Job Transitions in Tourism and Hospitality Industry in Ontario – The single biggest obstacle is “characteristic similarity”

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Ontario’s tourism and hospitality sector hard, with significant job losses and reduced prospects for near-term recovery. As part of the Tourism and Hospitality Emergency Response project initiated by the Ontario Tourism Education Corporation, Conference Board researchers examined 48 tourism-sector occupations and found that they have an average of nine potential job transition options.

Workers need the right combination of skills, abilities, knowledge, facility with tools and technology, and any special qualifications in order to maximize the number of transition options available. This is the most significant barrier facing displaced tourism workers. Their best approach is to focus on retaining and upskilling. Those workers whose jobs have few potential transitions may need to consider accepting a lower-paid job, transitioning out of the sector, or moving to another part of Ontario.

Key findings

• COVID-19 has been particularly challenging for the tourism sector, with employment down 46 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2020 compared with 6 per cent for all sectors.
• Occupations in Ontario’s tourism and hospitality industry have, on average, nine transition options.
• The single biggest obstacle to transitioning from a tourism and hospitality occupation to any other occupation is “characteristic similarity”: i.e., having the requisite skills, abilities, and knowledge, a facility with any necessary tools and technologies, and any special qualifications needed for the destination occupation.
• The tourism and hospitality occupations with the most transition options tend to be in technical, professionally accredited, or leadership positions.
• For displaced workers seeking to leave the sector, upskilling and retraining efforts should focus on specialized skills, equipment, tools, and technologies in their target occupations.
• To maximize their options for potential transitions, job seekers may need to do one or more of the following:
– Be willing to accept lower wages.
– Consider employment options outside the sector.
– Consider moving to a different region within the province.
• For those looking to stay in the sector, more options will be available in regions where tourism activity is locally oriented. For those willing to move outside the sector, more options will be available in regions with tighter labour markets and stronger growth prospects.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story @ Space to Grow: Job Transitions in Ontario’s Tourism and Hospitality Industry