Making it Happen – A Strategy for Learners with Disabilities: Full Inclusiveness as an Innovation Agent

As the hospitality industry continues to grow globally, the development of highly skilled and educated human capital is a major industry challenge. The WHO/World Bank states that 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability, yet this degree of diversity cannot be found within the management levels of the hospitality industry. In order to obtain this, diversity should also be found within the student cohorts of hospitality educational institutions. This chapter seeks to examine how the hospitality educational sector policies and practices contribute towards the full inclusiveness of students with disabilities and by association towards the diversity found within the higher levels of management within the hospitality industry. The findings suggest that implicitly students with disabilities are being discouraged from enrolling upon and successfully completing a degree in hospitality management, a growing necessity for a management career within the hospitality industry. Therefore, a shift of perspective is required to see disability not as a personal health condition of individuals. However, the hospitality educational sector should seek to embrace more innovation, with the adoption of technology that seeks to create access and meaningful encounters with student from all sectors of the society; in addition, the sector can help overcome the often negative societal attitudes and perceptions displayed towards people with disabilities. This can be achieved by integrating positive images of students with disabilities and clear and transparent policy statements in public facing material, which is often used as marketing and promotional material for institutions. In this way, the hospitality educational sector would be seen to be taking positive steps in preparing talent drawn from all section of society and can be regarded as an active agent in the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 with a goal of full inclusiveness within the hospitality higher educational sector.