World First – International Framework

World First – International Framework

The Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI) is leading the world by developing a system that will allow different countries to recognise each others hospitality qualifications, giving hospitality professionals in New Zealand and in other countries, qualifications they can take around the globe.

Ian Harding, chief executive of the HSI, and initiator of the scheme, says it will be a huge benefit in the hospitality industry world wide. “This will be good for employers and employees internationally. It will also be good for immigrants trying to get their qualifications recognised and for immigration authorities trying to work out the value of qualifications for point systems. As for casual travellers, Ian Harding says they will be able to pack their qualification in their backpack and get employment all around the world because they will have an equivalent qualification for the country they are intending to work in.

Called GlobeQual, the initiative arose out of the successful trans-tasman matching of hospitality qualifications between New Zealand and Australia.

Ian Harding, says the HSI realised a lot of countries were moving to competency based qualification systems like New Zealand, and yet they all faced the same problem - that their qualifications were not internationally recognised.

Armed with the successful example of Australian and New Zealand co-operation, Ian Harding recently took the proposal to the national standard setting bodies in the United Kingdom, France, Hong Kong, USA and Germany. Subsequently Japan, Brazil and China have indicated they are keen to join in.

Ian Harding says GlobeQual is a system of aligning one country’s qualifications with those of the rest of the world. “It enables countries to have their own systems, food and culture styles, while recognising there are generic skills that can be measured and matched to an international competency based framework”, he says

Countries will apply to HSI, which will administer the system, to join the web based GlobeQual register, which will match their qualifications to the skills and levels required to meet international standards.

Ian Harding will be briefing the hospitality industry on GlobeQual in more depth at the National Hospitality Training Conference 26th July, Stamford Plaza Auckland.

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