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Hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism
At the Athens Olympics in 2004, 12 million meals were provided by 17,000 staff. In the Olympic village alone, 50,000 meals were served daily using 1,500 international recipes and 100 tons of food, and creating 55 tons of waste.
The UK's hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector is worth £74 billion, employs a workforce of more than 1.5 million people, is responsible for 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), and contributes £22 billion in taxes in the UK, with thousands of new jobs being created each year in accommodation and wet (drinks) and dry (food) service in more than 180,000 organisations. It is now difficult to distinguish between pubs, clubs, restaurants and hotels, offering similar services with different brands, themes, decors and chains. People 1st, a new Sector Skills Council, has formed to cover the following 14 sectors:
1. hotels
2. restaurants
3. pubs, bars and nightclubs
4. contract food service providers
5. hospitality services
6. membership clubs
7. events
8. gambling
9. travel services
10. tourist services
11. visitor attractions
12. youth hostels
13. holiday parks
14. self-catering accommodation.
Salaries in hospitality are increasing faster than in many other sectors and, with large skills shortages leading to the use of significant numbers of foreign workers, there are opportunities for high-calibre people to progress. Movement between one job and another is usual and managers tend to work their way up through different departments. Industry sectors have differing sizes of workforce and different skill sets with, for example, the licensed retail sector employing more than 900,000 people and hospitality services a more modest 400,000. Between 100,000 and 200,000 vacancies exist in hospitality at any one time, more than 10,000 of which require skilled staff.
A manager operates the premises as an employee of a company, as with most high-profile town-centre chains, large family eating pubs and many community restaurants, locals and hotels. Tenants are self-employed people who lease the premises from a company or other landlord on a short-term lease. Lessees take out a long-term lease up to 30 years or purchase an assigned lease, which can be expensive. Independent/free house owners and landlords own their premises (either outright or through a mortgage) and run it themselves or through a manager.
The new Licensing Act 2003, now in force, requires all licensed premises (pubs, clubs, hotels, casinos, off-licences and restaurants) to come under the control of the Local Authority and not the Licensing Justices as in the old system. This should give licensees greater control of their businesses, and bring the industry into line with the rest of Europe. All premises that sell alcohol or offer any other form of licensable activity (like entertainment) need a Premises Licence. The holder of this licence can open whatever hours best suit the business and the market, while the authorities may object or review an application that compromises one of the four licensing objectives:
1. prevention of crime and disorder
2. prevention of public nuisance
3. public safety
4. protection of children from harm.
This change, together with EU pressure for a 48-hour working week, will create business opportunities and jobs in the leisure industry, particularly at supervisory and management level. Venues that open all hours will need a suitably qualified management structure.
The industry has strict legislation. Any outlet must operate within a framework covering licensing law, food hygiene, employment, and health and safety of staff and customers. People serving alcohol need a licence and must show they are 'fit and proper persons', understand their legal and social responsibilities, and be of good character and have experience or formal training.
Hospitality and catering in the Services
Each Service has its dedicated hospitality and catering staff, with cooks producing food of an enormous variety, often under very difficult conditions. Some work in the houses of very senior officers, and all are trained to very high standards.
The Services also have mess managers, waiters and bar staff who manage what are effectively hotels. As well as customer-orientated duties, they order supplies, manage stock rooms, run accounts and prepare rooms for functions. PMCs and other supervisory appointments within the Service mess system also have hospitality responsibilities: planning events, organising functions, managing finances and sometimes collecting debts, and dealing with suppliers.
Forces caterers increasingly deal with contracted services. In a garrison or station, uniformed staff work alongside their civilian counterparts. They can gain professional qualifications in hospitality and licensed retailing while in the Forces, through distance learning and even online.
Personal qualities
It is important to want to help people and to enjoy working with others. First-class customer care skills are essential, as is sound business management. Good customer service also depends on good teamwork. The pressures can be considerable; everyone needs energy and enthusiasm and the support of colleagues to produce their best. Hospitality has always been a popular second career choice for Service leavers, but it is very demanding because it is open all day, every day, and it affects family life.
Management requires the ability to think quickly and use personal initiative. Rules about health, safety and hygiene are critical aspects of the operation; the laws on alcohol are strict and security is necessary with the presence of money and valuable stocks, as well as the property and personal safety of guests. New situations, changing customer requirements and developments in equipment and work procedures require a constant willingness to learn and adapt.
Careers
Careers in hospitality and catering depend very much on the individual. The enthusiast who wants to get on and does well can move from a lowly, badly paid position quickly into management. Many companies promote from within, although talented new blood is welcome. Training in some organisations is excellent. There are currently three main development routes:
1. going straight into the industry
2. training programme run by a local college or training company
3. full-time college or university programme.
National occupational standards
NOSs provide a common standard for the whole UK hospitality industry, describing what is done in the workplace and agreeing minimum best practice. The current set covers:
- reception
- housekeeping
- food and drink service
- food preparation and cooking.
Each NOS is split into separate areas, or units, of competence. Where necessary, units are broken down into different activities, or elements, that combine to cover the competence, which is determined in three ways:
1. performance (tasks that must be undertaken)
2. range (situations where the competence of performance criteria differs)
3. underpinning knowledge (knowledge required for the tasks).
Each unit is assigned a level depending on the nature of the skill:
- entry
- basic
- intermediate
- advanced
- higher.
Units currently cover the following business areas, but will probably change as People 1st develops them:
- accommodation
- bar
- bed and breakfast
- club
- conferencing and banqueting
- domestic services
- facilities management
- fast food
- food and drink service
- food preparation and cooking
- front office
- guest house
- hospitality quick service
- hospitality retail
- hospitality services
- housekeeping
- kitchen
- licensed retail
- maintenance
- multi-skilled
- portering
- pub
- reception
- reservations
- restaurant
- room sales
- room service.
Current National and Scottish Vocational Frameworks are:
- Food and Drink Service
- Food Preparation and Cooking
- Guest Service
- Housekeeping
- Kitchen Portering
- Porter Service
- Preparing and Serving Food
- Reception
- Food and Drink Service
- Food Preparation and Cooking
- Food Processing and Cooking
- Hospitality Quick Service
- Bar Service
- Hospitality Services
- Housekeeping
- Reception
- Residential Services
- Hospitality Supervision
- Food Service Advanced Craft
- Drink Service Advanced Craft
- Drinks Dispense Systems
- Food Preparation and Cooking (General)
- Kitchen and Larder
- Patisserie and Confectionery
- Kitchen and Larder Specialist
- Patisserie and Confectionery Specialist.
Qualifications and training in the licensed trade
The National Licensee's Certificate (NLC) is the most commonly accepted basic qualification in the trade, and is accepted by most magistrates as fulfilling the requirement for training because it covers law and social responsibilities.
The Certificate can be taken after a one-day course, but industry entrants may also complete the British Institute of Innkeeping (bii) three-day Induction Certificate or its National Certificate for Licensed Retailing (a two-part qualification). Both include the NLC, together with further learning modules bringing the beginner up to a higher baseline knowledge. There is also a range of Advanced Qualifications, with other certificates available.
Salaries
For people working in large companies, typical salaries might be:
- waiter/bar person £11,000 (spread of 10,000 to £12,000)
- trainee/assistant manager £15,000 (spread of £13,000 to £18,000)
- manager £30,000 (spread of £19,000 to £40,000).
Overtime, bonuses and benefits can considerably increase the value of these basic packages.
Contact details
Sector Skills Council - People 1st, Second Floor, Armstrong House, 38 Market Square, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 1LH Tel: 0870 060 2550 Website:
www.people1st.co.uk
Licensed trade - bii CAREERS, British Institute of Innkeeping, Wessex House, 80 Park Street, Camberley, Surrey GU15 3PT Tel: 01276 684449 Website:
www.bii.org
Hospitality training - Springboard UK, 3 Denmark Street, London WC2H 8LP Tel: 020 7497 8654 Website:
www.springboarduk.org.uk
Been there, done that ...
Simon Gladwin and Justin Murray
Ex-Army Captain Simon Gladwin completed his Resettlement Training with Herron House last October and was recommended to one of its preferred employers, Mitchells and Butlers, as a fast-track management trainee. Under this scheme, having passed an interview and selection test, he would expect three to six months' training before being appointed as house manager. However, he started as a trainee manager a week after his last day in the Service. He trained at the Scott Arms in Birmingham, which was then run by Justin Murray, a 2003 Herron House graduate, who had also acted as a training manager for nearly two years.
Gladwin and Murray, an ex-REME Lance Corporal, hit it off immediately with past ranks being completely disregarded. Murray had already trained four house managers but found none of them as responsive and enthusiastic as Gladwin. The net result was that the latter was appointed manager of the Kingfisher, also in Birmingham and close to Murray's establishment so he can still act as mentor, after just two weeks with the company. Alan Herron of Herron House believes this to be 'a record in licensed retail resettlement training.'
Gladwin's only trade experience was some 'bar work as a student and on the resettlement course. It's been a very steep learning curve. I wanted a new challenge when I left the Army, and I've got it. But, as they say in the Army, "Behind every good officer there's a good NCO", and I've got that as well.'
Murray's wife 'was in the trade, and all I ever wanted to do was run a pub. This year my salary/bonus package made me £46,000 plus food and accommodation, and we had eight weeks' paid holiday. We've been to Australia, the Cayman Islands, Barbados and the Bahamas.'
Herron believes that, 'These two success stories didn't happen by accident. Both individuals demonstrated a commitment to the job on their resettlement course. They were talent-spotted and given the opportunity by the industry's largest employer of pub managers. There are plenty more opportunities just waiting for the right people.'
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