Letters

World-class students need funding…

Recently the Department of National Heritage (DNH) rightly advocated the need for a well-trained and highly motivated work-force to develop a "world-class service culture" throughout British tourism and hospitality.

Yet how can we achieve this objective when more than 800 colleges received letters in January from the Further Education Council advising them not to rely on Government funds that were believed to be guaranteed (News, 6 February)?

Then we read that, following meetings between the council and the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), the DfEE had secured the £84m for this academic year (up to July), but refused to provide a guarantee that funding would continue beyond that date.

This is a totally unacceptable state of affairs, and illustrates how two Government departments do not share the same objectives, with the DfEE making a total nonsense of the excellent work being undertaken by the DNH.

The industry could be forgiven for questioning the value of the DNH backing this growth profession when another branch of the same Government is doing its best to damage the long-term prospects of the industry.

To add insult to injury, we have also learnt recently that the Higher Education Funding Council for England has allocated catering and hospitality management higher education programmes just £3,900 per place. This does not reflect the hours taught in specialist accommodation, requiring intensive academic and technical staff supervision, together with substantial use of material.

Given these factors, the HCIMA fully supports the Council for Hospitality Management Education's case for the allocation of funding to be increased to a more realistic £5,200, the figure allocated for engineering and science programmes.

Failure to get this changed could mean universities and colleges discontinuing such programmes, due to insufficient funding.

DAVID WOOD

Chief Executive,

HCIMA, London SW17.

…and reasonable conditions…

No doubt the consciences of more than a few employers will be suffering having read the terms and conditions of employment on offer at Rugby NHS Trust.

My day-release students from local establishments are largely on training schemes for National Vocational Qualifications with our college training centre, and the tales of horror that emanate from them are enough to give any parent nightmares and make them wonder why their offspring should enter the hospitality industry.

The training allowance is £45 per week and for most it is made up by the employer to a reasonable wage. For others, it seems, a 60-hour week with a day off spent at college is sufficient and actual pay is less than £1 an hour.

Such things as in-house training, overtime at time-and-a-half, weekend payments, double time for bank holidays, straight shifts and holidays are but a dream.

Our local job centre has a large array of positions on offer, a huge percentage of them unfilled catering jobs. Does anyone ever ask why? Do employers ever ask themselves if they are offering a career or a route into disillusion?

I have read Caterer for nearly 40 years, 29 of them as a teacher. The letters from employees have never varied in the complaints about conditions within the industry. I wrote one myself back in 1964.

Somewhere there has to be a fair deal built into training after college and for day release students while at work.

Yes, I know we get some scallywags in the industry. Do you ever ask yourselves why?

RICHARD LOVELESS

Catering Lecturer,

Yeovil College, Yeovil, Somerset.

…but conditions rely on success

How fortunate for Craig Nolan, catering manager of Rugby NHS Trust, that the terms and conditions of employment for his staff are, in effect, funded by the rest of us.

If that were not the case, he might find that in the high street the benefits that accrue to his employees might be a little more dependent on his success in attracting market share rather than income derived from patients who have no choice of where to eat.

While it is obvious that the working environment has an influence on employee satisfaction and therefore customer satisfaction, here in the real world we can't simply throw other people's money at the problem.

Many of our customers visit at weekends and public holidays, so they are normal working days - we have to find additional ways to satisfy the needs of our people that go beyond simple cash.

JOHN DOWNS

Managing Director,

JayDees Family Restaurants, Lincoln.

Inspectors must stay incognito

I note with interest that Shaun Hill, in his witty and revealing diary, did not mention ever spotting a Good Food Guide inspector among the "lone diners carrying clipboards".

Could that be because all 100 or so of them know that anonymity is a precondition of independence? Even if the Good Food Guide inspectors never reap the benefits of "double portions of specially teased and tweaked grub", at least they always get the facts right.

DIANE TANG

Managing Editor,

The Good Food Guide, London NW1.

Hotel manager standards do exist…

I read with interest the Viewpoint by Jeffrey Crockett, but while agreeing with him that general managers should be educated and trained, to produce a standards of performance manual for such a role is not really practical. The reasons why are clearly stated towards the end of his article in that different niche markets require vastly different skills.

The HCIMA, as the professional body of the industry, does an excellent job in management education, and its qualifications are recognised the world over. I am not sure if anybody (including the Master Innholders) could provide a better qualification.

The Master Innholders are dedicated to improving both training and education for existing management. This is being achieved not only through the annual Hotel General Managers Conference, but also in 1996 (in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Innholders) scholarships were awarded to selected managers to attend management courses at Cranfield, Ashridge and Cornell. This programme is planned to expand in the coming years.

An HCIMA college qualification coupled with such courses must surely be the best available.

DAVID LOCKET

Chief Executive,

The Master Innholders,

Reigate, Surrey.

…and they could get rid of ‘gofers'

I agree with Jeffrey Crockett about the lack of proper training for managers. Too many so-called managers are appointed purely as "gofers" and not to manage.

I trained through the "old school", straight out of school and into the kitchens, and through a seven-year management training programme, both in Europe and the UK. Following that, one had to work through the management structure of junior, personnel, banqueting, F&B and, eventually, senior assistant or deputy.

Today a lot of companies ask for younger, computer-orientated managers, who can quote figures at the drop of a hat. But surely these organisations would be better off if managers looked after the guests rather than just numbers. After all, the guest pays the wages.

I quite agree that a professional qualification in hotel general management should be established, thereby eliminating the "chaff" in today's hotels.

CHRISTOPHER DEAN

General Manager,

The Burlington Hotel, Eastbourne, East Sussex.

Small is not dangerous

I was disappointed to read of another contract caterer getting the brush-off because the client thought it was too small and wasn't convinced that it had sufficient support to meet their requirements ("Building a bid", 30 January).

Why ask a small company to bid in the first place if this forms part of the decision?

It is sad to think that some clients are driven by size. Choosing a large contractor could be interpreted as a safety net should the decision "go pear-shaped".

Surely what counts is not the size but the philosophy and integrity of the contractor, and quality of the staff. I wonder if the client took up references with the customers of Derwent Catering Services, and discussed its performance in terms of supporting the contract and providing staff with motivation?

I am not knocking the talents or achievements of the incumbent, which speak for themselves after 17 years of successful operation for that client, merely suggesting that small is not such a risk for the simple reason that the smaller contractors cannot afford to get it wrong.

MARK HERMAN

In House Catering,

London EC2.