participating effectively in the tourism industry. As Fallows and Steven (2000) put it, the knowledge of an academic subject is no longer enough in today‟s challenging work environment; as such, it is important for graduates to develop skills that will increase their chances of finding employment. In light of the above, it is imperative for higher educational institutions to include the development of employability skills in their to...

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are under increasing pressure to equip graduates with the ne... more Higher education institutions (HEIs) are under increasing pressure to equip graduates with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attributes that would make them employable and highly versatile in various tourism sectors. This means that the various qualifications in tourism that are awarded by HEIs should reflect the tourism industry’s needs and expectations. Consequently, it is important to identify the kind of knowledge skills that need to be developed in tourism graduates to prepare them for the working world. The purpose of this article is to identify the perceptions of tourism graduates and the tourism industry on the important knowledge and skills required in the tourism industry. The research adopted a sequential explanatory mixed method, which entailed combining quantitative and qualitative methods. However the findings, both from the quantitative and qualitative phases highlight the important knowledge and skills required. In terms of important knowledge and skill, both part...

Harvard Deusto Business Research

The tourism sector is currently one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with impacts on both trav... more The tourism sector is currently one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with impacts on both travel supply and demand. The transport system forms a key part of tourism, including the tourist experience at a destination. This research sought to understand how the taxi industry operates within the City of Johannesburg under the government restrictions imposed during COVID-19. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, based on interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the topic. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with participants who were purposively selected from the Johannesburg CBD taxi rank. Insufficient sanitisation and the breaching of curfews were observed. Limited guidance was provided during the initial stages of the pandemic, with no formal training. Financial support was made available, but drivers did not receive funds, as they did not comply with the requirements for membership of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and Tempora...

Tourism Review International

The tourism industry requires that increasing attention be paid not only to the quality of produc... more The tourism industry requires that increasing attention be paid not only to the quality of products and services but also to the quality of the human resources that constitute one of its major assets, since tourism is essentially a people-centered service industry. As such, a high-quality skilled workforce will ensure greater competitiveness and innovation, improved job prospects, repeat tourist visits, and economic growth in South Africa. This study aims to establish how tourism graduates perceived their abilities in terms of knowledge and skills and how the tourism industry evaluated tourism graduates' actual abilities in terms of knowledge and skills within the tourism industry. The researchers adopted a sequential, explanatory mixed-method that entails combining quantitative and qualitative methods. The researchers conducted a quantitative survey of a purposive sample of 561 managers, supervisors, and owners of tourism industry establishments, as well as tourism graduates ex...

Royal Society of Health Journal, 1968

This study was conducted to identify the building blocks that need to be incorporated in tourism ... more This study was conducted to identify the building blocks that need to be incorporated in tourism qualifications to produce well-rounded students. This study is grounded on the view that with the right set of knowledge, skills, and qualification, the doors to tourism employment can be opened. Many higher education institutions have established programmes and extended programmes to negotiate students' transition into higher education, and beyond. However, these higher education institutions (HEIs) face many challenges, due to the ever increasing student numbers that have nearly doubled in recent years; uneven quality; high student drop-out rate among first-generation students; and more recently, the 'fees must fall movement'. Despite these challenges, higher education institutions are expected to remain engines for the development of human capital. Indeed, one of the purposes of higher education is to produce graduates who have skills that are highly regarded by employers ...

Tourism and Hospitality Management Journal - Reik , 2021

Research purpose-The purpose of the study was to explore the students' perceptions towards autono... more Research purpose-The purpose of the study was to explore the students' perceptions towards autonomous service robots, using interviews and, in a novel manner, also their drawings, to generate data. The paper contributes to current knowledge claims around the Techno-Economic Paradigm by providing a greater understanding of, and student response to, autonomous service robots. Additional insights were gained on transformational skills set for tourism practitioners. Design/Methodology/Approach-A qualitative approach followed a participatory research design which was set in a public higher education institution. Undergraduate tourism and hospitality students who had previous exposure and engagement with robots were the purposive sample. The paper draws on the Techno-Economic Paradigm to illuminate how, according to students' experiences and perceptions, autonomous robots interact in, and disrupt, the tourism industry. Findings-Four main drawings essentially expressed tourism and hospitality students' perceptions of autonomous service robots in the tourism industry. Centrally there are opportunities for the absorption of robots in certain sectors of the tourism industry. Despite greater use of robots in service-driven industries like tourism, it remains challenging to establish the right balance between humans and robots, and up-and re-skilling transformation would be required of those working in the tourism industry and those studying towards a tourism qualification. This study advances that additional research is still required, including longitudinal studies on the effects of autonomous services in the tourism industry, as well as students' perception on the use of robots, re-skilling as well as ethical risks to customers, the greater value to the economy and those working in the tourism industry. Originality of the research-The article contributes to the use of visual methodology as part of data generation, specifically how students' perceptions regarding autonomous robots in the tourism industry were graphically distilled using this methodology.