Careers Brief - Professional Culinary Arts FdA
Overview
For a competent and skilled chef there are excellent and varied prospects in the UK and internationally. For example, you could create a career path in kitchens leading to Head Chef or Chef Patron, running your own restaurant, or start as a Relief Chef Manager leading on to Contract Catering Manager in business or industry, or work as a Product Development Chef in a retail or manufacturing company.
To make a successful career in catering and the culinary arts, you will need a business awareness as well as excellent practical skills and creativity. You will need to be energetic and demonstrate skills in planning, timing, teamwork and managing people. Hospitality is one of the fastest-growing, job-creating sectors, offering the opportunity of an international career with rapid progression to management level in restaurants, hotels, pubs, clubs, bars, contract catering, hospitality services within other organisations or self-employment.
Use the web links below in the Resources section, to find out more about the variety of opportunities open to you, entry and training routes.
To consider a wider choice of careers, matched to your interests, use Prospects Planner and other tools listed in the Career Planning section of this Guide.
Further Study
Top-up degree programmes are designed as a direct progression from Foundation degree to Honours degree.
Use the Links on the HE Home page for information on the one-year top-up degree programme at Bournemouth University: ‘International Hospitality Management’.
Other related one-year top-up degrees:
University of Central Lancashire ‘Management in Hospitality’; Coleg Llandrillo Cymru ‘Culinary Arts Management’; The Manchester Metropolitan University ‘Hospitality Business Management’; Middlesex University 'Hospitality Management'.
Students can progress into the 2nd or 3rd year of degree courses with similar content. Entry would depend both on your grades and overlap between your course and the initial year(s) you are missing. For courses not sufficiently similar, you would need to apply for year 1.
Use www.ucas.com/search (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK) to find suitable courses. Use the university/college links for course details.
You will need to use UCAS (see link above) to apply for courses. Contact the Course Tutor of your chosen course to find out your position, before you make your formal application.
Find out how much this will cost you. Where is the funding coming from? Refer to the university/college links for course costs and to www.aimhigher.ac.uk for additional information on student support.
Go to the main section Further Study in this Careers Guide for more information and help.
Resources
www.springboarduk.org.uk/careers
Springboard UK, the careers information site for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism. Use ‘Careerscope online’. Go to ‘Jobs database’ to drop down and Choose a Sector (Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs, Clubs, Food Service Management, Conference & corporate hospitality, Travel & tourism, Leisure, Hospitality Retail). Choose a sub-sector and job titles for related job descriptions.
www.people1st.co.uk
People 1st – first for skills for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism. Go to ‘Career Guide’. Also check out ‘Career roadmap’ for ‘Restaurant Career Roadmaps’.
www.hcima.org.uk
Institute of Hospitality – the professional body for the hospitality industry. Go to ‘Student Zone’.
www.caterersearch.com
Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine. Information source for hospitality including articles, news, jobs, employer directory.
www.caterer.com
Recruitment agency. Go to ‘Advice’ for useful summaries of ‘Popular industry roles’. Check out ‘Employer A-Z’ and job vacancies or ‘Search by specialism’.
jobseekers.direct.gov.uk
Careers database and links to jobs nationally. Search by either clicking on ‘careers’ and ‘choosing a category’ or type in job title.
www.bha.org.uk
The national trade association for the hospitality industry for news and ‘Students’ section
www.barzone.co.uk
BII (formerly The British Institute of Innkeeping) promoting careers in the licensed trade
www.prospects.ac.uk
Graduate Prospects is the careers website for HE students in the UK:
- Drop down ‘Careers advice’ and click on ‘Use your qualification’ for ‘Your foundation degree…what next?’
- Drop down ‘Jobs & work’ and click on ‘Explore types of jobs’ and ‘Explore job sectors’
- Drop down ‘My Prospects’ and click on ‘What jobs would suit me?’ for Prospects Planner and other services
www.learndirect-advice.co.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles
Learn Direct – national learning advice
www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u
Jobs4U Careers Database - click on ‘Job Families and Articles’ for occupations in ‘Catering and Hospitality’ ‘Leisure, Sport and Tourism’
http://targetjobs.co.uk
GTI (publication) graduate jobs and careers
www.careerintravel.co.uk
Career in Travel – E-learning and Careers Advice for Holiday Representatives and Air Cabin Crew
