Most students forced overseas, says tutor

A senior lecturer in one of Britain's catering colleges has revealed that he sends two-thirds of students abroad for their first jobs because money and conditions in the UK are so poor.

Malcolm Long, who teaches advanced cookery to NVQ level 3 students at Colchester Institute, said that hotels and restaurants abroad had better pay and conditions and "treated staff like professionals".

Long added: "The bottom line is that British restaurants still cannot afford to pay as much. Quite often, it is the Michelin-starred places that are the worst offenders. It is very depressing to send out enthusiastic students to restaurants in this country to find that conditions are so bad that, six months later, they are knackered and worn-out."

Long sees 35-40 NVQ level 3 students graduate each year, and 20-25 of those go abroad.

"The others don't stay because they want to work in this country - it is usually because of girlfriends or boyfriends," he added. "And a few months later, when they split up, they often come back and ask us to find them something abroad."

Getting decent accommodation was also easier overseas, said Long. He explained: "Only the other day, we had a presentation from an American hotel group where they showed a film of the staff accommodation area. It had both an indoor and an outdoor pool, decently furnished rooms each with a television, and they were offering pay of the equivalent of £8 or £9 an hour.

"What do the students get offered here? If it's London and the place they are going offers staff accommodation, it is on the outskirts in a rickety old hostel, and it's quite possibly rat-infested. At the end of the week, they are lucky if they have £10 left in their pocket."

Long even had one student who chose a job in Siberia over one in Britain, although he admitted that this student returned "after a bit of grief from the local Mafia".

by David Harris

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 5-11 December 2002