Cater the hungry stomachs
The
glitter of five star hotels has always attracted people and
spawned many different job specializations. The hospitality
industry is so vast and ever-growing that there is always opportunity
for new talent. It offers a variety of roles for people with
a different set of skills. There are jobs also for the unskilled
and fresh graduates too now have some role in the operation
of the hotel and catering industry.
From
an employment perspective, the hospitality industry is divided into two sectors – the
commercial or profit-making side and the catering services
sector. The commercial side would
be hotels, restaurants, pubs, clubs and business catering. The
catering services sector includes hospitals, schools, universities,
the armed forces and prisons.
Criteria for selection are not limited to
educational qualification alone. Employers look also for enthusiasm,
personality and experience.
Nevertheless, recruitment procedures in the catering business
are standardized to a certain extent. For most jobs and higher
education courses you require GCSE English and math qualification.
On the other hand, NVQ/SVQs are the specialised vocational courses
in Hotel and Catering. Of late, HNDs are gaining importance.
But
if you possess a degree in hospitality or catering or hotel
management you could get right away into the management level.
If you specialize in cookery and have the requisite training
in international cuisine, you could work as a chef
and call the shots in the sophisticated kitchen of a 5-star
hotel.
Match your job based on your skills and qualification
Semi-skilled workers -doorperson, cleaner,
kitchen assistant, hall porter and room attendant/housemaid.
Skilled
craft personnel -receptionist, cabin crew,
bar man, cashier, chef, linen-keeper, ship steward,
waiter/waitress and wine waiter.
Supervisory
personnel - head chef, chief steward, head
porter, head receptionist and head waiter.
Managerial
staff - catering manger, front-of-house manager,
conference and banqueting manager, head housekeeper,
hotel manager, publican or licensee, purser and restaurant
manager.
Scope of earning
With some exceptions, the pay scales in the hospitality industry
are generally very high. For the semi-skilled jobs the wages
are low, often the minimum of any industry. Whereas for the
staff in bars and restaurants their earnings can be very
attractive if added to tips. Tips, as a rule, have to be
distributed equally among all the staff. A housekeeper, receptionist,
head porter, silver service waiter and assistant manager
in a mid-sized
establishment,
can expect to earn anything between £10,000 and £18,000
a year. It would depend also on where the establishment is
situated. Senior personnel and managerial workers are known
to take home £30,000
to £50,000 a year, depending on the job profile and
how big and well-known is the establishment. |
