WE MUST GET STARTED NOW TO BE COOKING IN 2010

Oh man this is sooooo exciting. Not only from the prospect of hugh things happening in 2010, but also that it shows that there is a huge window of opportunity to get skills. Recently we have had the who[le skills shortage thing thrown at us and here is an opportunity to get the skills that are so desperately needed, not just here in SA, but all over the world. It opens up all sorts of doors!

We must get started now to be cooking in 2010
Workplace staff09 November 2007 at 06h00

For South Africa, the prospect of thousands of tourists and fans touching our shores in just four short years is becoming a stark reality, as realisation dawns that the Soccer World Cup is the world's second biggest sporting event after the Olympic Games. The event is projected to generate the equivalent of 159 000 jobs annually for South Africa and many of these will be in the hospitality sector.

The year 2010 is imminent and, for many, a career in the hospitality industry beckons in just over the time it takes to become a qualified chef, South Africa will experience one of the greatest influxes of tourists ever, and the demand for qualified chefs is set to increase exponentially.

"Given the drastic shortage of chefs in South Africa, far too few to meet the demands of 2010, the prospect of a career as a chef may seem increasingly attractive to many school leavers," says Stephen Billingham, vice president and education director of the South African Chefs Association (SACA) and a director of the Capital Hotel School, as well as the HTA School of Culinary Art.

Billingham who has extensive experience in the hospitality industry and numerous hospitality and training qualifications acquired in South Africa and overseas advises prospective chefs to consider all the training and education options open to them.He points out that there are two mainstream training options open to student chefs. The first is attending a specialised culinary school or college; and the second is a three-year apprenticeship with a chef in a hotel or restaurant combined with an annual six-week training period in a culinary school.

"Because apprenticeship opportunities with chefs are so limited in this country, most of our trainee chefs are trained through culinary schools," he explains. "Culinary schools require a huge investment to set up and maintain and for that reason, they are expensive to attend. So, before committing yourself to a school, it is advisable to carefully evaluate your training options."

Billingham believes the starting point is to check and validate the credibility and credentials of the training provider. Does it have official accreditation? Check this out too. If, for instance, the accreditation awarding body is City and Guilds, check the registration numbers. "Like any industry, the culinary training industry has its share of shady operators and fly-by-nights," Billingham cautions."Find out about the reputation of the school by speaking to past graduates and current students. "It is also important to for you to find out what the employment ratio is for graduates and where they have been placed in industry."

The duration of the programme is also a vital consideration as a minimum of 18 months of training is generally recommended; anything less would not offer a sufficiently comprehensive training course. The qualification at the end of the course should be a diploma. You will need to find out which awarding body issues the diplomas and whether they are internationally recognised.

National Qualifications (NQs) in South Africa are benchmarked against equivalent international qualifications which means that locally obtained qualifications are acceptable overseas. Graduates from accredited schools are also given an official breakdown of the unit standards they have achieved upon completing the qualification, which can be then scrutinised by a prospective employer.

As with all training the cost implications cannot be ignored, adds Billingham. On average, costs of such a course range between R20 000 to R45 000 per year. "When evaluating schools, find out what you get for your money," he suggests. "For instance, do the fees cover items such as the necessary knives, text books, field trips, and protective clothing?" Remember to find out what all the hidden additional costs are as well. Even parking can make a dent in a monthly budget."

The ratio between students and lecturers largely determine the quality of training. As this is a highly craft-based industry, the ideal is considered by the department of labour to be 14:1, giving a reasonable level of lecturer attention per student. The school should also have a reasonable ratio between practical and theoretical training, with practical training taking most of the time allocation.If the training provider offers experiential training in industry which it should look at the monitoring processes are in place to make sure that the workplace experience is valuable.

The calibre of lecturers is also relevant are the school's lecturers experts in their fields? Try to ascertain whether they have experience in industry, in realistic work environments.According to Billingham, South Africa has a good reputation in the international culinary field and our burgeoning tourism industry is creating an increase in the need for highly qualified and committed chefs in the country. "It's an exciting, creative and challenging profession that has to keep up-to-date with constantly changing consumer tastes and expectations in food," he says. "It's certainly a worthwhile career option you could find that in 2010 you'll be serving the world's top soccer stars home-grown South African delicacies in a leading hotel or restaurant."

For more information on training and learnerships, contact HTA School of Culinary Art at 011-285 0937, email admin@htatrain.co.za or visit www.htatraining.co.za.The tourism and hospitality Seta (Theta) can be contacted at 011-803-6010 or visit www.theta.org.za.