We must work to make this new dawn brighter

Although better judgement could have been exercised in the timing and extent of his criticism of the UK hospitality business, new tourism minister Kim Howells's view of our industry as being one of low skills, low wages and high prices (Caterer, 12 July, page 10) sadly reinforces a popular perception that has dogged the hospitality profession for decades.

In fact, as Howells gets to know our industry, he will find that things are nowhere near as bleak as he might think.

Much is being, and has been, done to address these problems - such as our own Hospitality Assured standard for delivering customer service excellence.

The minister will also discover that money is not the be-all and end-all for pursuing a career in hospitality and tourism.

As my colleague John Forte, chairman of HCIMA's Technical Advisory Group, recently said to me: "Those who work in our profession have a calling. We are a people's industry and, contrary to a popular misconception, we don't embark on a catering career to get rich or because we are no good for anything else; we go into it because we love people. We enjoy welcoming them into our hotels and restaurants, offering them hospitality, food and refreshments."

This was the philosophy behind many of the great names in our industry.

One of the great success stories in the UK hotel industry over recent years has been the phenomenal growth of the budget sector. On the downside, the one thing that both John Forte and I regrettably find undeniable is the fact that there has been a steady decline in standards in certain aspects of the industry over the past 30 years.

We have, for instance, gone through an era when all sorts of people have become catering experts overnight: graduates seeking management positions, though they lack crucial elements of practical and theoretical learning; accountants who believe that managing a hotel is no different from managing any other business; managers who have never seen the inside of a kitchen; and, worst of all, investors who demand unrealistically high profits.

Happily, such trends are reversible, provided all parties concerned change their attitude and put an end to short-term policies. This includes the Government.

If there is a silver lining to the current foot-and-mouth crisis, it must be that it has brought the tourism and hospitality industry to the fore, and irrefutably demonstrated its importance to the economy.

The HCIMA and all the major industry bodies, under the Joint Hospitality Industry Congress, are working together to devise recovery strategies, in partnership with the Regional Development Agencies in areas of England affected by foot-and-mouth.

We have a unique opportunity to address the acute skills shortage. Towards this end, a major new partner has emerged with which to forge a strategic alliance - the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

This is a single unitary body with 47 local arms, and replaces the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) and the Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs).

We hope to be able to forge a strong, strategic alliance with the LSC to tackle some of the industry's deeply rooted skills shortages, to enable us to be much more competitive on the world stage. It is vital that we achieve five key objectives:

• Equality of funding for all hospitality apprenticeships through the LSC Roles Advisory Group.
• Equity for the status of the tourism and hospitality industry with other major employing industries.
• Funding and support for hospitality learning programmes, delivered through colleges and work-based training providers, which reflect the job openings and career opportunities which this industry can offer.
• Cooking and nutrition back on the national curriculum.
• A simplified qualifications structure.

We propose to work in partnership with the key industry bodies, such as the Hospitality Training Foundation and the British Hospitality Association, to create with the LSC a network of local strategy groups for tourism and hospitality.

These employer-led groups would seek to inform the LSC's assessment of the national, regional and local priorities we have as an industry, through the provision of accurate labour market intelligence.

They could also develop, implement and keep under review Workforce Development Plans at a local level, and help to achieve learning targets.

There is, therefore, much from which Kim Howells can take heart, and we at the HCIMA look forward very much to working closely with him to ensure the future prosperity of this exciting growth industry.

David Wood is chief executive of the HCIMA