Glion Hospitality School Graduates Find Jobs and Move Faster in the Managerial Ladder, study finds

Glion is on global list of recommended higher education institutions by UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Dubai, UAE; June 12, 2013--Glion Institute of Higher Education, one of the most prestigious hospitality schools in the world, released information today on the success of its graduates, focusing on the employability of the 180 graduates from its Bachelor program. According to the study, 100% of the students who were looking for jobs - in this case 86% of the graduating class - each received one or more job offers before their diplomas were even granted. The remaining 14% chose to either continue their education by pursuing a graduate degree or to take a year off, with a few returning to their home countries to comply with mandatory military service. The data confirms previous trends of high employability and successful career paths followed by Glion alumni.

Glion is on a global list of recommended higher education institutions by UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. With the UAE hotel and tourism sector predicted to reach $7.5bn by 2016,¹ the country is in need of eligible candidates with necessary hotel management and customer relationship skills to fill entry level to senior management roles.

"We have many students from the Middle East region studying at Glion in Switzerland. With increased investment in the hospitality sector by regional governments, we see a strong potential for students from the Middle East to benefit from a professional program at Glion," said Michael Huckaby, interim CEO of Glion Institute of Higher Education. "Figures from the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, for example, show that the city has 599 hotels and 80,500 hotel rooms; and the government hopes to double the number of rooms by 2020. A career in hospitality is the step in the right direction for many ambitious students in this scenario."

The 2012 Alpen Capital GCC Hospitality report points out that an issue facing the regional hospitality industry is the shortage of skilled labor and high employee turnover. As demand increases, it becomes imperative for hotels to hire and retain skilled labor if they are to attract customers.

The Bachelor's program at Glion offers a selective management track pursued by 48% of all Glion's students. This program, highly regarded by the hospitality industry, prepares students for a variety of career options. According to the school's data, 13.6% of graduates in the management program hold positions in sales or marketing while 11.4% choose the room division. Other graduates are currently working in the restaurant business or in the areas of human resources, finance, or events management.

"Glion graduates demonstrate the broad range of their education when they join IHG hotels," said Andrew Nelson, Graduate Program Manager, Europe at the InterContinental Hotel Group. "They know how to present themselves and the topics they are working on. Their specialization commences at Glion and is completed at the hotel. Glion has the ability to train their students in the right way and they are able to use the state-of-the-art software and hardware currently used at our properties."

Every semester, Glion students continue to attract great interest from the industry. Over 50 representatives from the hospitality industry, including highly reputed brands such as Mandarin Oriental, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, InterContinental, Four Seasons, Hilton Worldwide, Marriott and Hyatt, visit Glion to recruit from graduating class.

For more information on Glion Institute of Higher Education, please visit www.glion.edu.

About Glion Institute of Higher Education
Glion Institute of Higher Education is a private Swiss institute that offers undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programmes in Switzerland (Glion and Bulle campuses) and in United Kingdom (London). Glion London is a branch campus with the same program structure and ethos as Glion Switzerland. Glion is accredited at the university level by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (www.neasc.org) through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, and offers programmes in the fields of hospitality, tourism, events, sports and entertainment management. The campus-based student body comprises more than 1,600 students representing more than 90 nationalities. There are 85 faculty members including full- and part-time equivalent lecturers as well as visiting lecturers. For more information, please visit www.glion.edu. Glion is part of Laureate Hospitality Education, a leading hospitality management education group (www.laureatehospitality.com)

About Laureate International Universities
Laureate International Universities is a trusted global leader in providing access to high-quality, innovative institutions of higher education. The Laureate International Universities network includes more than 70 accredited campus-based and online universities. Our more than 780,000 students are part of an academic community that spans 29 countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, North Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Laureate universities offer hundreds of undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree programs in fields including architecture, art, business, culinary arts, design, education, engineering, health sciences, hospitality management, information technology, law and medicine. President William J. Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, serves as The Honorary Chancellor of the Laureate International Universities network, offering advice on social responsibility, youth leadership and increasing access to higher education. For more information, visitwww.laureate.net.

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