The glamour of contracting

Once dismissed as the least glamorous sector of the catering industry in which to launch a career, food service is now seen by today's graduates as the place to be. Not only does contract catering offer secure long-term career prospects, employees do not have to put in the long hours hotels often demand when working in an industry now deemed both sexy and interesting.

"Contract catering isn't like it used to be - there are really sexy operations out there. Working in contract catering nowadays is comparable to working in a five-star hotel, but the hours are less demanding," says Howard Allen, operations director of Avenance, London.

Much of the knowledge learned at university has to be shelved to begin with as fresh graduates grapple with the realities of working in a company and gain practical management experience via training schemes. "You can put on hold for three or four years some of the theoretical management skills you learn at university," says Allen.

Allen says that the company is recruiting graduates who have taken business-led degrees - welcoming their commercial acumen - rather than hospitality graduates. "It doesn't matter if they don't have contracting experience, because what we are recruiting is enthusiasm and basic skills," says Allen.

A classic position to offer a student launching a career in the sector would be on the management team of a large site, with a starting salary of £16,000, says Allen.

Graduate training schemes for graduates interested in the food services sector are relatively new. This is only the second year that Sutcliffe Catering has taken on graduates, recruiting three in London. "The bulk of opportunities are in London, which works well. Sutcliffe is always keen to place them in London, because it's a large site which offers more opportunities and has people who can offer more experience," says Sian Hughes, personnel director at Sutcliffe Catering, Granada.

Graduates joining Sutcliffe attend a one-year training programme. Trainees learn all aspects of the business - finance, accounting, marketing and health and safety - as part of their training, and also attend external courses. They have monthly reviews with their training managers to assess how they are progressing. The aim at the end of the year is for trainees to run their own units.

Sodexho, on the other hand, runs an 18-month executive training programme for graduates. It's a modular course on which students undertake vocational training and spend time in different divisions, such as finance and human resources. In London, Sodexho graduate trainees work at Directors Table or Citation. Most attendees of the course end up as unit managers for one or two years before becoming district managers. Students also have a district manager who acts as a mentor.

Avenance no longer runs graduate training schemes, although the company offers training in elements such as situational leadership. Likewise, BaxterSmith will train individuals according to their needs and previous experience.

The right attitude and personality and the willingness to learn are considered more important than experience. Allen says Avenance is looking for new recruits with "attitude and maturity, for someone who is presentable and smiling and at with least one year's work experience".

And Hughes says Sutcliffe is looking for "people who want to work in operations - we need good area managers of the future". Candidates also need to be comfortable with figures, to demonstrate enthusiasm, to be good team workers and to be able to move a lot within the organisation, she adds.

Sodexho seeks graduates who, ideally, hold degrees in hospitality or a business-related course. The company also looks for people with "good management skills, who are good communicators and get on well with people - a lot of the jobs are people-based", says a spokeswoman.

Sodexho is seeking people who are keen to work in operations, who are "bright and keen to stay in line management - we need the good area managers of the future," the spokeswoman says.

The right personality is more important than previous experience as far as BaxterSmith is concerned. "We are looking for quick smilers, raw enthusiasm and energy," explains William Baxter, executive chairman of BaxterSmith. "We work in a very entrepreneurial environment where people are always looking for new ideas, so initiative always counts."

One of the bewildering choices facing a student interested in food service is which company to join. The Sodexho spokeswoman claims the company's strengths are the amount of training and career planning it offers, which gives employees the opportunity to move roles within the organisation. Sodexho's sheer size - it has 3,500 units nationwide - means it can offer diversity and flexibility, she says. "People don't just have to take a job and be stuck there - they have the flexibility to move around," she says.

Avenance, meanwhile, points to its company's job opportunities and to its high-profile name. "Our company is a market leader with a blue-chip portfolio of clients. What's more, Avenance is proven to offer career progression to graduates," says Allen.

Baxter says he is keen for recruits to develop long-term careers with his company. "There is a tremendous shortage of good people in our industry. We want to develop what we call home-growns," he adds.

BaxterSmith will be recruiting some six to 10 new employees in London in the next 12 months, says Baxter. In addition, he admits that even if no suitable position is available they will employ the person if he or she is the right candidate, then place them in a job when it becomes available.

Baxter thinks it is a great time for new starters to come into the industry. "London is positively booming with opportunities," he says. And he encourages hospitality graduates to come into contract catering rather than the hotel, restaurant or pub sectors.

"Contract catering pays well, companies look after you, and new entrants can have a faster track to the top than in other sectors," he says. "They can go straight up the ladder in a short time. Initiative and enthusiasm can put you on the fast track to the top, and that's not true of many industries."

In Baxter's opinion, the industry has changed and become more focused on people. "Our people are our assets. Contract catering's raw ingredients nowadays are its people, and they've never been so important," he says. n