THE EFFECT OF WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING ON THE JOB SATISFACTION AND MOTIVATION OF HOSPITALITY ALUMNI

Work-integrated learning exposes graduates not only to the world of work, but also to the expectations from industry. This is pertinent in the hospitality industry, which is exceptionally labour intensive and customer-oriented, requiring graduates to be properly prepared for workplace challenges. Although many factors have an impact on the implementation and success of work integrated learning programmes, the main objective of this study was to ascertain the overall impact of work-integrated learning on the job satisfaction and motivation of hospitality alumni. Job satisfaction and motivation are important factors in the overall well-being of employees and their intention to stay with an organisation. The study applied a quantitative research approach, and a structured questionnaire was administered to the hospitality alumni of a South African University of Technology (UoT). Ninety-four respondents completed the questionnaire. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to investigate the relationships between the variables. The findings show that participation in work-integrated learning has a medium positive effect on job satisfaction and a high positive effect on motivation.