Hospitality and Tourism Educators initiative cranks up skills agenda in Northern Ireland

People 1st and the Learning and Skills Development Agency for Northern Ireland have met to discuss the future growth of tourism in the province. Under discussion was the new Hospitality and Tourism Educators Programme, funded by the Department for Employment and Learning, which will feature a series of workshops that will take place over 16 months, ending in June 2011. The skills and training agenda has been designed to deliver the first-class workforce required to ensure the future growth of tourism in Northern Ireland, with aims to increase visitor numbers to 4.5 million and revenue to £1 billion by 2020.
Addressing delegates and launching the programme, Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People 1st highlighted the strategic importance of industry and education collaboration to build a curriculum of excellence.
“The new decade brings new opportunities for the vibrant hospitality and tourism sector, a sector which is facing changing and challenging times. By participating in The Hospitality and Tourism Educators Programme education leaders can experience the leading edge practices and thinking from across the UK and Europe and together with industry leaders they can define the future curriculum for hospitality and tourism in NI”.
Attending the workshop were Michael Gould, acting director for Skills and Industry Division at the Department for Employment and Learning, directors and heads of school from the six regional colleges, staff of the University of Ulster, providers of hospitality and tourism education and training, representatives from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and industry leaders including Michael McQuillan from The Streat and Stephen Magorrian from Botanic Inns.
Stressing the strategic importance of education to the success of the hospitality and tourism sector Mr Gould said: “Today is all about learning from the experiences of others and hearing about best practice in the UK and Europe. It is indeed a unique opportunity for us to look at how we can improve and develop the Hospitality and Tourism sector here in Northern Ireland. It is important that all the key players contribute to this development to ensure success for the industry.
“The Department is delighted to be supporting the Hospitality Educators programme as it further adds to the success of the lecturers into industry initiative”.
Welcoming the Hospitality and Tourism Educators programme Robert Cully, director of business development, Northern Ireland Tourist Board added: “Tourism in Northern Ireland has grown rapidly in the last 10 years. The industry locally employs over 40,000 people and generated some £540 million into the local economy. And there is great growth potential for tourism in Northern Ireland, a potential recognised in the new Northern Ireland tourism strategy which has set a challenging target of doubling revenue from tourism by 2020.
“To achieve that growth, we need to ensure that the right skills are in place to enable the industry to achieve its potential. The NITB welcomes this programme that we believe will be key to delivering the skills necessary to position Northern Ireland as a world class tourism destination”.
Module topics planned throughout 2010 and 2011 will include Working with Industry Stakeholders and Identifying Emerging Developing Needs; Trends and Issues for Hospitality and Tourism and Strategic Action Planning.
The programme is designed for senior educators in further, higher and work-based education and training who are involved in planning the strategic, practical and long term development needs in hospitality and tourism education and training.
It is part of the ‘Future Skills Action Plan for Hospitality and Tourism,’ a short term skills action plan which focuses on the need to highlight the benefits of working in those industries to the public, as well as improving skills levels. The programme will run until June 2011.

A third of British grads looking for overseas employment

A new study into the vocational intentions of soon-to-qualify graduates has shown that a startling 34% were considering a move abroad due to a perceived lack of job opportunities in the UK.
The poll of more than 1,000 recent graduates and final-year university students, conducted by ‘student-employer matchmaking website’ Studentgems.com indicated that graduate respondents claimed to have applied for between 20-30 jobs each. Of these, just 5% of applications resulted in an interview, according to the research.
Sarah Thomas, a final-year languages student at Durham University said: “My preferred choice would be to secure a graduate role in the UK but if I can’t find what I am looking for then I will definitely be job hunting in Europe”.
Sue Harrison, co-founder of www.studentgems.com, commented: “Even if only a quarter of these students looking at jobs abroad left for greener pastures, the loss to the British job market would be felt for years to come.
“It starts with simple courtesy. Less than half of employers inform interviewed candidates when they are unsuccessful, a fact which shows that employers are becoming complacent with the level of applications for roles”.
She continued: “Graduates are becoming more and more likely to stray and the reason is lack of success whilst job hunting. I’d advise students to get as much relevant experience as they can whilst at university. Using services like Studentgems.com, students and graduates can find employers looking for ad hoc help and gain vital experience which will hopefully keep them within the British job system”.

Retail’s multichannel skills challenge revealed

Multichannel growth is bringing fresh skills challenges to the sector, Skillsmart Retail research has revealed. The largest study of its type since 2006 revealed that retailers better understand the value of training and skills but that the recession and online growth have changed skills needs.
The report, Skills Priorities of the Retail Sector, saw a combination of data analysis and original research within more than 600 retailers across the UK in order to understand the sector’s size and skills requirement.
It found that skills for e-commerce are in demand in significant sections of retail – ranging from online strategy building to specific web design skills. The report also found that there has been a 4% fall in the number of people in the sector without any qualifications.
Anne Seaman, CEO of Skillsmart Retail, said: “It is encouraging to see that retailers have such a positive attitude towards skills in the current trading conditions and we are excited about working with employers to face the challenges that multichannel retailing will bring.
“We are making good progress in building the skilled workforce that the sector needs, and this research offers some very clear signs that retailers are gearing up to deal with the skills issues that they face and we very much welcome that”.
Anne Seaman presented some of the report’s findings as part of her address to retailers and MPs at an All Party Parliamentary Group for Retail meeting last month.

Celebrity masterclass for Junior Chefs’ Academy

Celebrated Indian chef Cyrus Todiwala has made his first visit to Northern Ireland to introduce over 100 Junior Chefs’ Academy graduates and their guests to his innovative and fresh approach to Indian cuisine.
His masterclass was part of a celebration event organised by People 1st, the sector skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, which introduced the Junior Chefs’ Academy programme, along with Compass Group UK & Ireland, to Northern Ireland to address a skills shortage identified in research with the industry locally.
The young chefs aged 12 to 16 graduated from Junior Chefs’ Academy programmes held in each of the six regional colleges. To raise the temperature even higher at the celebration event, two young chefs from each college took part in a live cookery challenge on stage compered by James McGinn, general manager of the Europa, where the celebration was held.
The Junior Chefs’ Academy programme is currently funded by the Department for Employment and Learning and is an industry-led initiative supported locally by The Institute of Hospitality, the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Safefood and City and Guilds.
“It was a very special occasion,” said Roisin McKee. “We were delighted to be joined by Cyrus who is a committed supporter of the Junior Chefs’ Academy programme. We feel it’s an important part of the training to introduce potential young chefs of tomorrow to the very highest culinary cuisine of today. Cyrus is passionate about food and junior chefs and their parents were swept up in his enthusiasm and energy for his profession”.
Cyrus Todiwala OBE is proprietor and executive chef of the Café Spice Namaste restaurant in London and regularly appears on BBC’s Food and Drink, UK Today and Saturday Kitchen.
Talking about the event Cyrus Todiwala said: “I’ve been privileged to cook alongside many Junior Chefs and I never fail to be delighted by the enthusiasm these young people demonstrate for the art of cooking. As a chef proprietor and employer it is this fresh enthusiasm we’d like to harness for the future”.
Junior Chefs’ Academy is part of the Future Skills Action Plan for Hospitality and Tourism launched by the Futures Skills Action Group with includes representatives from Government, Trade and Education. Congratulating the Junior Chefs’ Academy graduates Sir Reg Empey, Minister for Employment and Learning said: “It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm that Junior Chef’s Academy has created. There is a real need for programmes such as this to instil passion and interest in our young people to encourage them to consider a career in the sector.
“I congratulate all of those who have been successful on the programme and I hope that in the future many of you will come to work in the sector having been given a real flavour of what to expect”.
A new series of Junior Chefs’ Academy programmes, which began in February in each of the regional colleges, will run until March 2010. Over a 10-week period on Saturday mornings, young people aged 12 to 16 from local schools learn basic cookery skills whilst creating fresh dishes and gain knowledge on nutrition, hygiene, health and safety, team work and communication skills.