Tourism and hospitality areas such as hotel and restaurant general management, human resources, sales and marketing, convention services coordination, tour coordination, food and beverage, housekeeping, hotel financial management all require professionals with a distinct set of skills that includes knowledge of administration.

At Centennial College's Hospitality and Tourism Administration students gain "…a mixture of the hospitality side, where you get to learn how the hotel operates from scratch … After that, you get to learn how the tourism industry operates, says grad Lexina. "Of course you can get a job. When I graduated, I had a job two weeks after graduation."

Lexina's testimonial is backed by stats. As Canada's largest employment sector, tourism and hospitality boasts revenues in excess of $61 billion, employing over 1.6 million Canadians from coast to coast.

Here is a closer look as to how Centennial College prepares students for the field in three years.
  • Students are admitted at three points throughout the year.
  • UNWTO TedQual fully accredits the offering.
  • Courses cover a full range of business practices in marketing, human resources, finance and industry operations. What sets this training apart is that topics are covered in a way that applies to the entire hospitality and tourism field.
  • Among specific topics that students study are: dimensions of tourism, beverage knowledge and bartending, theory of food, world geography for tourism, kitchen and dining room practices, presenting and communicating effectively, customer relationship management, groups and incentives, issues in hospitality and tourism, hospitality and tourism entrepreneurship and more.
  • Some classes are carried out in living labs that offer students hands-on practice.
  • Centennial College's Progress Campus features a full service hospitality management centre, an onsite conference centre and state-of-the-art computer labs.
  • In addition to on-campus training, students also partake in a field placement that lasts 15 weeks.
  • The final semester placement provides significant work experience in approved jobs within the hospitality and tourism industry, enabling students to relate classroom theory to real world scenarios, while adding another facet to their career grounding. As such, students come to better understand the dynamics of the industry, increase their knowledge of industry practices and gain a competitive advantage of experience in the job market.

Those who wish to continue their education in tourism and hospitality administration may do so seamlessly thanks to Centennial College's standing in the community and educational partnerships. These partnerships allow graduates to apply academic credit towards further study and include: Athabasca University, International Hotel Management Institute (Switzerland), Vancouver Island University, University of Calgary, University of Guelph, University of New Brunswick, University of South Carolina (U.S.A.) and Royal Roads University (B.C.).

If, however, graduates wish to launch their careers, they may do so with reputable companies. Among the companies that previously hired Centennial College grads are: Tourism Toronto, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Wyndham International, Choice International and SIR Corp.