Hospitality: Entry and progression

search for » job vacancies in hospitality and events management

How do I find a job?

• Graduate training schemes are common. See typical employers for more information.
• There are also opportunities with smaller businesses, e.g. exhibition venues and events management companies, and independent restaurants, bars and hotels.
• Generally, the hotels, restaurants and bars offer more opportunities, due to the number of businesses in these areas and the nature of employment. It can be more difficult to get into events management.
• Jobs are advertised in the trade press or on specialist websites e.g. Caterer & Hotelkeeper, Hcareers or the Caterer.com. There are also specialist recruitment consultancies.
• Visit businesses to see if there are any vacancies. This is common, particularly part-time or vacation work.
• Find out more about applications, CVs and interviews.

What skills do I need?

• The Institute of Hospitality has identified communication skills, interpersonal skills, team working skills, problem solving, numeracy and IT proficiency as key employability skills.
• Degree classification is important, but it is work experience and understanding of the sector, alongside key skills, that employers seek most.
• Hospitality-related disciplines are preferred, but most employers tend to accept candidates from other disciplines, as long as they have relevant work experience.

Where can I find work experience?

• Most hospitality-related degree courses contain industrial placements or work-related learning modules.
• You can gain relevant experience through voluntary work, helping to organise events or working in care homes or for charities.
• If your degree is not in a hospitality-based subject, then there are schemes to help you gain recognised relevant experience. The HAVE Scheme from the Institute of Hospitality allows you to gain a recognised award through part-time and vacation work.
• Many large hotel and restaurant chains offer one-year placement or holiday schemes across the UK and sometimes internationally.
• Through part-time or vacation work.
• Due to the shortage of staff in the hospitality industry it can be easy to gain relevant experience. This experience is likely to be in entry-level positions, such as food and beverage service, cleaning or customer services.

Is postgraduate study useful?

• Many universities offer postgraduate courses in hospitality management, open to graduates of any discipline.
• Graduate apprenticeships have been developed in a bid to combat the skills shortages at management level. These are open to graduates of any discipline and consist of a combination of college-based learning and on-the-job training.
• For more details, find courses and research.

How can my career develop?

• Generally, career development opportunities are good, although this depends on the individual employer. Most of those following careers in hospitality will start their careers working as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant, or as part of the housekeeping team or food and beverage team in a hotel, for example, but progression is usually quick for good candidates.
• In order to progress, relocation is often necessary every few years.
• There are many different career paths and room for many different specialisations. Generally, the larger the employer, the wider variety of positions, whereas with a smaller employer, one position may involve a wide range of activities.
• Many employers are likely to support part-time further education for employees, to combat the problems of skills shortages. This is particularly true within events organisation.