A Survey-Based Education Needs Analysis of Employment Support Programs for Hospitality Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze employment support programs that should be prioritized for hospitality undergraduate students in Korea, given the lack of such programs that are tailored to students’ majors. Using a questionnaire survey, we measured the differences between the perceived importance and the perceived current level of availability of employment support programs recognized by 384 students enrolled in hospitality-related courses. Both 2-year and 4-year majors recognized employment information support, certificate programs, career seminars, overseas training support, field practice programs, and overseas employment support as high-priority programs. Individual career counseling, mentoring, and industry–academic cooperation courses were the highest priority programs that should be applied to 2-year majors, but in the case of 4-year majors, these three programs were found to be relatively well supported by universities. Mock interviews, language programs, and employment-related courses were the top priority programs to support 4-year majors. However, 2-year majors perceived that mock interviews and language programs were of low importance, and there was little difference between the importance and current level of employment-related courses. It is necessary to develop support programs from the learner’s point of view by accurately grasping the needs for employment support programs.

1. Introduction

The rate of completion of tertiary education among young people (25–34 years old) in Korea was 69.8% in 2019, ranking second among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries (KEDI 2020). However, there are many cases of Korean students entering university by deciding their major according to their social atmosphere or grades rather than considering their interests, talents, and abilities. After entering university, they are unable to adjust to their major and give up their studies. Those that do graduate experience difficulties in finding employment (Han and Hwang 2019). In fact, from 2009 to 2019, the average OECD youth unemployment rate declined by 4.4%, while the youth unemployment rate in Korea increased 0.9% (KERI 2020). In particular, the employment status of hospitality undergraduate students is more seriously affected than that of students in other industries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Statistics Korea’s report on employment trends in August 2020, the employment rate in the lodging and restaurant industries fell by 7.2% compared to the same month the previous year (KOSTAT 2020).

In this situation, universities are making every effort to solve the problem of youth unemployment by recognizing the responsibility of students to advance into society and by developing various employment support programs to improve student career development and employment capabilities (Lee and You 2019; Youn and You 2015). However, looking at the research results of Choi (2020) and An (2018), who analyzed the operational status of and satisfaction with employment support programs, universities were not able to provide various employment support programs for students, and students’ participation and satisfaction were generally low. In addition, it was found that there were no employment support programs that were beneficial to female students and 2–3-year college students, who could have a relative disadvantage in employment. For employment support programs to have a practical effect, it is important to review the effectiveness from the supplier’s perspective, but it is also necessary to accurately grasp the demands for employment programs from the perspective of learners participating in these programs (Oh et al. 2014; Jung et al. 2018).

In addition, employment support programs operated by universities have a limitation in that they do not reflect the characteristics of their major (Lee and You 2019; An 2018). In other words, it is necessary to develop an employment support program according to the major from the learner’s point of view to improve the practical ability and employment capability of the major. In particular, in the case of the hospitality industry major, which is predicted to show relatively poor performance in the labor market compared to other majors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a discussion on the development of employment support programs tailored to the major is needed. However, studies on the needs of learners or the effectiveness of employment support programs for hospitality industry-related majors have only analyzed the effectiveness of single employment support programs such as language training and internship (Wang et al. 2014; Tsai et al. 2017), mentoring (Scerri et al. 2020), and major qualification (Deale and Schoffstall 2015; Moreo et al. 2018). There is no research on which programs should be developed and supported first for hospitality majors. In addition, hospitality-related majors in Korea are offered at both 2–3-year and 4-year universities, and students take the same qualification exam and are employed in the same field. However, since 2–3-year college students have to decide and prepare their own careers in a short period of 2–3 years, unlike in regular 4-year colleges, students have many difficulties in transitioning to the world of work after graduation.

Therefore, this study aimed to analyze education needs by investigating the importance and current level of various employment support programs operated by universities as perceived by hospitality undergraduate students enrolled in 2–3-year-and 4-year universities. Through this, the aim was to suggest which employment support programs should be operated with the highest priority to improve the career planning and employment capabilities of hospitality undergraduate students.

1.1. Theoretical Background

1.1.1. Hospitality Education and Employment

The positive outlook for the development of the hospitality industry in Korea and the concomitant job creation effect is leading to the expansion of the establishment of departments related to the hospitality industry in regular higher education institutions (Kim et al. 2019). According to Korea Educational Statistics Service (KESS 2020), as of 2020, approximately 270,000 people are majoring in hospitality in vocational colleges and universities. The name of the major has also been subdivided and expanded from the existing tourism management and hotel management majors into various fields such as aviation, conventions, culture, leisure, food service, and culinary arts (Kim 2018; Ahn and Yim 2018).

However, according to some studies, the graduates of hospitality-related departments do not have a high preference for employment in the hospitality industry after participating in internship programs, or they completely leave the hospitality industry (Lee and Chao 2013; Zopiatis and Theocharous 2013), and it is judged that a sufficient number of jobs are not being created at the level that students want. In addition, even though it is difficult to find a job, graduates leave after working for three to five years in the hospitality industry due to relatively low wages and long working hours, and the high turnover rate is a major problem in the industry (Kim 2019; Zampoukos and Ioannides 2011). Moreover, as of 2020, countries around the world are implementing measures such as business shutdowns, travel bans, self-isolation, and teleworking to prevent the spread of COVID-19, causing enormous damage to the aviation, travel, hotel, and food service industries (Choi and Kim 2020; Kaushik and Guleria 2020). In addition, even if the recovery of the tourism industry becomes apparent over the next one to two years, it is still unclear whether it will be able to recover fully (Kim 2020). However, if universities support hospitality undergraduate students with a variety of programs that can improve the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required by the hospitality industry in the post-COVID-19 era, there will be a dependable supply of human resources when the labor demand in the hospitality industry recovers.

1.1.2. Employment Support Programs

An employment support program is defined as a program that supports the process of reinforcing the abilities of university students as jobseekers and in choosing a career path (An 2018; Seo and Kim 2016). Three recent studies (Jung et al. 2018; Shin et al. 2014; Chun et al. 2019) were done in Korea about the types of employment support programs presented in the Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey (GOMS), which is being conducted by the Korea Employment Information Service with the aim of constructing empirical data on labor market entry and transition after graduation. The types of employment support programs suggested by GOMS consist of eight types, namely, career/employment-related subjects, work experience programs (including internships), occupational psychology tests such as personality tests, on-campus career fairs, career-related individual and group counseling programs, interview skills and résumé writing programs, employment camps, and corporate employment information sessions (Lee et al. 2020).

However, the employment support programs presented in GOMS do not include all employment support programs for hospitality majors. In other words, employment support programs that are of high importance for hospitality majors should be included. To this end, studies related to career and employment for hospitality majors are as follows. First, studies by Deale and Schoffstall (2015) and Moreo et al. (2018) showed that it is worthwhile for hospitality majors to obtain certificates before entering the industry. Ahn et al. (2018) found that obtaining a professional certificate has a positive effect on employment performance. Second, Scerri et al. (2020) found that through industry mentoring in the hospitality industry, student mentees can build knowledge and skills and develop networking opportunities to build confidence. Kim et al. (2017) found that mentoring had a positive effect on the career decisions of hospitality majors. Third, participation in contests by food and beverage majors or culinary arts majors was found to have a positive effect on career and employment-related variables (Lee and Hwang 2019; Kim and Chung 2018). Fourth, as globalization continues, overseas employment or overseas internship programs are actively applied in the hospitality industry (Busby and Gibson 2010; Aquino et al. 2017). Jun (2013) argued that international internships and overseas employment in hospitality education should be strengthened by operating an internationalization program to cultivate global talent. In addition, the foreign language communication ability of hospitality industry workers is regarded as an essential factor for efficient work performance (Min 2008; Kim et al. 2020). In this way, this study aimed to measure the importance and current level of employment support programs recognized by hospitality majors by including employment support programs such as obtaining certificates, participating in competitions, language studies, and overseas employment in the employment support programs used by GOMS.

1.1.3. Education Needs Analysis

Needs analysis is to find a problem by investigating the gap between “what is” and “what should be,” and to determine priorities in order to find an optimal solution (Oh et al. 2014). Borich’s needs analysis is currently the most widely used method for prioritization in needs analysis, and the calculation formula is as follows (Borich 1980).

$$Borich=\frac{{{\displaystyle \sum }}^{}\left(\mathrm{Importance}-\mathrm{Current}\mathrm{level}\right)}{\mathrm{Number}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{respondent}}\times Mean of importance$$

This method allows one to determine the relative ranking by weighting the overall average of importance to the difference between the importance and the current level, and then checking the ranking of the calculated result values. Borich’s needs analysis is evaluated positively in that it overcomes the simple difference comparison between the importance and the current level, which is the limit of the t-test, but it is a method that requires attention in interpretation in that if both the importance and difference between importance and current level are low but the difference is large, they can be classified as priorities compared to the elements with both high importance and achievement and not a large difference (Song 2020). In addition, Cho (2009) pointed out that when there are many analysis items, there is a limitation in that it is not possible to consider which ranking should be selected as the target of education.

In order to complement the limitations of Borich’s needs analysis, many studies (Cho 2009; Bae and Yoon 2015; Lim et al. 2020) suggest priorities by using the needs analysis of Borich and the Locus for Focus model of Mink et al. (1991) in combination. The Locus for Focus model has the advantage of being able to easily display results visually by dividing the average value of importance on the horizontal axis and the average value of the difference between importance and current level on the vertical axis, as shown in Figure 1 (Cho 2009). In this model, the first quadrant, which indicates high importance and a high degree of discrepancy between the importance and the current level, is the highest priority and can be viewed as the area that needs to be improved most urgently (Park et al. 2020). In this study, Borich’s needs analysis and the Locus for Focus model were used to determine the highest priority in employment support programs for hospitality undergraduate students.

Figure 1. The Locus for Focus Model.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Variables and Instruments

To analyze the priority of employment support programs required by hospitality undergraduate students, rather than focusing on the employment support programs operated by some universities, the study sought to include all of the employment support programs generally supported by universities. To this end, the eight employment support programs presented by GOMS were further subdivided, and a total of 23 employment support programs were formed by adding programs that were found to affect the career and employment of hospitality undergraduate students, such as certification acquisition support, language programs, and support for participation in contests. The types and characteristics of the 23 employment support programs are shown in Table 1. Since the names and support methods of the programs are different for each university, the names and characteristics of the programs were reviewed by three experts in charge of job support-related work in universities before the survey, and then some contents were modified before use. Each employment support program item used a Likert 5-point scale to measure its importance by asking students how important they think it is for career and employment and the current level of support for that program. In addition, to understand the demographic characteristics of the survey subjects, gender, department, and school system were configured as nominal scales.

Table 1. Types and characteristics of employment support programs used in the research.

Program		Characteristic
1	Career-related courses	Courses to improve ability to decide and design one’s own career path
2	Employment-related courses	Courses aimed at strengthening job competency through planned employment preparation
3	Industry–academic cooperation courses	Courses to improve problem-solving skills, such as capstone design, or courses operated through agreements with industries
4	Field practice programs	A program that supports job performance in industry for a certain period of time
5	Industrial site tour programs	One-time support program to visit industries in the major field
6	Occupational psychology tests	A screening program that helps choose career fields and professions that are more suitable for individual characteristics
7	Career path special lecture programs	One-time lectures for lower grades that provide information related to career paths in major fields
8	Employment special lecture programs	One-time lectures for higher grades that provide information related to employment in major fields
9	Career fairs	A program in which various companies outside the school provide job seekers with recruitment information, on-site support, and interviews
10	Career seminars	A program that introduces recruitment procedures and jobs to students within the university by companies that wish to hire talent
11	Individual career counseling	Counseling program conducted by counselors and clients on a one-to-one basis in relation to individual career
12	Group career counseling	Counseling program conducted by one or two counselors and multiple clients in relation to individual careers
13	Résumé writing support	1:1 customized résumé and self-introduction writing coaching by experts
14	Mock interviews	A program that supports experiencing an interview in advance in a situation similar to an actual job interview
15	Employment camps	A program that is run outside the university to improve employment mind and job search skills through a two-day or three-day course
16	Employment information support	Providing various information related to employment online or offline
17	Competition support	Support program for participation in competitions in major fields
18	Overseas employment support	Pre-education and employment information support for overseas employment
19	Overseas training support	Programs to support a stay abroad for a set period of time for education purposes
20	Language programs	Support for language training at home and abroad to improve language skills
21	Certificate programs	Program to support the acquisition of certificates in major fields
22	Job club support	Support program for groups voluntarily formed by students with similar employment goals to prepare for employment
23	Mentoring	A program that helps mentees’ (students’) careers and employment through mentors such as industry workers or seniors in their major fields

2.2. Research Subjects

2.2.1. Participants

A questionnaire survey was conducted with university students enrolled in a major that included hotels or food services. Considering that there will be a difference in the current level of employment support programs depending on the size of the university, the application budget, and the school system, the questionnaire survey was conducted only for majors enrolled in four 2-year universities and four 4-year universities participating in the Leaders in Industry-college (university) Cooperation project, which is supported by the Ministry of Education to solve employment difficulties and corporate labor shortages. In addition, as higher-year college students had access to more employment support programs in college than lower-year students, only students enrolled in the graduation semester were included in the survey. A total of 384 students participated in the survey. Among the total respondents, 206 (53.6%) were men and 178 (46.4%) were women. As for the school system, 185 (48.2%) were 2-year university students, and 199 (51.8%) were 4-year university students. In the case of majors, 213 (55.5%) were hotel-related majors and 171 (44.5%) were food service-related majors.

2.2.2. Procedure

For the survey, before filling out a questionnaire using a survey program provided by Google, prior consent was obtained from the professor of the relevant department, and social network services (SNS) were used to conduct surveys for 15 days, from 16–30 September 2020, only for departments from which permission was received.

2.3. Analysis Method

The data collected through the questionnaire were analyzed using the SPSS 18.0 statistical program. Frequency analysis was performed to analyze the demographic characteristics of respondents, and a paired t-test was performed to verify the statistical significance of the average difference between the importance and current level of employment support programs. In addition, the need for employment support programs was calculated based on the needs formula of Borich (1980) using the Excel program, and items corresponding to the first quadrant were derived through the Locus for Focus analysis.

3. Results

3.1. Borich Needs Analysis of 2-year University Students

Table 2 shows the results of the paired t-test and Borich needs analysis to verify the difference between the importance and current level of employment support programs recognized by 2-year university students.

Table 2. Results of paired t-test analysis and Borich needs analysis for 2-year university students.

No.	Program	Importance	Current Level	Gap	t	p	Borich Needs Score	Rank
		Mean	Mean
1	Career-related courses	3.04 ± 0.59	3.69 ± 0.59	−0.65	−10.59	0.000	−1.99	23
2	Employment-related courses	3.14 ± 0.65	2.83 ± 0.58	0.31	4.96	0.000	0.98	12
3	Industry–academic cooperation courses	3.53 ± 0.63	3.13 ± 0.60	0.40	6.51	0.000	1.41	10
4	Field practice programs	4.01 ± 0.77	3.26 ± 0.70	0.74	9.72	0.000	2.97	6
5	Industrial site tour programs	3.59 ± 0.67	3.43 ± 0.65	0.16	2.98	0.003	0.582	20
6	Occupational psychology tests	3.06 ± 0.68	3.23 ± 0.61	−0.17	−2.69	0.008	−0.51	21
7	Career path special lecture programs	3.18 ± 0.59	3.38 ± 0.64	−0.20	−3.43	0.001	−0.64	22
8	Employment special lecture programs	3.69 ± 0.74	3.43 ± 0.66	0.26	3.73	0.000	0.98	13
9	Career fairs	3.07 ± 0.62	2.83 ± 0.61	0.24	3.88	0.000	0.75	15
10	Career seminars	3.84 ± 0.72	2.85 ± 0.67	0.99	14.52	0.000	3.80	4
11	Individual career counseling	4.12 ± 0.66	3.18 ± 0.66	0.94	14.65	0.000	3.87	2
12	Group career counseling	2.88 ± 0.60	2.58 ± 0.70	0.29	4.68	0.000	0.84	14
13	Résumé writing support	3.78 ± 0.83	3.58 ± 0.60	0.19	2.56	0.011	0.74	16
14	Mock interviews	3.36 ± 0.75	2.93 ± 0.61	0.43	6.20	0.000	1.43	9
15	Employment camps	3.55 ± 0.74	3.35 ± 0.73	0.20	2.57	0.011	0.71	18
16	Employment information support	4.02 ± 0.72	2.98 ± 0.71	1.04	13.87	0.000	4.17	1
17	Competition support	3.88 ± 0.82	3.69 ± 0.74	0.19	2.925	0.004	0.71	17
18	Overseas employment support	3.53 ± 0.74	2.75 ± 0.69	0.78	10.42	0.000	2.75	7
19	Overseas training support	3.81 ± 0.64	2.88 ± 0.63	0.94	15.18	0.000	3.56	5
20	Language programs	3.21 ± 0.59	2.81 ± 0.56	0.40	6.46	0.000	1.28	11
21	Certificate programs	4.00 ± 0.67	3.04 ± 0.66	0.96	13.63	0.000	3.83	3
22	Job club support	3.22 ± 0.67	3.02 ± 0.58	0.21	3.35	0.001	0.66	19
23	Mentoring	3.65 ± 0.65	3.12 ± 0.66	0.54	9.246	0.000	1.96	8
	Mean	3.53	3.13	0.40

The differences in importance and current level of the 23 employment support programs were all statistically significant. Among employment support programs, career-related courses, occupational psychology tests, and career path special lecture programs showed higher current levels than importance. Looking at the results of the Borich needs analysis, among employment support programs, the need for employment information support (4.17) was the highest, and then, needs were high in the order of individual career counseling (3.87), certificate programs (3.83), career seminars (3.80), and overseas training support (3.56). In contrast, the need for career-related courses (−1.99), career path special lecture programs (−0.64), occupational psychology tests (−0.51), industry field trips (0.582), and employment clubs (0.66) were found to be low.

Figure 2 shows the results of analyzing the priority of employment support programs using the Locus for Focus analysis. The name of the employment support program corresponding to the number in the grid can be identified by the number in the first column of Table 2. Based on the average of the importance of employment support programs recognized by the 2-year university majors (mean = 3.53) and the average of the difference between importance and current level (mean = 0.40), nine factors were included in the first quadrant (top right) on the coordinate plane, namely industry–academic cooperation courses, field practice programs, career seminars, individual career counseling, employment information support, overseas employment support, overseas training support, certificate programs, and mentoring.

Figure 2. Results of the Locus for Focus Analysis of 2-year University Students.

3.2 Borich Needs Analysis of 4-year University Students

Table 3 shows the results of the paired t-test and Borich needs analysis to verify the difference between the importance and current level of employment support programs recognized by 4-year university students.

Table 3. Results of paired t-test analysis and Borich needs analysis for 4-year university students.

No.	Program	Importance	Current Level	Gap	t	p	Borich Needs Score	Rank
		Mean	Mean
1	Career-related courses	3.39 ± 0.61	3.54 ± 0.69	−0.2	−2.4	0.017	−0.51	22
2	Employment-related courses	3.77 ± 0.67	2.96 ± 0.63	0.81	12.59	0	3.05	5
3	Industry–academic cooperation courses	3.68 ± 0.62	3.34 ± 0.76	0.34	5.19	0	1.26	12
4	Field practice programs	3.99 ± 0.64	3.10 ± 0.64	0.89	14.74	0	3.55	1
5	Industrial site tour programs	3.48 ± 0.68	3.33 ± 0.52	0.15	2.72	0.007	0.52	20
6	Occupational psychology tests	3.08 ± 0.67	3.47 ± 0.58	−0.4	−6.09	0	−1.22	23
7	Career path special lecture programs	3.53 ± 0.66	3.65 ± 0.59	−0.1	−2.23	0.027	−0.41	21
8	Employment special lecture programs	3.62 ± 0.64	3.38 ± 0.61	0.25	3.95	0	0.89	15
9	Career fairs	3.50 ± 0.70	3.09 ± 0.58	0.41	6.42	0	1.44	11
10	Career seminars	3.99 ± 0.61	3.48 ± 0.59	0.51	9.22	0	2.05	9
11	Individual career counseling	3.78 ± 0.68	3.46 ± 0.66	0.33	5.61	0	1.24	13
12	Group career counseling	3.14 ± 0.61	2.90 ± 0.59	0.24	3.99	0	0.74	18
13	Résumé writing support	3.47 ± 0.76	3.26 ± 0.71	0.22	3.2	0.002	0.75	17
14	Mock interviews	3.92 ± 0.67	3.30 ± 0.60	0.62	9.47	0	2.45	7
15	Employment camps	3.63 ± 0.63	3.21 ± 0.77	0.42	6.04	0	1.53	10
16	Employment information support	3.96 ± 0.70	3.17 ± 0.67	0.79	11.64	0	3.12	4
17	Competition support	3.60 ± 0.73	3.38 ± 0.76	0.23	3.66	0	0.81	16
18	Overseas employment support	3.89 ± 0.68	3.16 ± 0.72	0.73	9.95	0	2.83	6
19	Overseas training support	3.94 ± 0.62	3.07 ± 0.66	0.87	13.06	0	3.42	2
20	Language programs	3.85 ± 0.71	3.25 ± 0.64	0.6	9.6	0	2.32	8
21	Certificate programs	4.01 ± 0.63	3.23 ± 0.65	0.78	12.31	0	3.14	3
22	Job club support	3.47 ± 0.69	3.31 ± 0.58	0.16	2.69	0.008	0.56	19
23	Mentoring	3.68 ± 0.71	3.39 ± 0.69	0.3	4.913	0	1.09	14
		3.67	3.28	0.39

The differences in importance and current level of 23 employment support programs were all statistically significant. Like the two-year university majors, career-related courses, occupational psychology tests, and career path special lecture programs showed higher current levels than importance. Looking at the results of the Borich needs analysis, it was found that the need for field practice programs (3.55) was the highest among employment support programs, and then, needs were high in the order of overseas training support (3.42), certificate programs (3.14), employment information support (3.12), and employment-related courses (3.05). In contrast, the needs for occupational psychology tests (−1.22), career-related courses (−0.51), career path special lecture programs (−0.41), industry field trip programs (0.52), and job clubs (0.56) were found to be low.

Figure 3 shows the results of analyzing the priority of employment support programs using the Locus for Focus analysis. Based on the average of the importance of employment support programs recognized by the 4-year university majors (mean = 3.67) and the average of the difference between importance and current level (mean = 0.39), nine factors were included in the first quadrant on the coordinate plane, namely, employment-related courses, field practice programs, career seminars, mock interviews, employment information support, overseas employment support, overseas training support, language programs, and certificate programs.

Figure 3. Results of the Locus for Focus analysis for 4-year university students.

3.3. Analysis of the Highest Priority in Employment Support Programs by School System

In order to determine the highest priority in employment support programs for hospitality undergraduate students, this study analyzed which programs were located in the first quadrant based on the results of the Locus for Focus analysis, among the programs of education needs that were within the top 50% based on the study by Cho (2009). The results are shown in Table 4. For 2-year university students, it was found that employment information support, individual career counseling, certificate programs, career seminars, overseas training support, field practice programs, overseas employment support, mentoring, and industry–academic cooperation courses should be applied first. However, mock interviews, language programs, and employment-related courses were ranked in the top 50% of the Borich needs analysis results, but the Locus for Focus analysis showed that they were located in the 2nd and 3rd quadrants and were not included among the top priorities.

Table 4. Results of Borich needs analysis and the Locus for Focus analysis.

No.	Program	2-Year			4-Year
		Rank	LF	High-Priority	Rank	LF	High-Priority
16	Employment information support	1	Ⅰ	O	4	Ⅰ	O
11	Individual career counseling	2	Ⅰ	O	13	Ⅳ
21	Certificate programs	3	Ⅰ	O	3	Ⅰ	O
10	Career seminars	4	Ⅰ	O	9	Ⅰ	O
19	Overseas training support	5	Ⅰ	O	2	Ⅰ	O
4	Field practice programs	6	Ⅰ	O	1	Ⅰ	O
18	Overseas employment support	7	Ⅰ	O	6	Ⅰ	O
23	Mentoring	8	Ⅰ	O	14	Ⅳ
14	Mock interviews	9	Ⅱ		7	Ⅰ	O
3	Industry–academic cooperation courses	10	Ⅰ	O	12	Ⅳ
20	Language programs	11	Ⅱ		8	Ⅰ	O
2	Employment-related courses	12	Ⅲ		5	Ⅰ	O
8	Employment special lecture programs	13	Ⅳ		15	Ⅲ
12	Group career counseling	14	Ⅲ		18	Ⅲ
9	Career fairs	15	Ⅲ		11	Ⅱ
13	Résumé writing support	16	Ⅳ		17	Ⅲ
17	Competition support	17	Ⅳ		16	Ⅲ
15	Employment camps	18	Ⅳ		10	Ⅱ
22	Job club support	19	Ⅲ		19	Ⅲ
5	Industrial site tour programs	20	Ⅳ		20	Ⅲ
6	Occupational psychology tests	21	Ⅲ		23	Ⅲ
7	Career path special lecture programs	22	Ⅲ		21	Ⅲ
1	Career-related courses	23	Ⅲ		22	Ⅲ

For 4-year university students, it was found that employment information support, certificate programs, career seminars, overseas training support, field practice programs, overseas employment support, mock interviews, language programs, and employment-related courses among employment support programs should be prioritized. However, employment camps, career fairs, and industry-–academic cooperative courses were ranked in the top 50% of the Borich needs analysis results, but the Locus for Focus analysis showed that they were located in the 2nd and 4th quadrants and were not included among the top priorities. In addition, individual career counseling, mentoring, and industry–academic cooperation courses, which were the highest priority for 2-year university majors, were not included among the top priorities because they were located in the fourth quadrant as a result of the Locus for Focus analysis.

4. Discussion

The purpose of this study was to investigate the importance and current level of various employment support programs operated by universities as perceived by university students in the hospitality industry, and to analyze which employment support programs should be supported first. For this, a survey was conducted among 384 students enrolled in hospitality-related departments in universities, and the analysis results are summarized as follows.

First, as a result of analyzing Borich needs, there was a difference in needs between 2-year majors and 4-year majors. In the case of 2-year majors, needs were high in the order of employment information support, career counseling, and certificate programs, and in the case of 4-year majors, needs were high in the order of field practice programs, overseas training support, and certificate programs.

Second, as a result of Borich needs and a Locus for Focus analysis, employment information support, certificate programs, career seminars, overseas training support, field practice programs, and overseas employment support were found to be high-priority programs for both 2-year and 4-year majors.

Third, individual career counseling, mentoring, and industry–academic cooperation courses appeared to be the highest priority programs to support 2-year majors, but in the case of 4-year majors, the differences between the importance and current level of these three programs were not significantly different, indicating that they are relatively well supported by universities. In addition, mock interviews, language programs, and employment-related courses were the top priority programs to support 4-year majors. However, 2-year majors perceived low importance in mock interviews and language programs, and employment-related courses showed that there was little difference between importance and current level.

Based on these analysis results, the implications for employment support programs for hospitality undergraduate students are as follows. First, as in the studies by Lee and Kang (2014) and Park et al. (2012), the need for programs such as employment information support, individual career counseling, certificates, career seminars, field practice programs, mentoring, and industry–academic cooperation courses, which can have an immediate impact on hospitality majors in 2-year university students, is high. It is believed that this is due to the fact that 2-year majors have less time to search and prepare for their career path than those in the 4-year system. Therefore, it is necessary to have the students establish career and employment goals through individual career counseling and mentoring programs. In addition, it is necessary to provide support for career preparation, such as obtaining certificates and participating in an internship in a major field before graduation, and through career seminars and industry–academic cooperation courses, employment-related information should be continuously provided so that the transition from college to work can be smoothly performed after graduation.

Second, to improve career and employment-related support programs recognized by university students, as in the study by Lee et al. (2019), which showed that activation of internships and recruitment events was the most necessary, this study also showed that the need for internships was the highest priority. This result is thought to be due to the fact that the hospitality industry is not hiring new employees and operating internship programs at the time of the survey due to reductions in personnel resulting from the decline in sales due to COVID-19. In other words, as in the study by Chao and Kim (2016), which claimed that 4-year university students should find a career that suits them early through internships and prepare for it, universities and departments will need to enable many students to participate in internship programs.

Third, both 2- and 4-year majors showed a large gap between the importance and current level of overseas training, overseas employment support, and language programs. As shown in the study by Ahn and Yim (2018), the language experience and language skills of university students have an effect on the shortening of the employment period, and the study by Kil (2013) showed that students who gained confidence in learning English and increased interest in English-speaking countries after the English camp showed positive responses to overseas employment. To improve the inclination of hospitality majors toward overseas internships or employment, it is necessary to introduce support programs that allow them to participate in overseas training and language programs.

Despite having highlighted these implications, this study has the following limitations. First, since the survey was conducted on hospitality majors attending only some universities in Korea, there is a limit to the use of the research results in all universities. Therefore, based on this study, it is necessary to establish strategies for employment support programs in consideration of the location, size, and characteristics of each university.

Second, the analysis was limited to those who were attending the graduation semester. As a number of preceding studies have shown that there is a difference between the competencies required by companies and the competencies acquired through university education, the gap between these competencies could be reduced by analyzing and comparing the education needs of graduates working in related industries after graduation or by industry human resources managers.

Third, there is a limit to the perspective of the study. In 2020, when this study was conducted, some employment support programs such as employment camps, domestic and international internships, and overseas language training had been canceled or reduced due to the ban on group activity due to the spread of COVID-19 and self-isolation of foreign arrivals. In turn, students may have responded negatively to the current level because there was no experience in participating in each program. Therefore, it will be necessary to analyze and compare the needs of students when COVID-19 has been overcome.

5. Conclusions

This study analyzed which employment support programs should be prioritized in making career decisions to improve job landing ability by undergraduate hospitality students, who have seriously underperformed in the labor market due to travel restrictions, border closures, and business disruptions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our study, which identified educational needs from the perspective of students participating in employment support programs, showed that employment support programs to be given top priority varied depending on the school year of the students. Therefore, it is necessary for the officials of the universities’ employment support programs to continuously identify and support the needs of students rather than providing uniform support across all programs. This study will aid the officials of university employment support programs in developing and implementing programs more efficiently while improving the students’ job landing performance in the labor market.