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".
Packages for chefs
One of the biggest skills shortages is of chefs, and many companies are now prepared to offer competitive salary packages, including profit-related pay, to more senior ranks in the kitchen. Says Watson: "Once trained, chefs can expect to earn a great deal more than they could ever have anticipated a decade ago, with better working conditions and benefits".
Employers also report skills shortages among hotel receptionists, management and all ranks of the kitchen. But, despite the shortages, the jobs are not exactly there for the taking. More and more employers are demanding high-quality staff, and they admit that new recruits will have to earn their money.
By that he means not putting in longer hours but working "smarter" - achieving more through better organisation, better training and management skills.
Watt reiterates that it is attitude which counts more than anything. "At the end of the day the thing that will differentiate individuals from one another Is not how wonderful their expertise is or how terrific their qualifications are: it's that mental attitude, that inner drive which says: 'I'm really going to go places".
Let's go to work - but where?
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 student
You 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 programme
Operated 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 employment
Try 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 employer
National 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-time
Your 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 Programme
Ideally, 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-study
Such 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.
Main part-time routes
Length of study:
NVQs/SVQs 1 to 2 years typical
BTEC/SCOTVEC National, Higher National 1 to3 years
HCIMA Professional Certificate 2 years
HCIMA Professional Diploma 3 years
Degree 3 to 4 years
NEBSM Certificate in Supervisory Management - 1 to 2 years
BTEC Certificate in Management Studies 1 year
DMS/Postgraduate Diploma/MBA +2 years
Masters Degree 2 to 4 years
Main full-time routes with experience
Length of Study:
HCIMA Professional Diploma - 1 year
Degree 3 years
Postgraduate Diploma 1 year
Masters Degree +1 year
Author: Gillian Drummond The HCIMA (Hotel and Catering International Management Association) http://hcima.org.uk/
Related Links:
Careers in Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism
Global Opportunities in Hospitality and Tourism
