Training in Hospitality

The better employment packages are more likely to come from the big firms than from the small private ones. But where smaller businesses can sometimes shine is in offering people more autonomy and a faster rise through the ranks.
The same goes for the different sectors of the catering industry: each has its benefits and drawbacks. Contact catering - feeding people in schools, hospitals and staff restaurants - may not have such a glamorous image, but the hours are mostly nine to five, a dream for anyone who dreads split shifts, and the pay is normally higher than other sectors.
In restaurants and pubs hours are longer, but the food and drink offers are constantly changing. One minute Spanish tapas are in, the next it's Thai, then it's back to good old British fare. Managers with the big brewers can expect salaries to match: last year some of Bass's top pub managers earned £50,000 - £60,000.
Hotels demand long hours too, and probably offer some of the lowest pay rates in the industry. But there are literally hundreds of jobs to choose from, from housekeeping to running a restaurant to personnel management. And hotels stress that responsibility starts young.
So where are the job opportunities? Market research firm Marketpower, which specialises in analysing the catering industry, predicts huge growth in what it calls the activity sector - such as pubs, cinemas and theme parks - where food is ancillary to the main activity.
According to Marketpower, this sector will account for 40% of the market in 2001, compared to 25% in 1981 and 37% today. It predicts that contract catering and restaurants will show little or no growth.
Routes to Qualifications
The catering and hospitality industry has led the field in developing new qualification routes. These mean a wide variety of ways to help you build on your skills and knowledge, to get the qualifications employers want.
If you are about to, or have recently left school, there are three main options, described below.
1. Attend a college of university as a full-time studentYou need to consider what interests you, how long you wish to study for, and the entry requirements for particular programmes. These range from the motivation and potential to succeed for foundation programmes, to three A levels or five SCE Highers for some degree programmes.
2. Join a training programmeOperated by an employer or an organisation that works with employers to provide training, such as HCTC. The programme combines work experience with training on-the-job - by your supervisors and training specialists, and training off-the-job - at a college or training centre. You will be helped to build up a National or Scottish Vocational Qualification in the subjects and at the NVQ/SVQ levels appropriate to your career (usually a combination of Levels 1,2 and perhaps, 3).The length of the programme varies from a few months to two years.
3. Go straight into employmentTry and get a job that will provide useful experience for the future, with an employer who offers training or can help you get the support you need.
HCTC training programmes
Many HCTC trainees become employees part-way through the programme. Some can be put into paid jobs from the start of the programme. Others are already working, and their employer contracts with HCTC to provide the off-the-job training and help in delivering NVQs/SVQs.
If you have a non-hotel and catering degree
The HCIMA offers an exceptional entry programme leading to the Professional Diploma, and a number of universities offer a Postgraduate Diploma. These usually involve one-year of full-time study and a period of industrial experience.If you are already have experience in the industry and want to get qualifications, there are four main options.
1. Work towards NVQs/SVQs with your employerNational and Scottish Vocational Qualifications are open to anyone, of any age or experience and there are no entry requirements. There are four levels: Level 1 (basic skills), Level 2 (craft skills), Level 3 (advanced craft/supervisory skills) and Level 4 (management skills).
2. Attend a College Part-timeYour employer may be able to help you attend a local college one day a week, or on a block release basis, when you spend longer intervals at college (e.g. four weeks). Generally experience is more important than the standard academic entry requirements.
3. Take a full-time College/University ProgrammeIdeally, chose a programme intended for people with experience in the industry, and designed to meet your needs in the quickest possible time.
4. Distance Learning or Self-studySuch as HCIMA's (leading to the Professional Certificate/Diploma and NVQs/SVQs Level 3), which includes tutor contact and attendance at seminars, or HCTC's operational management programme for supervisors (leading to an HCTC certificate and NVQs/SVQs Level 3), which combines one-day courses with self-study workbooks