| Summary: | This research explores the key challenges encountered by hospitality management students in a comprehensive university (CU) in South Africa while engaged in work-integrated learning (WIL) in hotels throughout the country. WIL refers to a range of activities or programmes that integrate academic learning
with its application in the workplace. It is widely considered instrumental in assisting students to acquire employability skills to function effectively in the workplace. While WIL provides students with the opportunity to acquire and improve their disciplinary skills and knowledge it should also be noted that the transition from higher education institutions to the workplace for students is very complex. There are challenges that students encounter while participating in WIL programmes. These challenges shape the
quality of WIL that students experience and therefore the knowledge, skills and abilities they acquire from the workplace. Therefore, it is important for these challenges to be understood and addressed. While much of the literature on WIL outlines the WIL benefits for the primary stakeholders (i.e. students, academic
institutions and host employers), few tackle the challenges experienced during implementation. This study employs an individual case study methodology. Three focus group discussions with 10 participants in a group and individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 participants (5 participants from each
campus of the CU). Findings of this study revealed various challenges that students experience in the workplace. From the results of this research recommendations are proposed for addressing the key challenges identified in the study so as to enhance the experience for all parties concerned.
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