This review focuses on the communication skills of TVET hospitality graduates in the post- pandemic era. This review paper examines the importance and method of communication skills in the hospitality industry to comprehend their roles in order to understand current demands from employers in the workplace. By examining the literature, this paper seeks to expand the existing knowledge of communication skills for the hotel industry in Malaysia. The hospitality industry has faced various crises over the past decade, including economic downturns, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters, but the scale and magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis have been unparalleled. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has almost recovered, communication skills in the hospitality industry have become increasingly important in the wake of the pandemic to survive. For that reason, a study has been conducted to delve into the specific communication skills that are highly valued by employers in the current context. By understanding these skills, TVET hospitality graduates aspiring to work in the hospitality industry can better prepare themselves to meet the demands of the post-pandemic era. This review has extensively utilised the secondary sources of data collected from recent studies by researchers from academic journals, articles, and websites, with the time frame of the current studies ranging from 2019 to 2023. A qualitative technique, namely a content analysis, has been employed to analyse the collected articles.The search results indicate that the hospitality industry has experienced significant transformations due to the pandemic. As a result, communication skills have become indispensable for job searching, collaboration, effective customer service, conflict resolution, leadership, professional growth, and continuous learning. The authors offer insights and a summary of the supported literature on communication skills needed in the hospitality industry during the post-pandemic period, along with future research suggestions in this field.
Ali, B. J., Gardi, B., Othman, B. J., Ahmed, S. A., Ismael, N. B., Hamza, P. A., Aziz, H. M., Sabir, B. Y., Anwar, G. (2021). Hotel service quality: the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in hospitality. International Journal of Engineering, Business and Management, 5(3), 14–28.
Al Asefer, M., & Zainal, A. N. S. (2021). Soft skills and graduates’employability in the 21st century from employers’ perspectives: a review of literature. International Journal of Infrastructure Research and Management, Vol. 9 (2), December 2021, pp. 44 - 59.
Al Riyami, T. K. (2021). Omani graduates’ English communication skills: employers’ perspectives. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 136-149.
AltexSoft. (2022). Hotel property management systems: products and
features. https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/travel/hotel-property-management-systems-
products-and features/
Arnold, W., and McClure, L. (2020). Why Is training and development a field of communication?. Waveland press inc. (2nd Edition). Communication Training and Development (pp. 1-18).
Athina, K. (2022). What is Open Communication? (With Benefits and Importance). https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-open- communication
Aziz, A. A., & Kashinathan, S. (2021). ESL learners’ challenges in speaking english in malaysian classroom. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 10(2), 983–991.
Baird, A. M., & Parayitam, S. (2019). Employers’ ratings of importance of skills and competencies college graduates need to get hired: evidence from the new England region of USA. Education + Training, Vol. 61 No. 5, pp. 622-634.
Bassah, N. S. H., & Noor, M. A. M. (2023). Employability skills needed for TVET graduates in malaysia: perspective of industry expert. Online Journal For TVET Practitioners UTHM Vol. 8, No.1(2023)52-59.
Bhatti, M. S. (2021).Teaching speaking skills through role play at elementary level: an analysis. Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 8 No. 1, pp 93-100.
Campbell, S., Campbell-Phillips, S., & Phillips, D. (2020). Lack of communication between management and employees. SIASAT Journal of Social, Cultural and Political Studies, 4 (3) July 2020, 32-39.
Chan, Y. S. (2021). TVET students must also learn communication skills. https://www.thesundaily.my/opinion/tvet-students-must-also-learn-communication- skills-YG8679427
Cheng, M., Adekola, O., Albia, J., and Cai, S. (2022). Employability in higher education: a review of key stakeholders' perspectives. Higher Education Evaluation and Development, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 16-31.
Colman, H. (2022). Soft Skills Training in the Workplace: It’s Time to Soften Up. https://www.ispringsolutions.com/blog/soft-skills-training.
Colnar, S., Radevi?, I., Martinovi?, N., Lojpur, A., Dimovski, V. (2022). The role of information communication technologies as a moderator of knowledge creation and knowledge sharing in improving the quality of healthcare services. PLoSONE 17(8): e0272346.
Corder, J. (2023). What are the “hidden factors” that keep hotel staff happy?. https://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/people/what-are-the-hidden-factors-that-keep- hotel-staff- happy
Decuypere, A., & Schaufeli, W. (2020). Leadership and work engagement: exploring explanatory mechanisms. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(1), 69–95.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2023). 9 March 2023 Monthly Principal Statistics of Labour Force. https://www.dosm.gov.my/portal-main/release-content/monthly- principal-statistics-of- labour-force-mar
D’Silva, V. (2020). More and more graduates are facing unemployment in Malaysia, at New StraitsTimes, https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/02/562309/more-and- more- graduates-are-facing-unemployment-malaysia
Doyle, A. (2021). Communication skills for workplace success. https://www.thebalancemoney.com/communication-skills-list-2063779
Eastley, M. B. (2022). Collaboration literacy in technical communication: Using workplace- based teamwork practices and technologies to teach distributed knowledge work (Order No. 29064859). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Global. (2681754479).https://vpn.utm.my/dissertations-theses/collaboration- literacy-technical- communication/docview/2681754479/se-2
Erdo?an, V. (2019). Integrating 4C skills of 21st century into 4 language skills in EFL classes. International Journal of Education and Research, Vol. 7 No. 11 November 2019.
Filiz, B. (2020). The relationship between effective communication skills and verbal intelligence levels of faculty of sport sciences students. International Journal of Educational Methodology, 6(3), 603-612.
French, J. (2023). Communication skills: Why do we create first impressions?. https://communicationguru.co.za/communication-skills-why-do-we-create-first- impressions/
Francis, K., Wamathai, A., John, K. M., Wandaka, & Jilo, N. (2019). Analysis of the skills gap in tourism and hospitality industry in Kenya. ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism, Vol 17.2, pp. 95-105.
Ghani, B., Zada, M., Memon, K. R., Ullah, R., Khattak, A., Han, H., Ariza-Montes, A., & Araya- Castillo, L. (2022). Challenges and strategies for employee retention in the hospitality industry: a review. Sustainability 2022, 14, 2885.
Ghonivita, Y., Pahamzah, J., Syafrizal, S., & Wijayanti, M. A. (2021). Improving students’ listening skill and vocabulary masteryn through contextual teaching and learning (CTL) By using online learning for senior high school (June 14, 2021). International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research, Vol.9, No 4, pp. 45-56, 2021.
Gupta, P. (2020). What is Oral Communication? It’s Components, Roles and Ways. https://www.everyeng.com/blog/view/4b538ee4
Guzzo, R. F., Wang, X., Madera, J. M., & Abbott, J. (2021). Organizational trust in times of COVID- 19: Hospitality employees’ affective responses to managers’ communication. International Journal of Hospitality Management 93 (2021) 102778.
Halili, S. H., & Sulaiman, S. (2021). Students' perception to integrate education 4.0 in science program. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education Social and Technological Sciences, 8(1), 45- 57.
Han, J. (2020). Development of a teamwork skill scale for engineering students. International Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 483-490.
Hasanah, H., & Malik, M. N. (2020). Blended learning in improving students’ critical thinking and communication skills at University. Cypriot Journal of Educational Science. 15(5), 1295 - 1306.
Hazlehurst, C., Etter, M., & Brouthers, K.D. (2023). Towards a unified typology of digital communication technologies in international business: a tool for management and research. Multinational Business Review, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of- print. https://doi- org.ezproxy.utm.my/10.1108/MBR-01-2023-0011.
Himalayan Institute of Technology. (2019). Importance of Successful Communication Skills in the Hospitality Industry. https://hitdoon.com/blog/importance-of-communication- skills-in- hospitality-industry/
Hunter, K., Lee, J., & Massey, D. W. (2023). Professional competencies for accountants: advancing our understanding of soft skills. Shawver, T.J. (Ed.) Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting (Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting, Vol. 25), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 1-24.
Huu, A. T., Nhat,T. T., Thanh, T. C. T. & Hoàng, G. L. (2022). The reason why the unemployment rate of college graduates is increasing. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development. Volume 9, Issue 1, 2022, Page No. 19-25.
Ibrahim, N. A. N., Abdul Rani, N. S., Jamri, M. H., Bakar, M. H., Abdul Wahab, S., Mahbob,
M. H., & Kahar, N. (2022). The Importance of non-verbal communication in organizations. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 12(6), 1841 – 1851.
Irungu, M. N., Nyagah, G., & Mugambi, M. (2019). Learner teacher non-verbal interaction effect on academic achievement of learners in chemistry. African Education Research Journal, 7(2), 88-96.
Jamaludin, K. A., Alias, N., DeWitt, D., and Razzaq, A. R. A. (2019). Framework for technical communication skills content development for students in malaysian vocational colleges: a fuzzy delphi study. Journal of Technical Education and Training Vol. 11 No. 4 (2019) 36-44.
Kalogiannidis, S. (2020). Impact of effective business communication on employee performance. EJBMR, European Journal of Business and Management Research, vol. 5, no. 6, December 2020.
Kaushal, U., & Talwar, T. (2022). Exploring the communication skills of indian engineering undergraduates: a partial ethnographic study. Higher Education, Skills and Work- Based Learning, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 256-270
Kenayathulla, H. B., Ahmad, N. A., & Idris, A. R. (2019). Gaps between competence and importance of employability skills: evidence from Malaysia. Higher Education Evaluation and Development, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 97-112.
Kapur, R. (2020). The Types of Communication. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344235361_The_Types_of_Commati on
Khusainova, G. R., Astafeva, A. E., Gazizulina, L .R., Fakhretdinova, G., and Yakimova, J. Y. (2019). Poster: development of communication skills for future engineers. International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning, Springer, Cham, pp. 119-124.
Kim, M.(2020). A systematic literature review of the personal value orientation construct in hospitality and tourism literature. International Journal of Hospitality Management,Volume 89,2020,102572.
Kim, J. J., & Han, H. (2022). Saving the hotel industry: strategic response to the covid-19 pandemic, hotel selection analysis and customer retention. International Journal of Hospitality Management,Volume 102,2022,103163.
Krishnan, I. A., Ching, H. S., Ramalingam, S., & Maruthai, E. (2019). An investigation of communication skills required by employers from the fresh graduates. Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (3): 1507 - 1524 (2019).
Laura, L. L. (2019) The employee experience: how employees make meaning of employee engagement. Journal of Public Relations Research, 31:5-6, 176-199.
Lee, Y., & Kim, J. (2021). Cultivating employee creativity through strategic internal communication: the role of leadership, symmetry, and feedback seeking behaviors. Public Relations Review,Volume 47, Issue 1, 2021,101998.
Loreto, M. (2019). The influence of social media exposure on the interpersonal communication skills of hospitality students. Journal of Social Science and Humanities (Graduate School) Ramkhamhaeng University, 4(1), 1-20.
Luo, C. C., Wang, Y. C., and Tai, Y. F. (2019). Effective training methods for fostering exceptional service employees. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 469-488.
Masa’deh, R., Alananzeh, O., Jawabreh, O., Alhalabi, R., Syam, H., & Keswani, F. (2019). The association among employees’ communication skills, image formation and tourist behaviour: perceptions of hospitality management students in Jordan. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 13 No. 3 2019, pp. 257-272.
Mcleod, S. (2023). Albert Bandura’s Social LearningTheory. https://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html
Magalhães, C., Araújo, A. & Andrés-Marques M. I. (2022). How do hospitality workers perceive their work skills before and after the lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic?. Social Sciences. 2022; 11(12):588.
Martic, K. (2023). Trust in the Workplace: Why it is so important today and how to build it. https://haiilo.com/blog/trust-in-the-workplace-why-it-is-so-important-today-and-how- to-build-it/
McKinney, V. L. (2021). Technology and formal written communication in the online learning environment: A constructivist grounded theory study (Order No. 28417776). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.(2525671215). https://vpn.utm.my/dissertations-theses/technology-formal-written-communication- online/docview/2525671215/se-2
Mehta, N. K., and Jha, S. (2021). Facilitation of team communication skill among engineers: an empirical study. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 435- 453.
Mian, L., Hussin, R., Slaninová, M. G. and Shahzadi, Y. (2022) The impact of e-education and innovation on unemployment reduction among graduates: a way forward for higher educational institutes. Front. Psychol. 13:914104.
Nasreen, F., Halili, S. H., & Razak, R. A. (2022). Employability skills of malaysian university students for IR4.0: a systematic literature review. Malaysia Online Journal of Educational Managemnt (MOJEM), October 2022, Voloume 10, Issue 4, 15-28.
Newman, S. A., & Ford, R. C. (2021). Five steps to leading your team in the virtual COVID-19. Workplace,Organizational Dynamics,Volume 50, Issue 1,2021,100802.
Ngoma, M., & Ntale, P. D. (2019). Word of mouth communication: a mediator of relationship marketing and customer loyalty. Cogent Business & Management, 6:1, 1580123.
NST Education. (2019). Preparing undergraduates for the workplace. New Straits Times, 19 June.https://www.nst.com.my/education/2019/06/497514/preparingundergraduates workplace.
Nugraha, R. A. H. D., Kencanasari, V., Komari, R. N., & Kasda (2020). Employability skills in technical vocational education and training (TVET). Invotec XVI:1 (2020) 1-10.
Olowoyo, M. M., Ramaila, S. & Mavuru, L. ( 2020). Levels of readiness and preparedness of selected South African TVET colleges in meeting the requirements of the hospitality industry. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 11, pp. 53- 70, November 2020.
Omarova, L., & Jo, S. J. (2022). Employee pro-environmental behavior: the impact of environmental transformational leadership and GHRM. Sustainability 2022, 14, 2046.
Parasnis, P. K., Deshpande, A. M., & Shinde, A. G. (2022). Significance of communication for frontline employees – perception of hospitality graduates. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Vol.11,S Iss 1, 2022.
Paranduk, R., & Karisi, Y., (2020). The effectiveness of non verbal communication in teaching and learning english: a systematic review. E-Clue Journal of English, Culture, Language, Literature, and Education published by English Education Department Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Manado, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 140-154.
Peterie, M., Ramia, G., Marston, G., and Patulny, R. (2019). Emotional compliance and emotion as resistance: shame and anger among the long-term unemployed. Work Employ. Soc. 33, 794–811.
Ramamuruthy, V., DeWitt, D., & Alias, N. (2021). The need for technical communication for 21st century learning in TVET institutions: perceptions of industry experts. Journal of Technical Education and Training Vol. 13 No. 1 (2021) p. 148-158.
Rajprasit, K., Sirisuksakulchai, J., Srimontra, K., Pitakpornsin, N., Letakulkit, P., Phaiboontham,
P., & Dumrongruedee, S. (2022). Using Business English as a Lingua Franca for Written and Spoken Communication: Challenges Encountered by Thai Human Resources Professionals in An American Multinational Company. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature® The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies Vol 28(4), December 2022.
Roslee, N. A., & Latif, L. A. (2021). Graduates need good communication skills: what does that mean?. kulliyyah of languages & management (KLM). Graduates Needs Good Communication Skills (pp. 1-12).
Rusmiyanto, R., Huriati, N., Fitriani, N., Tyas, N., Rofi’i, A., & Sari, M. (2023). The role of artificial intelligence (AI) In developing english language learner’s communication skills. Journal on Education, 6(1), 750- 757.
Rustamov, I. T., & Mamaziyayev, Z. X. (2022). Development of speaking comprehension in teaching foreign language for professional purposes. Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 12, Issue 02, February 2022.
Sabbah, S. Hallabieh, F., & Hussein, O. (2020). Communication skills among undergraduate students at Al-Quds university. World Journal of Education Vol. 10, No. 6; 2020.
Shen, L., Qian, J., & Chen, S. C. (2020). Effective communication strategies of sustainable hospitality: a qualitative exploration. Sustainability 2020, 12(17):6920.
Shields, K. (2021). Communicate with Customers. eCampusOntario Pressbooks, Chapter3: Managing a Customer Service Team.
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/customercentricstrategy/chapter/chapter-3- managing- a-customer-service-team/
Sonnenschein, K., & Ferguson, J. (2020). Developing professional communication skills: perceptions and reflections of domestic and international graduates. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 17(3) 5), 2020.
Tajuddin, S. N. A. A., Bahari, K. A., Al Majdhoub, F. M., Baboo, S. B., and Samson, H. (2022). The expectations of employability skills in the fourth industrial revolution of the communication and media industry in Malaysia. Education + Training, Vol. 64 No. 5, pp. 662-680.
Tankovic, C., Kapeš & Benazi? (2022). Communication skills in generation z as future tourism employees. Communication Research and Practice, Volume 8, Number 1, 2 January 2022, pp. 86-102(17).
Trosine, J. P. (2023). The Influence of Relationships with Others on Leadership Ability. A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies School of Leadership Studies of Gonzaga University.
Wilshiere, J. (2021). The Importance of Listening Skills in Communication. https://www.oneeducation.org.uk/importance-of-listening-skills-in-
communication/
World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Situation Report –
38. www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200227- sitrep- 38- covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=9f98940c_2.
Zainuddin, S. Z. B., Pillai, S., Dumanig, F. P., & Phillip, A. (2019). English language and graduate employability. Education + Training, Vol. 61 No. 1, pp. 79-93.
