Saturday, 8 November 2008
Different Chefs
Executive chefThe Executive chef is in charge of everything related to the kitchen, including menu creation, staff management and businessaspects. While the position requires extensive cooking experience and often involves actively cooking, the staff of benefit, it also involves a high level of management and business aspects of the kitchen. They can also be referred to as the “chef” or “head chef”. Although “head chef” may seem redundant, the word “chef” has come to be applied to any cook, kitchen helper or fast food operator, making the distinction necessaryChef de CuisineChef de Cuisine (”Head of the Kitchen”) is a synonym for the title executive chef. This is the traditional French term from which the English word chef comes, and is more common in European kitchens or those American kitchens which use the classical French brigade system. In some establishments this title is used to designate a chef who is the head chef at one location of an operation that has multiple locations where the corporate chef has the title executive chefSous chefThe sous-chef de cuisine (Deputy-chef of the kitchen) is the direct assistant of the executive chef and is second in command. He may be responsible for scheduling, and filling in for the executive chef when he or she is off-duty. The Sous Chef will also fill in for or assist the chef de partie (line cooks) when needed. Smaller operations may not have a sous chef, while larger operations may have multiple. The term “sous-chef” is pronounced like the rare spelling “su chef”.Expediter or Announcer (Aboyeur)The expediter takes the orders from the dining room and relays them to the stations in the kitchen. This person also often puts the finishing touches on the dish before it goes to the dining room. In some operations this task may be done by either the executive chef or the sous chef.Chef de PartieA chef de partie, also known as a “station chef” or “line cook”, is in charge of a particular area of production. In large kitchens, each station chef might have several cooks and/or assistants. In most kitchens however, the station chef is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with “First Cook”, then “Second Cook”, and so on as needed.Station ChefsStation chef titles which are part of the brigade system includeSauté Chef (Saucier) [sos.je] - Responsible for all sautéed items and their sauce. This is usually the highest position of all the stations.Fish Chef (Poissonier) [pw?.so.?e]Prepares fish dishes and often does all fish butchering as well as appropriate sauces. This station may be combined with the saucier position.Roast Chef (Rotisseur) [?o.ti.sœ?]Prepares roasted and braised meats and their appropriate sauce.Grill Chef (Grillardin) [g?i.ja?.d?~]Prepares all grilled foods, this position may be combined with the rotisseur.Fry Chef (Friturier) [f?i.ty.?je]Prepares all fried items, position may be combined with the rotisseur position.Vegetable Chef (Entremetier) [ã.t??.me.tje]Prepares hot appetizers and often prepares the soups, vegetables, pastas and starches. In a full brigade system a potager would prepare soups and a legumier would prepare vegetables.Roundsman (Tournant) [tu?.nã]Also referred to as a swing cook, fills in as needed on station in kitchen.Pantry Chef (Garde Manger) [ga?d mã.?e] They are responsible for preparing cold foods, including salads, cold appetizers, pâtés and other charcuterie items.Butcher (Boucher) [bu.?e]Butchers meats, poultry and sometimes fish. May also be responsible for breading meats and fish.Pastry Chef (Pâtissier) [pa.ti.sje]Prepare baked goods, pastries and desserts. In larger establishments, the pastry chef often supervises a separate team in their own kitchen or separate shop. Some kitchens may have an executive pastry chef.
Training and Development in Catering
Training and DevelopmentYou need to understand the important contribution training and development makes tocompetitiveness and the standards of work and performance in the hospitality andcatering industry. You need to be able to relate this to an outlet.Standards of work and performance should include:· attendance, behaviour, time-keeping, disciplinary and grievance procedures· occupational standards· legislation and regulations which the hospitality and catering industry has to abideYou need to be able to explain and give examples of the following training methods andactivities:· induction training· mentoring· coaching· apprenticeships· in house training· external training.You should be able to distinguish between on-the-job and off-the-job training andtransferable and non-transferable skills developed through training programmes.You should understand how nationally recognised training structures can contribute tothe training and development programme.Students usually find human resource management, like marketing, accessible andinteresting. Finding out about job applications, CVs and interviews is particularlyrelevant to their lives. The teaching of this unit can be effectively integrated with workexperience or other vocational experiences.Whilst students are likely to develop a good understanding of the appropriate theorytheir skills of application can also be developed. They should be encouraged to use thetheory on motivation and form a strong awareness of the differences between theoriesaddressing types of behaviour and the behaviour of individuals.Researching suitable outlets should be considered when planning this unit. Outletsshould be where students can investigate and observe good human resourcemanagement, including aspects of working relationships, a supportive approach to staffsatisfaction and motivation as well as clear policies on work and performance standards.This unit requires students to plan the approach to the investigation so that multiplevisits to the outlet are not required to fill in gaps. Therefore it would be best to ensurestudents are fully conversant with the theory before starting to investigate the practicalaspects. It should be possible for both students and staff to collect evidence of differentapproaches to human resource issues, and it may be useful to explore differences thatexist between published policies and the perceptions of managers and workers.
Hospitality ROLES
People are the ultimate resource - “An organisation’s most precious asset is its people”.Organisations within the hospitality and catering industry rely on their staff to portraythe right image so that customers get the products and services they require. This meansthat staff have to portray the right attitude and manner to customers as well as havingthe skills and abilities to allow them to work either individually or as part of a team.You may have a part-time job in hospitality and catering and will know first hand howimportant it is for an organisation to keep employees informed and motivated.You will learn about:· staff roles and responsibilities· the importance of working with others· how organisations go about recruiting and selecting staff· training and development.The unit links to the work in VCE Unit 1: The hospitality and catering industry andUnit 4: Customer service in hospitality and catering. This unit will also providebackground information and help support your learning in Unit 15: Small businessplanning and Unit 16: Planning and managing a hospitality event. It also has links withVCE Business Unit 4: Human resources. Whether you are going on into employmentor on to higher education you will find this unit useful if you are intending to follow acareer in the hospitality and catering industry.This unit links with NVQs in providing goods and services such as Restaurantmanagement/supervision, Multi-skilled hospitality management/supervision and Frontoffice management/supervision at levels 3 and 4.This unit is assessed by external assessment. The grade on that assessment will be yourgrade for the unit.
What we can learn from Mcdonalds
Two Things the Foodservice Equipment and Supplies Industry Can Learn from McDonald's October 28, 2008
It was interesting to learn last week that McDonald’s continues to be somewhat recession-resistant. In looking more closely at the world’s most famous quick-service restaurant, though, I think there are some lessons everyone can learn about building a business that sustains growth.
It’s All about the MenuMcDonald’s core menu items – burgers, fries and soft drinks – remain constant. Despite this, McDonald’s continues to tinker around the edges. Adding chicken items, tinkering with breakfast and augmenting its beverage lineup with such offerings as sweet tea, allows McDonald’s to remain true to its roots but incrementally broaden its customer appeal. And it allows the chain to refrain from becoming stale.
Managing the fringe to the benefit of the whole is a true art and requires significant effort. But no matter what your role in the foodservice industry, it’s something that you should consider doing to help deepen your customer relationships. Listen to what customers have to say about their businesses and add those products or services that mesh nicely with your core.
Value Items Are of No Value Unless They Generate a ReturnThe value menu is a McDonald’s cornerstone and a component of their business that many believe drives the chain’s success. Still, as this Ad Age article points out, rising commodity costs have made it very difficult for McDonald’s franchisees to turn a profit on such items as the wildly popular double cheeseburger, which the chain sells for $1.
As a result, McDonald’s management is looking at various ways to restore the profitability of the double cheeseburger, once a personal favorite of mine. Many business leaders would easily develop an emotional attachment to an item that’s contributed to their company’s success in the way the double cheeseburger and the value menu have for McDonald’s. While I am sure they derive no pleasure from taking such steps, management understands the need to do so.
Take a look at your business. Do you understand the costs? Are your value items driving the same return they once did? If you don’t know or are uncertain, use this downturn to develop a better understanding of your costs and devise a strategy to make sure your value items provide value to both you and your customers.
That’s what McDonald’s has taught me during this highly volatile economic climate. What have they taught you?
It was interesting to learn last week that McDonald’s continues to be somewhat recession-resistant. In looking more closely at the world’s most famous quick-service restaurant, though, I think there are some lessons everyone can learn about building a business that sustains growth.
It’s All about the MenuMcDonald’s core menu items – burgers, fries and soft drinks – remain constant. Despite this, McDonald’s continues to tinker around the edges. Adding chicken items, tinkering with breakfast and augmenting its beverage lineup with such offerings as sweet tea, allows McDonald’s to remain true to its roots but incrementally broaden its customer appeal. And it allows the chain to refrain from becoming stale.
Managing the fringe to the benefit of the whole is a true art and requires significant effort. But no matter what your role in the foodservice industry, it’s something that you should consider doing to help deepen your customer relationships. Listen to what customers have to say about their businesses and add those products or services that mesh nicely with your core.
Value Items Are of No Value Unless They Generate a ReturnThe value menu is a McDonald’s cornerstone and a component of their business that many believe drives the chain’s success. Still, as this Ad Age article points out, rising commodity costs have made it very difficult for McDonald’s franchisees to turn a profit on such items as the wildly popular double cheeseburger, which the chain sells for $1.
As a result, McDonald’s management is looking at various ways to restore the profitability of the double cheeseburger, once a personal favorite of mine. Many business leaders would easily develop an emotional attachment to an item that’s contributed to their company’s success in the way the double cheeseburger and the value menu have for McDonald’s. While I am sure they derive no pleasure from taking such steps, management understands the need to do so.
Take a look at your business. Do you understand the costs? Are your value items driving the same return they once did? If you don’t know or are uncertain, use this downturn to develop a better understanding of your costs and devise a strategy to make sure your value items provide value to both you and your customers.
That’s what McDonald’s has taught me during this highly volatile economic climate. What have they taught you?
Serving Wine !!
When restaurant wine service hits the floor
I had lunch today in a fancy London restaurant that I shall not name, and was amused to witness goings-on at the adjacent table, where two elderly gents asked the waitress to decant their bottle of burgundy.
She duly returned with a decanter, into which she upturned the bottle to vertical and began to slosh wine. Alarmed, one of the gents grabbed her arm and levelled the bottle, explaining that a little more delicacy might be in order. At this, the waitress tilted the bottle so close to horizontal, that the wine dribbled down it and onto the floor. Her coup de grace was to empty the sediment from their pricey bottle into the decanter, to the horror of the two old boys.
I don't believe for a moment that the poor standard of wine service the men received was the fault of the waitress. Rather, her employers should be ashamed of themselves for expecting guests to pay top whack for good wines, but not being prepared to invest in effective staff training. They could do far worse than to check out Caterersearch's wine channel and seek out our series of wine masterclasses penned by former Gordon Ramsay Holdings executive head sommelier, Ronan Sayburn
I had lunch today in a fancy London restaurant that I shall not name, and was amused to witness goings-on at the adjacent table, where two elderly gents asked the waitress to decant their bottle of burgundy.
She duly returned with a decanter, into which she upturned the bottle to vertical and began to slosh wine. Alarmed, one of the gents grabbed her arm and levelled the bottle, explaining that a little more delicacy might be in order. At this, the waitress tilted the bottle so close to horizontal, that the wine dribbled down it and onto the floor. Her coup de grace was to empty the sediment from their pricey bottle into the decanter, to the horror of the two old boys.
I don't believe for a moment that the poor standard of wine service the men received was the fault of the waitress. Rather, her employers should be ashamed of themselves for expecting guests to pay top whack for good wines, but not being prepared to invest in effective staff training. They could do far worse than to check out Caterersearch's wine channel and seek out our series of wine masterclasses penned by former Gordon Ramsay Holdings executive head sommelier, Ronan Sayburn
Friday, 7 November 2008
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
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
The Hospitality Industry
The Hospitality and Catering Industry
'Long hours, low pay small rewards.' This is how many people still see the hospitality and catering industry. The truth is much more encouraging. By the year 2004, there will be 2.5 million people working in hospitality in Britain alone. There are skills shortages across many sectors and employers are looking to recruit high calibre staff.
Where are the job opportunities?The hospitality industry is growing fast, but it's also changing. Some people say that you have only to look at the USA to see where the British hospitality industry is going: fast food and lots of it, theme parks and themed restaurants, so many eating places that dining out becomes as common as dining in, and an emphasis on customer service.
There are now more than two million people employed in hospitality in the UK, and by 2004 that is expected to reach 2.5 million. And it's an industry that's changing fast, as anyone with an eye on the news will have noticed.
Not only have there been some major business deals - notably the take-over last year of hotel giant Forte by Granada - but there are some small but significant trends. Who would have thought a few years ago that we'd be ordering take-away pizza from petrol forecourts, for example? Or having coffee and breakfast in a pub?Or paying to cook our own food in a restaurant? These are just some of the offers coming on-stream, and there are undoubtedly more interesting ones to follow.That's the good news. The bad is that the hospitality industry still has problems, above all with its image. But the over-riding message from recruiters is that the low pay and long hours for which hotels and restaurants are famous are becoming a thing of the past. The sheer growth of the industry has meant that employers are putting together far more attractive recruitment packages to attract the right staff. For potential managers the prospects can be tremendous.
Roddy Watt, chief executive of recruitment agency Berkeley Scott, which monitors the industry's pay levels closely, says management salaries in hospitality are increasing ahead of those in other sectors. "I would argue that he industry today is not the poorly paid at all," he says. "I think a lot of that is a hangover from the past. There are some very good packages on offer. A good reason to go into the industry is that there is a continual shortage of top-calibre people, so good qualified people will progress very quickly and can probably expect a similar amount of money to what they would earn in any other industry at an early age".
Hospitality has always been an industry in which bright things and entrepreneurs can succeed, regardless of qualifications, and employers are now realising this. Many say they want personality and charisma rather than a clutch of qualifications.
Steve Mullings, training and development manager at Bourne Leisure, which is expanding its 20-strong chain of holiday parks in the UK and North America, says firmly: "Personality is first. We're looking for outgoing, highly motivated people who are very much focused on business results - the sort of people who would one day want to run their own businesses".
Says Watt: "Good qualifications won't do anybody any harm at all, but I don't think they're by any means a prerequisite. My personal point of view is that very often good qualifications tend to mean 'high intellect' and 'good at doing exams'. These are not necessarily the best competencies for the hospitality industry. It's more important that people are the right type of individual. They've got to like other people".
Tony Goddard, human resources director at Bass Taverns, believes qualifications still count. But he adds: "Having said that, I think this is one of the few industries where you are performance-orientated. You can get as far on your performance as your ability will take you".
Pub restaurants are one of the fastest growing areas of hospitality. Bass recruits about 850 people every year for management positions within the company, and these 130 are graduates who join the company's graduate retail scheme. Within two or three years they can expect to be managing their own pubs, with 30-40 staff and a turnover of well over £1m. Average earnings are £24,000, but some reach £60,000.Goddard says the sheer pace of development in the pub industry means it's a good one to join, as brewers are constantly looking for managers for their new brands.Bass's own include All Bar One and Irish-themed chain O'Neill's. There are increasing opportunities within the chain for people working their way through the ranks. Thirty percent of managers are recruited internally, and Goddard wants to bring this up to 75%.
Laurence Watson, vice president human resources with Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, believes career progression is becoming faster because of better training and planning on the part of firms. "all sectors are becoming more competitive in their rates of pay and benefits packages, and most major groups are revitalising their graduate entry programmes," he says.
However, the hotel industry admits it still has some way to go to catch up with some of the pub and restaurant brands. Jennifer Neary, senior personnel and training manager with County Hotels, part of Queens Moat Houses, admits that she is honest with people she speaks to who want to enter the industry. "I'm not going to say yes, we pay wonderful salaries, because we don't. And as an industry we've got some way to go on that. But one thing I think our company - and probably the industry - does is that it gives fairly young people a lot of responsibility early on. If you show aptitude and the right attitude to work, you're able to progress quite quickly.
"But I say to them: I'm not going to lie to you. You do have to start at the bottom, you've got to learn the basics, and it's long hours and you will be working weekends."Nevertheless, Neary says the company is trying hard not only to make good links with schools and colleges, but to make its positions more attractive to youngsters. "We're working towards trying to get rid of things like split shifts, for example".
'Long hours, low pay small rewards.' This is how many people still see the hospitality and catering industry. The truth is much more encouraging. By the year 2004, there will be 2.5 million people working in hospitality in Britain alone. There are skills shortages across many sectors and employers are looking to recruit high calibre staff.
Where are the job opportunities?The hospitality industry is growing fast, but it's also changing. Some people say that you have only to look at the USA to see where the British hospitality industry is going: fast food and lots of it, theme parks and themed restaurants, so many eating places that dining out becomes as common as dining in, and an emphasis on customer service.
There are now more than two million people employed in hospitality in the UK, and by 2004 that is expected to reach 2.5 million. And it's an industry that's changing fast, as anyone with an eye on the news will have noticed.
Not only have there been some major business deals - notably the take-over last year of hotel giant Forte by Granada - but there are some small but significant trends. Who would have thought a few years ago that we'd be ordering take-away pizza from petrol forecourts, for example? Or having coffee and breakfast in a pub?Or paying to cook our own food in a restaurant? These are just some of the offers coming on-stream, and there are undoubtedly more interesting ones to follow.That's the good news. The bad is that the hospitality industry still has problems, above all with its image. But the over-riding message from recruiters is that the low pay and long hours for which hotels and restaurants are famous are becoming a thing of the past. The sheer growth of the industry has meant that employers are putting together far more attractive recruitment packages to attract the right staff. For potential managers the prospects can be tremendous.
Roddy Watt, chief executive of recruitment agency Berkeley Scott, which monitors the industry's pay levels closely, says management salaries in hospitality are increasing ahead of those in other sectors. "I would argue that he industry today is not the poorly paid at all," he says. "I think a lot of that is a hangover from the past. There are some very good packages on offer. A good reason to go into the industry is that there is a continual shortage of top-calibre people, so good qualified people will progress very quickly and can probably expect a similar amount of money to what they would earn in any other industry at an early age".
Hospitality has always been an industry in which bright things and entrepreneurs can succeed, regardless of qualifications, and employers are now realising this. Many say they want personality and charisma rather than a clutch of qualifications.
Steve Mullings, training and development manager at Bourne Leisure, which is expanding its 20-strong chain of holiday parks in the UK and North America, says firmly: "Personality is first. We're looking for outgoing, highly motivated people who are very much focused on business results - the sort of people who would one day want to run their own businesses".
Says Watt: "Good qualifications won't do anybody any harm at all, but I don't think they're by any means a prerequisite. My personal point of view is that very often good qualifications tend to mean 'high intellect' and 'good at doing exams'. These are not necessarily the best competencies for the hospitality industry. It's more important that people are the right type of individual. They've got to like other people".
Tony Goddard, human resources director at Bass Taverns, believes qualifications still count. But he adds: "Having said that, I think this is one of the few industries where you are performance-orientated. You can get as far on your performance as your ability will take you".
Pub restaurants are one of the fastest growing areas of hospitality. Bass recruits about 850 people every year for management positions within the company, and these 130 are graduates who join the company's graduate retail scheme. Within two or three years they can expect to be managing their own pubs, with 30-40 staff and a turnover of well over £1m. Average earnings are £24,000, but some reach £60,000.Goddard says the sheer pace of development in the pub industry means it's a good one to join, as brewers are constantly looking for managers for their new brands.Bass's own include All Bar One and Irish-themed chain O'Neill's. There are increasing opportunities within the chain for people working their way through the ranks. Thirty percent of managers are recruited internally, and Goddard wants to bring this up to 75%.
Laurence Watson, vice president human resources with Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, believes career progression is becoming faster because of better training and planning on the part of firms. "all sectors are becoming more competitive in their rates of pay and benefits packages, and most major groups are revitalising their graduate entry programmes," he says.
However, the hotel industry admits it still has some way to go to catch up with some of the pub and restaurant brands. Jennifer Neary, senior personnel and training manager with County Hotels, part of Queens Moat Houses, admits that she is honest with people she speaks to who want to enter the industry. "I'm not going to say yes, we pay wonderful salaries, because we don't. And as an industry we've got some way to go on that. But one thing I think our company - and probably the industry - does is that it gives fairly young people a lot of responsibility early on. If you show aptitude and the right attitude to work, you're able to progress quite quickly.
"But I say to them: I'm not going to lie to you. You do have to start at the bottom, you've got to learn the basics, and it's long hours and you will be working weekends."Nevertheless, Neary says the company is trying hard not only to make good links with schools and colleges, but to make its positions more attractive to youngsters. "We're working towards trying to get rid of things like split shifts, for example".
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