Catering and hospitality route review

1. Introduction from chief executive

I am delighted to present this report summarising our wide-reaching review of catering and hospitality skills training needs.

The way that the hospitality sector works has changed significantly over the past few years. The impact of automation and AI means that the industry will continue to change and evolve. 

The findings of this review will support future planning and delivery of apprenticeships and technical education that keeps pace with those skills needs. While it has been led by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), Skills England is taking over our functions and will build on the considerable progress we have made.

This new organisation, with its wider remit, will be even better placed to shape quality training that delivers on regional and national skills needs. It will make sure everyone, regardless of their background, can access valuable opportunities to progress their careers.

I would like to thank everyone who took part in this review. Our fantastic panels of employers, membership and professional bodies, end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs), training providers, and apprentices all played important roles.

It will all help ensure that we have the right apprenticeships and technical qualifications in place to create exciting career opportunities across catering and hospitality and support employers’ skills needs for many years to come. 

Jennifer Coupland
Chief Executive

2. Introduction from route panel chair

The catering and hospitality industry covers a wide range of different business types including pubs, bars, restaurants, holiday parks, hotels, schools, care settings and so many more.

It is dedicated to providing customers with a great experience. Catering and hospitality offers an exciting range of careers and opportunities from entry level occupations to management roles.

This report is the result of an extended review into the route that began with a successful symposium involving more than 60 employers followed by stakeholder surveys. 

The review aimed to understand how our occupational maps and training products work for employers and learners and what needs to improve. 

We engaged with numerous stakeholders who, time and again, demonstrated an impressive level of passion for apprenticeships and technical education. We want to thank them for taking time to share their thoughts with us. 

Our route panel and trailblazer members represent employers across the sectors and we are determined to make sure that the skills system works for everyone. 

Alison Gilbert
Route panel chair

 

3. Overview of the catering and hospitality route

The catering and hospitality industry is diverse. Our occupational map reveals a host of occupations and sets out the range of training products that support career entry and progression. The same occupations are used by a diverse range of employers from large hotels and mass catering companies to the micro-businesses that make up most of the sector.

The route has two pathways; ‘catering’ and ‘hospitality’ - commonly referred to as ‘back’ and ‘front’ of house. The available training ranges from career entry level 2 to level 4 and may expand in the future to higher levels.

 

 

4. Review aims and methods

Route reviews are an opportunity to listen to employers and other industry stakeholders. This enables us to check how well the overall technical training offer meets the needs of employers in that sector and prioritise areas for review or change.  

The reviews also offer the opportunity to identify emerging and future skills. 

Each review is guided by four key principles: 

1. Strategic focus. The review focuses on the route and its occupational map.
2. Employer led. Responses from consultation and engagement with employers inform our recommendations. These are then reviewed by the route panel, made up of industry experts.
3. Open and transparent. We continuously engage with stakeholders throughout the route review process.
4. Joined up. The review’s recommendations support the wider technical education landscape. They take into consideration the potential impact on different technical education products.

This review had two key aims: 

• rebuild the employer-led trailblazer groups and engage with the catering and hospitality sector 
• review the occupational map and make sure the occupational standards meet the needs of the industry

Some key areas we anticipated exploring were: 

• transferability of skills
• changing nature of some occupations, occasioned by changes in the industry
• length of training needed at entry level
• degree to which standards served different employers and roles within the industry
• whether training was at the appropriate level
• demand for occupations at level 5 and above, not currently covered by apprenticeships for these sectors
• the impact of the pandemic and advances in technology 

For example, employers told us that the career entry level 2 Hospitality Team Member occupational standard and related apprenticeship which is well suited to training younger people, was too narrow in terms of the scope of training required. They asked for this to be updated to cover a variety of different roles such as bar work, dining, housekeeping and guest services, such as receptionists. This would do a better job of supporting progression to management level. 

Our data also revealed that some options within that apprenticeship were being used far more than others. The option with the most people starting on it, by a considerable margin, was food and beverage. This was followed by food production. There was then a significant drop in starts for the remaining options for reservations, reception, housekeeping, conference and events operations, concierge and guest services, barista and alcoholic beverage service.

 

5. Rebuilding the trailblazer groups

One of the challenges facing our work in this route at the start of the review had been a drop off in the number of engaged employers.  

We carried out a range of activities to attract and recruit new employers to the trailblazer groups needed to design and update apprenticeships and technical qualifications. IfATE reached out to employers, membership bodies, end point assessment organisations (EPAOs) and training providers, via webinars and face to face events, and worked collaboratively with other government departments to forge new working relationships with employers across the broad spectrum of the catering and hospitality industry.  

Ensuring good representation by employer size (small: 0 - 50 staff, medium: 50 - 249 staff, large: 250+ staff) and region, we also targeted these key sectors: 

• Hotels (including independent)
• Fine Dining, luxury, gourmet
• Pubs (including independent)
• Restaurants (including independent)
• Counter service
• Fast food and takeout
• Dark kitchens / Dine at Home
• Mass Catering; schools, hospitals, care homes, work canteens, MOD, visitor attractions, off shore
• Holiday Parks
• Festival and Event Catering

The result of this activity was an increase in the number of trailblazer employers from below 10 to more than 80.

 

6. Hospitality Symposium

With over 60 attendees from across the sector, the majority of which were new employers engaging with IfATE for the first time, our Hospitality Symposium provided the springboard from which the main route review was launched. It was successful in achieving its core aims:

• to continue to increase the number of trailblazers supporting the catering and hospitality route
• to carry out a series of workshops to understand how current training is working for the sector and how it can be improved to meet the needs of such a diverse industry

The workshops uncovered issues including: 

 

Hospitality Team Member

• the sector needed multi-skilled workers at entry level 
• learners were struggling with English and Maths requirements 
• the occupations did not recognise the diversity of sector 
• employers often used their own training instead of the apprenticeship 
• some of the options built into the apprenticeship were hardly used at all  
• food and Beverage was the most popular option by a considerable margin 

 

Hospitality Supervisor

• Team Leader or Supervisor was popular among employers 
• however, the apprenticeship often lasted up to 18 months – so considerably longer than the ‘typical’ duration of 12 months listed on the occupational standard 
• it was felt that the content of the occupational standard needed updating. Some employers felt the wording was too technical and hard to understand 
• this also a core and options standard, which means that it covers training for more than one occupation. Employers felt that not all of these options were still relevant to their businesses

 

Hospitality Manager

• concerns were expressed about the content in the occupational standard, although for some employers felt it worked well  
• employers felt that not convinced that all of the options were still relevant to their businesses 
• the language of the standard was outdated and needed reviewing 
• at level 4, the standard needed to reflect the aspirations of individuals entering the role 
• there were potential issues with some assessment methods 

 

Occupational Map

The catering and hospitality occupational map sets out the occupations and training products across the industry that can be accessed through visiting IfATE’s website.

Hospitality pathway

There are currently three occupations in this pathway:

1. Hospitality Team Member
2. Hospitality Supervisor
3. Hospitality Manager

 

Catering pathway

There are currently 8 occupations in this pathway:

• Commis Chef
• Chef de partie
• Senior Culinary Chef
• Production Chef
• Senior Production Chef
• Baker
• Lead Baker
• Pastry Chef

*Please note that Maritime Caterer has now been retired

We consulted with the sector via workshops, two surveys, webinars and individual meetings. It was important to gather views from a wide group of stakeholders to understand how the occupational standards should be revised to better meet the diversity of the hospitality sector. 

Stakeholders we consulted with included:   

• technical experts such as senior chefs via 3 Future Chef webinars, with
• providers
• end point assessment organisations (EPAOs)
• representative bodies
• regional bodies e.g. with the Lakeland Hotelier’s Association
• sectoral bodies e.g. with the NHS and care sectors
• those in particular areas of industry expertise, for example WRAP on some aspects of sustainability; Be Inclusive Hospitality, on some aspects of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; and The Burnt Chef Project on aspects of good mental health in the industry
• our route panel of industry experts

 

Outcomes from both surveys

We ran two follow-up surveys in support of the route review. The primary focus of questions was on occupations in the hospitality pathway and whether the occupational standards continued to meet sector needs.  

The models proposed were based on feedback from the Hospitality Symposium, webinars with providers and end point assessment organisations, views and comments from the trailblazer and route panels, and further feedback gathered from the sector. We received over 100 detailed responses. 

The survey gathered feedback on four proposed models for our level 2 and 3 hospitality standards.  

Level 2

We proposed the following Hospitality Models in the survey:

• model 1 - multi-skilled, core only occupation
• model 2 - broad sector approach, a core and options model with two options: hotelier, restaurant, and bar
• model 3 - Food and Beverage standard – core only
• model 4 - remove level 2 hospitality standard from the occupational map

 

Level 3

We proposed the following Hospitality Models in the survey:

• model 1 - multi-skilled, core only occupation
• model 2 - specialist level 3 standard (skill focused)
• model 3 – retain current level 3 standard

 

Preferred model at level 2

From the survey feedback there was no significant preference for a single Level 2 model.

model 1	23.26%
model 2	32.56%
model 3	30.23%
model 4	13.95%

Action taken:

We took the feedback regarding the modelling and all the survey and engagement evidence to recommend that level 2 Hospitality Team Member be split into two occupational standards and related apprenticeships:  

1. Hospitality Accommodation Team Member – updated to cover a variety of different roles such as bar work, dining, housekeeping and guest services, such as receptionists.
2. Food and Beverage Team Member – new occupational standard and related apprenticeship being created for what was by far the most popular training option.

It is anticipated, subject to them passing through the review and approvals process, that both of these new occupational standards/ apprenticeships will be available in 2025. 

 

Preferred model at level 3

The feedback did not indicate a preference for a model for the level 3 occupational standard and related apprenticeship. It was broadly even for all three models, with a slight preference for a specialist level 3 standard.

model 1	35.00%
model 2	37.50%
model 3	27.50%

Action taken:

1. Retained Hospitality Supervisor, review which options are still appropriate and which ones can be merged.
2. Continue to work with the sector and establish which other occupations can be developed at level 3.

 

Level 4 standard (currently Hospitality Manager)

Action taken:

1. We are revising Hospitality Manager following further consultation with the sector.

 

Catering pathway

Following the consultation feedback and engagement with the sector, we are recommending the removal of one occupation from the occupational map. This is because there have been very few starts on the apprenticeship:

• Maritime Caterer

Eight occupations have been retained and or added to the map for the Catering Pathway:

• Commis Chef
• Chef de partie
• Baker
• Senior Culinary Chef
• Production Chef
• Senior Production Chef
• Pastry Chef
• Lead Baker

These remain in demand from a broad range of employers. With the exception of Baker, Lead Baker and Pastry Chef (these were recently developed or revised), all the others are in scope to be revised.

 

7. Challenges and opportunities for the route

Staffing and recovery

The hospitality sector was heavily impacted by the Covid pandemic and, as a significant employer of EU citizens, the UK exit from the European Union. 

Vacancies reached a peak in Spring 2022 with ONS reporting a three-monthly average of 176,000 from April to June 2022. This had fallen to 95,000 for July to September 2024. 

Whilst the trend is encouraging, the UK hospitality industry continues to face labour shortages, particularly affecting: 

• Chefs: Skilled kitchen staff remain in high demand
• Waitstaff: Front-of-house positions are difficult to fill
• Housekeeping: Hotels struggle to maintain adequate cleaning staff
• Management: There is a shortage of experienced hospitality managers 

The continued vacancies are having an impact on the quality of service provided by hospitality venues.  

This is coupled with the cost of inflation for goods and labour which has forced owners to put up prices substantially.  

Closures continue to be an issue but encouraging recent data indicated that they slowed from eight sites a day in 2023 to four a day in the first quarter of 2024.  

 

Skills both in-demand and emerging

The areas that require immediate attention from hospitality institutes or in training are culinary, guest services, and communication – educational institutions play a key role in addressing skill gaps. 

For future leaders in hospitality, the skills gaps relate more to in-demand skills and competencies, such as adaptability, outstanding communication and collaboration, and familiarity with dynamic and fast-paced work environments.  

Many of the skills that are in high demand are soft skills, specifically those that are highly transferable and buildable. 

Finance, revenue management and technology are areas rising in demand. Given the slow pace at which much of the sector is adapting to digitalisation, this need will only increase over time. 

Automation, biometrics, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) are areas that are expected to continue growing in importance, and with this increase comes a necessity for talent that’s proficient in these areas. 

 

Digital, AI, automation

All technological skills, both advanced and basic, will see a substantial growth in demand. Advanced technologies require people who understand how they work and can innovate, develop, and adapt them.  

Accompanying the adoption of advanced technologies into the workplace, will be an increase in the need for workers with finely tuned social and emotional skills - which machines are a long way from mastering. There will be a strong demand for interpersonal skills, creativity, and empathy. 

There will be a shift in demand towards higher cognitive skills. Research also finds a shift from activities that require only basic cognitive skills to those that use higher cognitive skills. Demand for higher cognitive skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, decision making, and complex information processing, will grow. 

Hotels today are using more AI to modernise their operating procedures and render flawless processes that were traditionally provided by human employees in guest relations, check-in/check-out, room service, bartending, chatbots, reservations and bookings management, and virtual avatars. AI-driven robots are quickly becoming an essential asset of many hospitality establishments, driven by shortages in staff, the need for increased multilevel communication, and the need to create a memorable guest experience through flawless use of available customer data. 

Even though today’s technology cannot fully replace employees, developments in AI, automation and robotics are significantly influencing the human element. Significant effects are already reflecting on job profiles, hours worked, employee relationships with their peers and managers, and compensation packages. 

AI, automation, and robotics are starting to directly change low-skilled positions, although most jobs requiring human interaction remain extremely difficult to automate. 

 

Green skills

The UK has committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

From the Next Tourism Generation Alliance, key green considerations include:

• ability to minimise the use and maximise the efficiency of energy and water consumption
• ability to manage waste, sewage, recycling and composting
• conservation of biodiversity
• promotion of sustainable forms of transport (e.g. public transport)
• promotion of environmentally friendly activities and products
• knowledge of climate change

IfATE’s Green Toolkit includes general and route-specific guidance on sustainability. It also includes information on how IfATE classifies "green jobs". The toolkit will help to consider the evolving skills needed for green.

The following themes have been identified within the Green Toolkit as priorities for the catering and hospitality industry:

• carbon, energy sources and usage – considering energy-saving practices during food preparation and cooking
• resource management – considering strategies to reduce food waste
• procurement and full-life decisions – considering ethically sourcing ingredients and products
• consequences and opportunities – embed sustainability practices into policies and procedures.
• data and innovation – staying up to date in advancements in low-carbon technology, and other sustainable practice
• resilience, adaptation and preparation – considering the likely impact of climate change on working practices

 

Mental health and wellbeing

The sector was not just affected financially as it emerged from Covid. The issue of the mental health and wellbeing of those who work in the industry was recognised as a top concern for many businesses.  

Trade bodies as well as new schemes have joined forces with experts working in the field of mental health to create programmes and toolkits to help their members. One such programme is a collaboration with the Institute of Hospitality - which joined forces with Mental Health at Work, a programme curated by the charity Mind, to produce a toolkit for its members and the wider hospitality industry to help support their mental health.

IfATE has also been active in this area, collaborating with The Burnt Chef project to better understand the issues around mental health and wellbeing.  

We followed up our work by holding a series of webinars attended by chefs. We asked them specifically about whether the pipeline of chefs can be taught knowledge skills and behaviours that would support with their mental health and that of their colleagues working in a busy kitchen. We also asked what the required knowledge and skills would be.  

They gave us the following points:

• give people the tools to recognise within themselves when they need support
• ensure there is a work-life balance
• give structure and discipline to ensure people don’t reach breaking point
• be honest with people about expectations and the reality of the working environment
• instil behaviours (supportive of good mental health) early
• ensure mental health awareness training for management teams
• train people in conflict management
• provide support to people on an individual level (with work and mental health related issues)

As a result of our conversations and work with The Burnt Chef Project, we have developed common guidance around good mental health, which will be embedded in all our occupational standards across this route.

 

Equity, diversity and inclusion

"There are disparities in earnings, employment terms, and representation in various roles for ethnic minority groups. It indicates a need for more awareness and knowledge regarding Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives and actions within organisations. There are worrying levels of discrimination experienced, and the gap remains in training and education on race. The lowest level of access to this training and education is for CEOs and Founders, who also have the highest appetite for such training and education.

Be Inclusive Hospitality, The Inside Hospitality Report 2023, Executive Summary

The catering and hospitality sector is hugely diverse in terms of businesses covering vast employers such as hotels, fine dining, pubs, chain restaurants, counters service, bakers, fast food and takeout. The sector also includes dark kitchens, mass catering, holiday parks, festival, and event catering.  

The uniqueness of the hospitality sector allows employees, customers and patrons who cover different backgrounds, from all over the world to come together.  A more diverse workforce will have positive impact; it can help businesses to improve their services, allowing them to better understand the needs of their guests and tap into different views, ideas and perspectives. 

IfATE supports equity, diversity, and inclusion in education. This includes through our EDI Framework and toolkit that has helped put EDI consideration at the forefront of how we develop, approve, and review occupational standards, apprenticeships, and technical qualifications. 

 

8. Principles and characteristics for occupational standards in catering and hospitality

Principles and characteristics provide high-level guidance for developing and revising occupational standards, apprenticeships, and technical education products. 

We have developed these using the insight from the challenges and opportunities and apprenticeship themes in this report. 

Employers have been asked to take note of the principles and characteristics. They should embed them as relevant in the duties, knowledge, skills, and behaviours in occupational standards and apprenticeship end-point assessments. 

Given the diverse practices across the sectors represented in the route, we do not expect all principles and characteristics to apply to all occupational standards, nor to all apprenticeship end-point assessments. We want employer groups to use their discretion on how and where they apply these.  

Principles and characteristics	Factors to consider
Customer service	Trailblazer groups should consider what customer service means for each occupational standard. Examples include: impact of technology on customer service maintaining quality standards customer-first approach managing risks to service
Legislation	Occupational standards should align with current legislative requirements relevant to the sector. Examples include: health and safety including stress management food safety allergens accessibility data protection
Sustainability	Occupations in this route should consider essential sustainability skills. Examples include reducing food waste and operating efficiently. IfATE has developed a Green Toolkit which sets out the key sustainability themes for all employers to consider ensuring carbon net zero ambitions are reached.
Health including wellbeing and welfare	Trailblazer groups should consider the importance of self-care, resilience and supporting a team and individuals in catering and hospitality environments. Support seeking behaviours, protective factors for good mental health should also be considered. IfATE recognises that in any apprenticeship, welfare and wellbeing is important and have produced a best practice guide to support employers and training providers.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion	Trailblazer groups should give consideration to diversity data to ensure each occupational standard is inclusive across protected characteristics. Trailblazer groups should be as representative as possible and consider businesses represented and consulted with in terms of size, geography, sector. Trailblazer membership should be diverse, and steps taken to improve diverse insight. Trailblazers should ensure language is simple and that all potential users can interact with occupational standards, as far as possible. Occupations should be described in a way that is accessible and inclusive.
Digitalisation and technology	IfATE has published the Digital Skills Framework to help trailblazer groups to develop digital content at all levels of occupational standards. Trailblazer groups should consider: the impact of technology, e.g. on food production, ordering and menu creation how technology will change customer facing roles the increasing use of data to make business decisions online presence and the influence of this on service
Performance metrics	Trailblazer groups should consider what performance metrics are critical for occupational standards. Examples include: awareness of return on investment yield budgets wastage and efficiency customer satisfaction
Teamwork	Trailblazer groups should consider communication, collaboration, problem solving and planning for each occupational standard.

 

9. Next steps

IfATE will continue implementing the findings of this report until Spring 2025, when we anticipate our responsibilities will transfer to Skills England.

We look forward to seeing how this new organisation, with its wider remit, makes the apprenticeship and technical education system even more responsive to the skills needs of learners and employers in all areas of the country. 

 

 

 

Published 23 October 2024
Last updated 23 October 2024
(SH, NS)