Our focus is to align tourism education, training with broader goals of AfCFTA – Kaoma-Sibanda

Riding on the successful two editions, Zambia is set to host the third edition of the annual Hospitality and Tourism Education Summit scheduled from April 7-9, 2025, in Lusaka, its capital city.

In this interview, Anne Kaoma-Sibanda, executive director, Zambia Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Studies, shares with Obinna Emelike the successes of last year’s summit, while highlighting the new features of this year’s event. She is confident that the summit will address skills gaps and foster stronger collaboration within the industry.

What were the major highlights of last year’s summit?

It is always interesting discussing tourism especially from a human capital development angle. Yes, the second Hospitality and Tourism Education Summit, which held last April was a pivotal moment for Zambia’s tourism sector.

In our view, the education summit was timely especially because the tourism sector was still recovering from COVID-19 pandemic. So, the summit provided a strategic platform for our stakeholders, policy makers, educators and industry leaders to discuss how to bridge the skills and knowledge gaps that exist in the industry.

One of the most important achievements we realised out of the tourism summit was the inclusion of travel and tourism as a foremost pathway in our curriculum framework here in Zambia. What this does is to ensure that the students gain exposure to tourism education at an early stage. With that we strengthen the pipeline for future professionals in the tourism industry. For us, this was a great highlight and achievement.

Again, we were able to establish strong collaboration between the industry and academia. It facilitated discussions between employers, training institutions and government policy makers with the objective of making sure that the curriculum aligns with the practical industry needs.

We have been receiving feedback that the needs of the industry are not being met by graduates of these tourism institutions. Last year, we also realised that there was an expansion in terms of partnerships and knowledge exchange between participants and international partners.

The summit attracted global tourism education leaders such as Cambridge, Swiss Tourism Group, among others. The participants were able to learn from these experienced international tourism educators on best practices.

We also had policy alignment and ensured that government participants were present. So, we reinforced that commitment to developing a skilled tourism workforce in alignment with our international development plans.

Overall, last year’s summit did not just start a conversation, it created a road map for longtime skills development in the industry.

Are there efforts at implementing the curriculum?

The curriculum has been upgraded across Zambia. On February 10, 2025, the first Travel and Tourism intakes started. We had to go to one of the high schools where we met and welcome some of the intakes that took the subject pathway. It was very exciting and emotional for us in the tourism sector because they know now that a pipeline for this profession has been created.

How is this year’s event going to be different?

In terms of this year’s summit, which is the third edition, it is scheduled from April 7-9, 2025. This year’s theme is “Understanding the knowledge and skills gaps in Africa’s trade and services industry and empowering Africa’s workforce in the AfCFTA era”.

So, what the theme focuses on is aligning tourism education and training with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The goal is to ensure that Africa’s tourism workforce is equipped with the right skills to drive intra-Africa trade and economic growth. It will be very interactive and designed to strengthen tourism education and workforce development as education was included as a pillar for tourism development globally by the UN Tourism.

This year, we will be focusing on building on the entire human capital, fostering collaborations and again, aligning education with industry needs.

So, you should be looking forward to the reintroduction of the UN Tourism Education Guidelines. These guidelines are important because they serve as foundation for capacity building, which then ensures that training and qualifications meet global standards.

We will be looking at issues like understanding the workforce needs, and need to identify the skills and competences required in tourism services. Remember that trade and services are part of our theme this year, so ensure that education aligns with the demands of the industry.

Again, we need to understand this workforce; there is a gap between educators, employers and policy makers. The ultimate aim is for this gap to be reduced. So, the platform will bring together these key stakeholders in human resources development from Africa.

We are looking to strengthen the link between education and the industry. That critical gap that we spoke about between the academia and training and real life industry needs will be bridged. We are trying to reduce that gap.

We will be looking at promoting job creation in the sector. We know that tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Africa, what we want to do is to maximize its potential for job creation. We will do that by enhancing workforce readiness and employability. We are also looking at defining learning and career paths in tourism. You will discover that many students and professionals lack clear career progression pathway in tourism

At the summit, we will be analyzing innovative learning and teaching methods. We will be privileged to have experts in innovative learning and teaching methods.

Would there be an employment clinic?

We will not have students so to speak, but educators and teachers who deliver these subjects. But one of the things we will do is to reorient these teachers and show them career paths that exist in this industry and thereby empower them to transfer this knowledge to these students. So, there will be a lot of clinics and interactive sessions at the summit.

What about collaborations?

Yes, one of the things we are doing is encouraging regional and international collaborations. We began that last summit by fostering partnerships between educators across Africa and beyond.

We hope that we can enhance knowledge exchange, faculty development and any research that may come because we want the participants to really learn from the experts. We are also going to position education as a pillar for economic development. Education is not just a supporting element of tourism, but a critical driver of its success.

What we have seen in the industry is a lot of talks on investment, on building airports, hotels and infrastructure, but there has not been a deep emphasis on developing human capital.

This education summit is going to amplify that and the importance of investing in the people who drive the same tourism we are talking about. Without the people, I really don’t know what the infrastructure will become. The people need to drive the business. If we are going to contribute to the GDP, we need to train our people to make them ready.

How are you supporting the push for Zambia as a hub for tourism education in Africa?

Zambia is strategically using its education summit to position itself a leading hub for tourism education. This summit is more than a gathering. For us, it is a catalyst for change, for policy advancement and industry alignment.

Through the summit, Zambia is shaping the future of tourism education in several ways. One of the things is embedding tourism education into our national school curriculum. For the first time in Zambia’s history, travel and tourism has been introduced as a formal subject. Now, the students have begun learning about tourism very early. We will have a pipeline for future professionals, and we will align training with industry needs. Education summit bridges the gap between education and the tourism sector. We will be connecting educators, policy makers and industry. That results in a curriculum that aligns with real world demands that will allow students to graduate with practical job-ready skills.