Have you got the right personality for the job? According to the industry, that's the number one question for anyone thinking of hotel management. You must enjoy people, have a business head, be willing to accept responsibility, make decisions and be reliable, fit and adaptable.

"It's one of those professions where personality and attitude are most important," says John Power, chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation. "Academic achievement at Leaving Cert is not as crucial or as important as in other university courses."

There are many routes into this career, he says. There are opportunities for those who have been working in the industry as well as for those who have just completed the Leaving Cert. And there are routes for those who don't finish second-level, although Power advises anyone to do the Leaving Cert.

For students who don't get a place at a third-level college, there are trainee management development programmes run by CERT and the industry. There are also other industry-based training schemes.

"It's a fantastic career," says Power. "You have the choice of working at home or abroad. Your skills are valued anywhere in the world - and our training colleges have a very high reputation worldwide."

There are 830 hotels in the Republic. The number has grown by over 100 in the past two years and, says Power, others are planned. "When you put all of this together, there are enormous opportunities for people entering the industry."

Gerry O'Connor, managing director of the Blarney Park Hotel in Co Cork and a former president of the Irish Hotels Federation, agrees. "The trend at the moment is very good for young people in our business," he says. "More and more are getting the opportunity to move into senior positions."

Five or 10 years before this many of the managers in the industry had been in their positions for a long time. "Now," says O'Connor, "there's been a huge change in the past two years with more and more young people in senior positions. Irish people working in the United States and Europe have been able to come home and take up positions.

"The supply is generally there at supervisory and management level. The availability is quite good, unlike the crafts area."

O'Connor is concerned that "a lot of new operators are building the hotel first and then worrying about hotel management. That's one of our problems. They're going to be looking at the same pool of management. This will stretch the pool over the next couple of years.

"People who operate hotels but who are not experienced in the industry forget that the real job is sourcing a good manager and a good team, rather than building a hotel. They've put the emphasis on building."

Anna Cunningham is marketing lecturer in Shannon College of Hotel Management, the airport-based private college. "We wouldn't have enough graduates to supply the demand that's there," she says. "Graduates have a choice of jobs. They can pick and choose."

Hotel management is "a vocation really," says Cunningham. "We put applicants through a stringent selection process because it's important to see if it's in their nature. It takes a certain personality."