Taste Testers
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday October 13, 2008
This job is for lovers of fine things, writes Perrie Croshaw.
If you like mixing with people and are interested in quality food and wines, there's a good chance you will like the food and hospitality industry. Hospitality is the art and science of making people feel welcome and comfortable. There are several ways to gain entry to this sector: you might start out working as a trainee or apprentice, doing your training on the job, or you can start with a certificate or diploma course at a TAFE, or do some training with a private provider.Whatever path you decide to take, it's certain that the training will not only increase your skills and knowledge of the jobs available but will also increase your self-confidence, self-esteem and job opportunities and provide you with a good network of valuable industry contacts. Examples of work in food and hospitality range from positions in human resources, marketing, room division, guest relations, front office, banqueting, food and beverage management, event and conference management to becoming a qualified chef or baker. A wide range of institutions provides training in these areas but some you may want to look at include: The Blue Mountains Hotel School (www.hotelschool.com.au), William Blue College of Hospitality and Tourism (www.williamblue.edu.au) and The Hotel School, a partnership between Southern Cross University and Mulpha Australia's hotel portfolio - which includes the InterContinental Hotel among others (www.hotelschool.scu.edu.au). The Blue Mountains Hotel School has an exciting new program in place for 2009: the bachelor of business (international hotel and resort management) is a three-year course (which can be fast-tracked to 2 1/2), covering research skills, management and leadership, business ethics, cross-cultural issues and career planning. It includes six on-campus terms of 12 weeks study and two 20-week blocks of paid industry career development placement with employers in Australia and overseas.William Blue College's courses include: certificate II in hospitality (operations), an advanced diploma of hospitality management (commercial cookery pathway) and bachelor of business (tourism and hospitality).PALM TREE DEGREEMADALYN SCERRI has just returned from six months on Hayman Island and the Great Barrier Reef. Rather than holidaying, however, Scerri was finishing the second year of a three-year bachelor of business in hotel management, run by the Hotel School Sydney in conjunction with Southern Cross University and Mulpha Australia. The Hotel School also has a two-year diploma in hotel management (www.scu.edu.au/courses/)."For the first six months of the course I did classes in Sydney," she says. "Then, for the second semester, I took up an internship on Hayman Island where I was a normal hotel employee, working in food and beverage in an assortment of food outlets."Scerri says she chose to study with the Hotel School Sydney because of its industry connections. "It has a relationship with most major hotels and organisations. Hospitality is not about theory, it's about surviving in a real situation."Scerri is working in food and beverage at the Sebel in Parramatta. "Juggling course work and work isn't so difficult because lots of the assessments are based on day-to-day work experiences." Scerri says her experience on Hayman really opened her mind. "On the reef you can see what damage tourism does to the environment. I plan to specialise in eco-tourism environmental management, a really growing part of the industry."
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald