We can win the fight for hearts and minds
"Why are you putting so much effort into Let's Make it First Choice when it is doomed to fail? However well you sell the industry as a career option the reality will not back you up. You have to ask yourself if you are being fair selling an industry that offers only low pay and high stress. Is the industry actually worth supporting?"
That disturbing quote was made to Chris Sheppardson of recruitment consultancy Portfolio International while researching the Let's Make it First Choice campaign. The campaign was founded after last year's Catering Forum, a three-day gathering of senior catering executives aboard the P&O ship Victoria.
Caterers attending the forum had expressed deep concern at the lack of quality youngsters coming into the industry. One year on, delegates to the second Catering Forum were told how the campaign had led to visits to more than 100 schools where children and students had reacted enthusiastically to the opportunities on offer in hospitality.
The biggest problem the school visitors discovered was not that the industry had a poor image as a career choice but that it had no real image at all. They found that other professions were much more co-ordinated, with comprehensive programmes for influencing children, including back-up literature, videos and CD-Roms.
But the first year of the Let's Make it First Choice campaign has revealed the huge potential that exists for solving the industry's skills crisis. The biggest problem is the lack of resources, which prevents the campaign from making a really big difference.
The first year's effort has been spearheaded by Portfolio International with the support of a number of other organisations, including Caterer & Hotelkeeper. To build on that early success the plan is to turn the campaign into a registered charity.
Pan-industry group Arena has agreed to act as fund-raiser and secretariat for the campaign, while most of the school visits will be carried out by Acorn Club members. They are the young achievers who are the ideal role models to excite children.
But they will need support from the industry to pay for travelling expenses and supporting material, and to provide establishments for children to visit. Anyone interested should write to this magazine.
The manager quoted at the start of this article has a point. But the industry is getting better and the opportunities for bright youngsters are outstanding. Let's make sure they get the message!
GARY CROSSLEY
Editor
Caterer & Hotelkeeper
