The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ETS India, a subsidiary of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), to standardize English communication skills across the hospitality industry.
The initiative will use the TOEIC Link assessment, a globally recognized test aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), to establish role-specific benchmarks for hotel and restaurant staff. The assessment measures listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills through real-world hospitality scenarios.
Highlighting the collaboration, FHRAI President K. Syama Raju said, “This partnership will help our industry meet global service expectations by ensuring our workforce is not only technically skilled but also confident in communication.”
ETS India’s Country Manager, Sachin Jain, added, “We aim to bridge the English communication gap and create a scalable framework for talent development that can serve as a global model.”
As part of the pilot phase, selected hotels and Institutes of Hotel Management (IHMs) will participate in benchmarking studies. Assessments will cover current hotel staff, new recruits, and final-year IHM students to define communication requirements for roles like front office, housekeeping, and food & beverage services.
The collaboration also includes a Train-the-Trainer program for faculty, ensuring long-term impact. Once scaled nationwide, TOEIC Link could become the standard English communication benchmark for the hospitality sector, aiding employers in recruitment and enhancing employability for students and professionals alike.