Correspondence: Tom, Baum, International Tourism and Hospitality Management, The Scottish Hotel School, The University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. Tel: +44 0141 548 3954; Fax: +44 0141 552 2870; E-mail: t.g.baum@strath.ac.uk

¹is a professor of International Tourism and Hospitality Management and Director of Postgraduate Courses at the University of Strathclyde. Tom has worked, in a teaching and consulting capacity, in a number of countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean. He has acted as examiner and assessor in universities in Europe, China, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya and the Caribbean as well as in the UK and Ireland. Tom's research and publications interests have a strong international focus. His prime research has a strong human resource management flavour, applied to hospitality and tourism. Particular work focuses on hospitality/tourism education and training, especially at a national level. Other areas of interest include tourism in peripheral areas and tourism transport. Professor Baum has authored and edited seven books in tourism as well as a large number of scientific publications.

²is a lecturer of Hospitality in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Frances has worked in industry as a manager with the Compass Group in Northern Ireland before joining the University of Ulster as a hospitality lecturer concentrating on human resources and organisational studies. She is actively involved in researching new trends in human resource management in the hospitality and tourism sector, presently focusing on cultural diversity.

Received 1 September 2005; Revised 1 September 2005.

Abstract

Notwithstanding the globalisation of services and the migration of some service providers (call centres, financial processing) to regions of low cost labour coupled with high levels of education attainment, there are arguments that the skills, which employees bring to the workplace in executing common tasks, are context and culture specific. This paper is concerned with the skills set and training background of one set of service workers, those in hotel front office, located within Northern Ireland. This paper reports the findings of a survey of front office workers working in 4- and 5-star hotels in Northern Ireland. This survey identifies the skills and training profile of this group of employees and measures attitudes to key skills requirements within front office work.