Results of Evaluating the Level of Dedication to Work of Human Resources at Tourism Enterprises in Da Nang City, 2017

Lack of close cooperation in work, with 24 - 33% of the responses still at a weak level, and awareness of compliance with regulations and labor discipline is still the weakest point, accounting for 33.03% of the weak level. Because some restaurant employees are manual laborers who do not implement labor protection, or the implementation of labor safety and hygiene of the enterprise, or there are some university-educated tour guides who have accepted to work as sitting guides, assisting foreign tour guides in violating the Law on Tourism, in order to deal with inspections by competent authorities in Vietnam. These actions not only affect work efficiency and labor productivity, but also create a negative image, losing the spirit of patriotism, sovereignty, and fine traditions of the Vietnamese people.

- Regarding the level of dedication to work : Looking at chart 3.6, it shows that most of the laborers in tourism enterprises in Da Nang city are currently aware of cultivating professional ethics and when asked for their opinions on this, the majority of laborers said that they achieved average, good, and excellent levels, ranging from 62.4% to 81.76%. In particular, laborers also found that diligence and hard work are outstanding characteristics, so the rate of evaluation from average or higher is 81.76%; high sense of responsibility for work is 80.60% of the rate of evaluation from average or higher; loyalty and attachment to the enterprise is 67.67%; enthusiasm, dynamism, trying to overcome difficulties to do well the assigned work is 77.59%; passion for the profession, interest in the job is 74.14%. It can be said that this is one of the advantages for Da Nang city to build timely incentive and treatment policies to develop human resources, especially high-quality human resources.

Figure 3.6. Results of assessing the level of dedication to work of human resources at tourism businesses in Da Nang city, 2017 Source: Author's survey results

- Regarding the ability to adapt flexibly at work : Through chart 3.7, the results of the survey of laborers in tourism enterprises in Da Nang city on the ability to adapt flexibly at work showed that about 66.52% of opinions assessed the ability to adapt flexibly at work as average or higher. In particular, the ability to accept change, job transfer (66.52% of opinions); the ability to adapt to new jobs (65.82% of opinions); the ability to grasp and access market information (62.56% of opinions); the ability to be ready to move, change the environment (69.05%); the ability to cope with risks at work (63.63%). Thus, some skills of workers are still weak, especially the ability to grasp and access market information; the ability to cope with risks at work has a weak level of over 35%.

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

Weak

33.48

34.18

30.95

36.56

30.02

28.41

27.4

24.01

12.47

23.33

12.47

Medium

Rather

13.39

24.25

13.39

23.7

12.34

Good

Ability to accept change, job transfer

Likeability

Ability year

corresponding to the job of capturing market information

Readiness Ability to respond to risks

new

school

change in work environment

30.02

28.41

24.94

Figure 3.7. Results of assessing the ability to adapt flexibly to work of human resources in tourism businesses in Da Nang city, 2017 Source: Author's survey results

In general, the human resources of tourism enterprises in the city have been increased in both physical and mental strength in recent times, especially in terms of tourism professional qualifications, foreign language proficiency, knowledge, skills and attitudes, which have gradually improved to meet the basic requirements for the needs of each job position of tourism enterprises in Da Nang city.

3.2.3. Current status of tourism human resource structure

3.2.3.1. Human resource structure by professional qualifications

Currently, to meet the industrialization, modernization and international integration of tourism, human resources must meet the Vietnam Tourism Occupational Standards (VTOS), through which tourism enterprises can evaluate the effectiveness of their human resources according to the level of each assigned job position. Results of the 2017 survey on human resources in tourism enterprises in Da Nang city according to tourism occupational standards

According to Vietnam (VTOS), the number of human resources trained with VTOS certificates reached 38.75% (all 5 levels) of the total existing human resources, specifically for each field as follows:

Table 3.6. Human resources at accommodation businesses in Da Nang city trained with VTOS certificate in 2017

Unit: %

Each position

VTOS vocational level					Do not have
Proof only 1	Proof only 2	Proof only 3	Literature equal to 4	Diploma high-class	Do not have
Board of Directors/Hotel Management	8.15	7.30	4.49	10.67	13.20	69.38
Front desk manager/supervisor	3.0	10.73	12.45	15.88	2.15	57.94
Receptionist	18.09	20.06	4.68	1.98	0.73	55.02
Housekeeping Department Manager/Supervisor	3.51	10.53	12.28	12.28	2.46	61.40
Room attendant	28.78	10.57	4.22	1.46	0.84	54.97
Chef/Kitchen Manager	4.03	10.74	12.42	14.43	3.36	58.39
Kitchen assistant	26.66	11.55	5.16	1.23	0.61	55.41
Restaurant Manager/Supervisor	0	0	20.64	17.43	1.38	60.55
Restaurant/bar staff	16.08	26.67	3.10	1.5	0	52.65

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Source: Survey results [80]

- For the accommodation sector, the number of employees with VTOS certificates is about 30 - 47%, this is the sector with the highest VTOS level currently in tourism enterprises in the city and compared to 2013, this rate has increased nearly 4 times (in 2013 it was only 7.18%). Looking at the data in Table 3.6, it shows that employees in all positions directly serving guests (hotel managers, supervisors and staff of the reception, housekeeping, kitchen, restaurant) with VTOS certificates (including all 5 levels of qualifications) account for about 30 - 45%. In particular, for hotel management positions, department heads and supervisors, the proportion of employees holding high-level VTOS certificates (level 3, level 4 and senior level) is much larger than for lower positions, specifically, up to 13.2% of hotel directors/managers have advanced VTOS certificates, while this proportion for other department heads or supervisors is only about 2.5% - 3.5%.

- For the restaurant and catering sector with KDL services: Looking at table 3.7, it can be seen that the rate of workers in some main job positions in restaurants with VTOS certificates is not large, about 26.49%, but compared to 2013, this rate is much higher (in 2013 it only reached 10.6%), this rate is mainly concentrated in restaurants with

large-scale coastal and city center restaurants (Apsara restaurant, Khong gian xua, Con Ca Map ...). In which, the proportion of employees in positions directly serving guests and kitchen with VTOS certificates is quite low, 19.5% and 22% respectively; this proportion is mainly in front desk supervisors, restaurant managers reaching from 32.0% - 37.66%. Thus, the proportion of employees in the front desk department with high-level VTOS qualifications is much lower than that in the department directly serving guests and kitchen. This also reflects the current reality that most service staff are seasonal employees, part-time students, interns, workers in some positions only need to graduate from high school, this is the group that accounts for a large proportion of the labor structure in restaurants serving tourist areas.

Table 3.7. Human resources in restaurants in Da Nang city trained with VTOS certificate in 2017

Unit: %

VTOS vocational level					Do not have
Proof only 1	Proof only 2	Proof only 3	By 4	Equal high-class	Do not have
Restaurant Management	0.81	3.23	5.65	9.68	13.71	66.94
Front desk manager/supervisor	1.30	5.19	3.90	19.48	7.79	62.34
Receptionist	9.15	7.93	3.66	10.98	-	68.29
Manage/Supervise the direct department customer service	1.40	5.14	0.47	7.48	2.34	83.18
Staff directly serving customers	6.71	9.49	0.35	2.20	3.47	77.78
Chef/Kitchen Manager	-	3.76	3.01	10.53	0.75	81.95
Kitchen assistant	11.68	7.69	1.14	5.41	-	74.07

Source: Survey results [80]

- For tourism , according to the survey results in chart 3.8, the rate of employees working at travel agencies with VTOS certificates is lower than in the accommodation and restaurant sector, only about 32.1%, an increase of nearly 5 times compared to 2013 (in 2013 it was only 6.85%). In terms of each position, the position of director/manager and manager/supervisor of the operations department with VTOS certificates at a high level is 18.8%, higher than the position of staff and tour guides at 6.49%. This result reflects the current reality for travel agencies in Da Nang city, which is that the majority are small-scale, the tour guide team is hired under contract, so stability is not high, and is often lacking during the peak tourist season of the year. This is one of the difficulties in training and fostering human resources for travel companies in the city today.

Chart 3.8. Human resources at travel agencies in Da Nang city trained with VTOS certificate in 2017

Source: Survey results [80]

In general, NLDLs who have been trained and granted VTOS certificates are supported by the "Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Program" funded by the European Union for the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and tourism departments, including Da Nang city. In fact, the application of the VTOS occupational standards in assessing the professional expertise of employees in tourism enterprises in the city is not yet widely applied. According to the author's survey results when contacting tourism enterprise managers about the application of VTOS occupational standards, some enterprises do not clearly understand this set of standards. Some tourism enterprises know about the occupational standards but think that it is difficult to apply them in their enterprises and that in order to apply this set of standards, it is necessary to add more specific criteria for each job position.

3.2.3.2. Tourism human resources by gender

Tourism is a special industry, the labor is complex, so the work of each position of the tourism industry has different characteristics. From the data in Table 3.8, it can be seen that in 2017, the proportion of female workers working in tourism enterprises was higher than that of men, with 14,651 workers accounting for 50.43% and 14,451 male workers, accounting for 49.66%. In 2011, the proportion of male workers was higher than that of female workers, the proportion of male workers was 54.36% and that of female workers was 45.64%. Thus, in the period 2011 - 2017, the labor force working in tourism enterprises by gender tended to shift towards increasing the proportion of female workers and decreasing the proportion of male workers, ensuring balance between job positions. In which, the two fields of accommodation and restaurants have a higher proportion of female workers than male workers, these are the two fields with the number of NLDL accounting for the majority of the total direct labor force in the tourism industry. For the field of accommodation and restaurants, the trend of increasing the proportion of female workers, as of the end of 2017, the number of female workers in hotels (workers in the reception department,

The number of female employees in the housekeeping, sales - marketing, customer care and restaurant department is mostly female (60%), while the number of male employees in the kitchen, technical, restaurant management and event staff is mostly male) is 9,402 people, accounting for 54.24% (in 2011 there were 2,947 people, accounting for 44.90%); the restaurant has 3,733 female employees (female employees take on the positions of receptionist/cashier (87.8%), sales/marketing staff (73.47%), other department managers (80.33%)), accounting for 52.28% (in 2011 there were 2,269 people, accounting for 47.72%). As for the tourism sector, tour guides tend to increase the proportion of male workers higher than female workers, specifically: male tour guides in 2017 were 2,353 people, accounting for 73.00% of the total number of tour guides in the city, higher than in 2011 with 408 people, accounting for 72.86%; the annual labor rate in the tourism sector in 2017 was 759 people, accounting for 54.02%, higher than in 2011 with only 379 people, accounting for 47.61%. This result has shown the true nature of the work of tour guides, tour operators often have to endure great psychological pressure, there is no fixed time frame to serve on holidays and Tet during the time the business signs a contract with the tourist area, so it is more suitable for men than women. In particular, international tour guides and international travel agents often have to travel far and move a lot for a long time, which will put great pressure on women aged 30 and over. Some job positions such as receptionists, waiters - bar waiters, room attendants, staff in health care services, spas, chefs, sales... require dexterity, softness, gentleness, meticulousness and attention to appearance, so the proportion of female workers is often higher than that of male workers. In general, the proportion of workers in terms of gender has an insignificant difference, which shows that currently, for tour guides, there is no distinction between male and female genders, but depending on the nature of the work to perform better, gradually eliminating the social prejudice that working in the tourism sector is not good, especially the housekeeping and massage departments in hotels and restaurants...

Table 3.8. Human resources by gender in tourism businesses in Da Nang city from 2011 - 2017

Tourism sectors

2011				2017
Male		Female		Male		Female
SL	TL	SL	TL	SL	TL	SL	TL
Accommodation	3,617	55.10	2,947	44.9	7932	45.76	9402	54.24
Restaurant	2,486	52.28	2,269	47.72	3407	47.72	3733	52.28
Travel	379	47.61	417	52.39	759	54.02	646	45.98
Tour guide	408	72.86	152	27.14	2353	73.00	870	27.00
Total	6,890	54.36	5,785	45.64	14,451	49.66	14,651	50.34

Source: Data synthesis [76], [80]

3.2.3.3. Tourism human resources by age

Table 3.9. Tourism human resources by age in Da Nang city from 2011-2017

Unit: Percentage - %

Human Resources Group	Under 25 years old		25 - 45 years old		46 - 60 years old
Human Resources Group	2011	2017	2011	2017	2011	2017
1	Accommodation	29.2	23.7	54.8	61.21	16.0	15.09
2	Restaurant	46.0	45.93	42.0	42.40	12.0	11.59
3	Travel	11.30	12.30	78.0	79.85	10.70	7.85
4	Tour guide	10.7	8.68	54.4	55.87	34.90	35.45
	Total	33.58	27.12	51.55	56.71	14.87	16.17

Source: Author's synthesis [76], [80]

From Table 3.9, it can be seen that the number of employees of tourism enterprises in the fields of restaurants, accommodation, travel, and tour guides aged 45 and under has a decreasing trend but still accounts for a high proportion in 2017, accounting for 83.83% (85.13% in 2011), and the age group from 46 to 60 has an increasing rate from 14.87% in 2011 to 16.77% in 2017. For employees in jobs that are not subject to pressure in terms of work intensity during the year but often serve customers during peak hours of the day, during the season, employees are required to be proactive in terms of time, quick-witted and have high psychological endurance. Thus, during the period of 2011 - 2017, there was a fluctuation in the age of employees in each field to suit the specific nature of the job. For the restaurant sector, there is always a workforce with the highest proportion of young people under 25 years old, accounting for 45.93% (2017), the lowest is the workforce aged 45 - 60, accounting for 11.59% (2017), mainly managers. For tour guides, the lowest proportion is about 8.68% (2017), which is the age of young people under 25 years old, and the age of 45 - 60 has the highest proportion of 35.45%. The age structure of tour guides reflects the characteristics of tour guides, in addition to health, they need experience, understanding of economics, politics, culture, society, and higher professional qualifications, so the workforce is often older than in the restaurant and accommodation sectors. The human resources of travel and accommodation enterprises are mainly between the ages of 25 - 45. In 2017, travel accounted for 79.85%, accommodation accounted for 61.21%. The group aged 46 - 60 has a lower rate of 7.85%, mainly managers, because in addition to health, expertise requires experience and flexibility.

Only with activity and determination can these jobs be undertaken. In general, the human resources of tourism enterprises in Da Nang city are young, which is a factor suitable for the nature of modern and integrated human resources work today.

3.2.3.4. Tourism human resources by geography

Looking at the data in chart 3.9, it shows that the majority of human resources in tourism enterprises are local people, but compared to 2011, the proportion of local people tends to decrease from 72.12% in 2011 to 69.50% in 2017. This also means that human resources from other localities tend to increase from 27.88% in 2011 to 30.50% in 2017. Through this result, it shows that the city's policies to attract, support and offer incentives such as social housing support, social insurance, temporary residence registration, temporary absence... regardless of whether the subject is local or non-local to attract NLCLC for tourism are quite timely and correct, especially at the time of hot tourism development like today. In general, the number of local workers has gradually affirmed their professional capacity, ensuring to meet the requirements of tourism enterprises in the city such as hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, shopping centers serving tourism.

Chart 3.9. Human resources by geography in tourism businesses in Da Nang city from 2011 - 2017

Source: Survey results [76], [80]

In summary, the number of human resources in tourism enterprises in Da Nang city has increased in recent years, the quality has been improved, the basic structure ensures rationality in terms of professional qualifications, gender, age, regardless of geographical area, contributing to the successful implementation of the strategy "Tourism is a key economic sector" set out by the city.

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