It's time to move on from ‘us and them' stalemate
As a new academic year begins, that old chestnut of the industry versus the catering colleges re-emerges.
The "us and them" mentality launches into full throttle. Industry representatives claim that colleges graduates are poorly qualified and inadequately trained for the job ahead of them. College lecturers complain that the industry expects too much of its students and those who are sent on work placements are often badly treated, returning to their courses no wiser than when they left.
Occasionally, when fed up with blaming one another, both sides revert to blaming a third party such as the Government for its apparent indifference towards one of the nation's leading providers of jobs, not to mention gross domestic product, and its unwillingness to commit funds to increase resources in colleges. Either way it's always someone else's fault, resulting in an ongoing position of stalemate.
So is there no solution? To see what could be done we sent two industry representatives back to college for a day. Both front of house manager Suzie Carruth and chef Michael Caines (whose experiences we report on in next week's issue) were pleasantly surprised by what they found and more impressed with the curriculum and teaching methods than they had expected to be.
There were some issues, such as whether restaurants within colleges provided a realistic atmosphere in which to train people or whether placements were long enough, and college lecturers should note their comments. But on the whole the day served its purpose; preconceptions were broken down, bridges were built and at the very least, instead of blaming someone else, both parties had a better understanding of the difficulties each of them faced.
Most importantly, what Carruth and Caines discovered was that a lot of the answers lay in their own back yard. Of course money for extra resources helps, and the battle cry for this must not stop. But equally important is attitude, and here industry representatives could easily take the lead, either by using every opportunity to speak to students, or, when time and resource permit, by inviting them or even their lecturers to experience the real thing.
The industry could also review its attitude towards work placements. They have a huge impact on whether students choose hospitality after their courses or go elsewhere. Successful placements demand tolerance from employers. Many students will be young, maybe 16-year-olds whose experience of the workplace will be limited and who may feel overwhelmed by an unfamiliar environment.
A good starting point for those who want to give something back would be to sign up for Groundhog Day (22 October) during Springboard's 2001 Careers Festival. This scheme invites young people to experience the industry through a job shadow. According to legend the groundhog returns to his hole if he sees his shadow, an omen that the dark days of winter are not yet over. An inspired shadow day might be a harbinger of brighter times ahead.
Jenny Webster, Deputy editor,Caterer & Hotelkeeper
