The tourism and hospitality sector is undergoing rapid transformation due to digitalization and necessities technological expertise for graduates. In this regard, technological skills played a great role in enhancing graduate employability in the sector. The study aims to examine the technological skill gaps and their effects on the employability of Tourism and Hospitality graduates in Ethiopia. The research employed a mixed methods approach, utilizing a descriptive and explanatory research design. Both secondary and primary data sources were in place to obtain the relevant data. A total of 140 samples were employed to collect the data. A purposive sampling technique was employed to select participants. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, as computed in SPSS v27. The study revealed that among the five skill domains assessed, social media and digital marketing skills had the strongest positive influence on graduate employability, followed by emerging technology skills, property management system skills, computer reservation system skills, and basic digital literacy skills. Despite the observed positive correlations across all technological domains, the lower mean scores for emerging technologies and digital literacy highlight the existing competency gaps among graduates. These gaps could hinder the tourism and hospitality industry’s readiness for a fast-evolving digital labor market. The study verifies that technology serve as both an enabler and a decisive factor in graduate readiness. © 2025.
Author Keywords
Index Keywords
