College of FE investigates hospitality apprenticeship

Monday 21 June 2021

Industry heads and the College of FE are working together to promote the "extremely diverse" career opportunities within hospitality.

Guernsey College of Further Education teamed up with the Guernsey Hospitality Association (GHA) to host an ‘introduction to hospitality’ open day last week.

Taking place at the College’s Future Chefs Restaurant and Kitchens at Coutanchez Campus, the event was aimed at school leavers, those interested in summer work, or those looking at new opportunities for full-time or flexible work. 

“Hospitality is an important sector in the island and it offers a wide range of career options," said Jane Fears, Director of Business Development at the College.

"It’s essential that the College’s training provision is aligned to the needs of the local business community to ensure that our students gain the knowledge and skills that are needed by the respective sector.

Pictured: People were shown around the College of FE's training kitchens and were able to ask questions about the opportunities on offer. 

"We are delighted to be working closely with the GHA to develop our provision in this sector. One option is the introduction of a Hospitality Apprenticeship to complement the Professional Cookery qualification already available.”

Duke of Richmond Hotel General Manager Gareth Byrne is currently involved with "a number of education projects", with the aim of attracting more individuals into the industry. 

"The career opportunities are extremely diverse and include accountancy, sales and marketing, HR, as well as food and beverage management," said the Education Lead for the GHA. 

GHA President Alan Sillett said the partnership is providing training opportunities locally that were not previously available. 

"The facilities available to students to further their career in hospitality are in line with what would be found in any of our hotel and restaurant kitchens," he said.  

“The GHA has invested a lot of time and resources in getting to this stage and we will endeavour to assist where we can to support the apprenticeship or other training programmes through the College."