Giles’ advice is simple: don’t study
hospitality, or travel and tourism, or related.
Those courses will teach a lot of theory,
and will introduce the student to a great many models, working practices, and
give them a great sense of revenue streams, a knowledge of business, of advertising
and media. However, those courses will rarely prepare the student for the
realities of working in the sector.
In hotels and restaurants, what is often
(admittedly not in all cases) more valued is experience. The practical
experience of attending to customers for 18 hours solid. The practical knowledge
of coffee service, wines, mis en place and table settings. The practical skills
of juggling room allocations; those that need to be serviced and cleaned, those
that are ready, those that need to be allocated to specific guest, what rooms
can be given to those early check ins, and what rooms can be sold to last
minute guests. Giles can (and does) give a whole list of things which are much
better learned in practice than in theory- but those will suffice.
The interpersonal skills, pressure, time
and financial constraints (to say nothing of allocating often scarce resources)
and creative thinking needed when setting
up a major event in a hotel can rarely be taught in the controlled atmosphere
of a school.Such practical knowledge is only gained by practical experience, and by being in the job day in, day out. Indeed, that experience, and the skills it brings, will give the hospitality worker a greater grasp of the industry, than the theory and overview taught be hospitality course.
However, Giles readily and willingly
admits to being old school in that sense; ‘I never studied hospitality
management, or similar. I do not even have a clue what they teach on those
courses. I have worked with such graduate’s, though- and they are like a fish
out of water on the floor, despite their education. I have, however, worked in
the industry for nearly ten years, with no academic qualifications in the sector
whatsoever. My qualifications are experience and more experience.’
As regards business practices, business models,
regulations, logistics, and similar, such courses are often superior to
learning on the job- and making classic mistakes along the way, which damage
the business and the brand.
These days, getting a further or higher
education is increasingly a gamble and risk- and an expensive one. Gone are the
days when adding BA or BSc after your name was a golden ticket to a high flying
career and high earning future. With too many graduates (not necessarily university
graduates), the market for educated but inexperienced highly educated twenty somethings
is saturated.
Increasingly, such education is an
investment for the future. More and more graduates will only see the rewards of
their education after several decades, when their earning and carer prospects will
finally outstrip those of their non-graduate colleagues. In hospitality, the benefits
of that theoretical, business knowledge will indeed greatly benefit the individual
when they are at General Manager or Restaurant Manager level. Until then- they
have a lot to learn, despite their education.
Giles instead offers different advice to
the young hospitality hopeful- as blunt as ever. ‘Don’t waste two or three
years, your early twenties, your effort, energies and money, on that hospitality
course. It is not as valued as you think, and only gets you extra debt. Quit
further education- and start working in the sector instead. That will teach you
all you need to know.’ In this aspect Giles should know; he started out as a
busboy in North America- and has stepped in as an Hotel Duty Manager in London
in recent years.
Indeed, many in the industry (admittedly
some do) do not have such qualifications- or any, for that matter. Further, many have a weird and wonderful knowledge
and skill set; actors, musicians, history graduates, engineering students,
dance teachers, freelance translators, single parents, and so on. The list is endless.
With so many students working in the
sector to pay their way through increasingly expensive and worthless degrees,
the sheer variety of academic and specialist skill and knowledge makes the hospitality
workforce a wonderfully diverse, stimulating place to work. Everyone has their own
niches areas of random knowledge, which makes the workplace more fun than if
everyone had just studied hospitality.
As such, everyone can learn from each
other- and not just customer service and mis en place. Indeed, this makes the
average restaurant staff one of them most highly educated workplaces.
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