Hospitality education faces cuts
Hospitality students could face cuts of up to 50 per cent in taught hours at colleges and the workplace. Structural changes to the educational system – set for 2010 – have already reduced taught hours on two courses.
The outgoing NVQ in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership was allocated 520 learning hours a year but its replacement, The Hospitality Diploma in Hospitality, Supervision and Leadership, offers 290 hours – a reduction of 44 per cent. There are technical certificates – 58 more taught hours if chosen – but these only apply to two of the units, so the remaining six units will have no taught hours.
There is real concern among training providers that this funding mechanism will also be applied to other qualifications, as has happened in other vocational areas. The amount of money a catering college or workplace training provider receives is directly linked to the amount of hours its students are taught, and in some cases the drop in funding could be so severe that college restaurants close.
The slack will be taken up by self directed learning away from the classroom and workplace, which almost all education and industry commentators see as a poor-fit for the industry. “Self-taught is not the way forward for hospitality especially at supervisory level. If this practice is applied across the board the implications are frightening for future students. You can’t learn how to make a soufflé just by reading about it,” said Gerry Shurman head of catering at South Downs College.
People 1st, the Skills Council for Hospitality, confirmed that hours had been reduced on the two courses that replace the Supervision and Leadership NVQ. A spokesman said: “We believe self learning, with a tutor to apply and test knowledge, can be a preferred method to embed
classroom teaching for many students."
