Switzerland: A sought-after country for hospitality courses

Switzerland is a dream destination, whether it is to work or play. Eye for detail and service with elan has been the cornerstone of the Swiss hospitality industry and hotel management for nearly 200 years. In fact, the country is considered a pioneer in luxury tourism. The salubrious climate, exciting topography and breathtaking vistas are definite crowd-pullers.

Brisk tourism brought multicultural exchanges and therein hangs the tale of a country that took hotel management and hospitality business to a new level. While students agree that the study environment is friendly though, exacting its expectations on them.

Apart from maintaining high-quality academic education, the universities provide vocational core competency training, which is a value addition to hone specialised skills like access to markets and adding value to products and services which would prove difficult for competitors to imitate.

The University of Lausanne (UNIL), in Vaud, is a forerunner in management studies. Its research department is famed for its focus on the three-pronged study areas of human and social sciences, life sciences and medicine and environmental science. The campus has vast open spaces and is home to a variety of animals and birds roaming freely, quite unafraid of the students.

Another University of high repute is The Business and Hotel Management School, Switzerland, which specialises in dynamic and innovative study packages for the young and the ambitious who aspire to scale the ladder in the tourism sector. All undergrad degree studies are for a duration of three years, while the Master's runs to about eighteen months or two full-time study years. Apart from these, most of the top Universities offer Diploma and Higher Diploma certificate courses in specific fields of specialisation.

Like the delectable Swiss Cheese, the Country is peppered with Schools for studies in Hospitality and Management. To name a few more, there is the Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS), the chain of Caesar Ritz colleges covering a gamut of specializations like Culinary Art, International Management and Hotel and Tourism Management, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Les Roches Montana, which boasts of a state-of-the-art education environment for students from all walks of life. Interestingly enough our own Indian School of Hospitality is in alliance with Les Roches making for a smooth pathway to mastering one’s skills under the tutelage of the best in the field.

The hospitality schools offer degree and master's courses in Hotel Management, Event Management, Design Management and Culinary Science. Cooking and gastronomy, baking and wine-making are popular certificate programmes. Students are allowed to remain in the country for six months after completion of their degree to look for jobs.

Due to its location and scenery, lifestyle, political stability, and multilingualism, Switzerland is also home to some of the best finishing schools in the world. International Etiquette and Protocol, the Art of Dining and Efficient Home Management are popular short-term courses that attract a large number of international students of all age groups every year.

Work opportunities are plentiful in this beautiful country. If you are willing to learn and work in a rigorous, precise, and innovative environment, pack your toothbrush and head to Switzerland which never stops reinventing the art of being hospitable.

(Uma Aswani is a career counsellor based in Bengaluru)
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