The Professional and Economic Development of Individuals with Disabilities in the Hospitality Sector with a Focus on the Importance of Training and Skill Enhancement at all levels: Hungarian Perspective

The paper provides an in-depth study on one of the significant management interventions within firms regarding the issues of training and skills development to create an inclusive workplace for the people with disabilities. This study aims to explore attitudes of employers toward training employees with disabilities in the hospitality sector in Hungary. Another objective of this study is to fill the gap with a focus on two more specifications: aesthetic labor as a key selection tool of hotel recruiters, and to gather information on the understanding of employers on providing reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. Survey method was adopted as the main data collection instrument. Primary data was collected majorly via paper-and-pencil administration and web based survey (google forms). 859 questionnaires distributed of which 212 questionnaires were returned, indicating a response rate of 24.6%, but only 174 questionnaires were used for the analysis. The one of the results highlighted was the importance of providing training on comprehensive work-related skills (soft, technical and social) which are considered crucial for people with disabilities to sustain in the labour market. This study also add new empirical insights into existing international literature on the importance of employees selection on the basis of their physical attributes, and the perception of employers on the range of workplace changes to accommodate employees with different forms of disabilities and their degree of severity. In the final section, the article offers recommendations for future research which if adopted could lead to professional advancement in the lives of people with disabilities.