The hospitality sector has introduced a new ‘fast track’ training scheme that will be the envy of other industries struggling to cope with the shortage of skilled labour in Western Australia.
The hospitality sector has introduced a new ‘fast track’ training scheme that will be the envy of other industries struggling to cope with the shortage of skilled labour in Western Australia.
Five prominent hospitality businesses have kicked off the new training program in partnership with West Coast TAFE’s Academy of Hospitality and Tourism.
Students will be working in the five participating businesses – Burswood International Resort, Parmelia Hilton, Hotel Rendezvous, Joondalup Resort and Fraser’s Restaurant – after just four weeks of intensive training at the academy.
This contrasts with the traditional six-month duration for a certificate in hospitality training.
Fraser’s executive chef Chris Taylor, who chairs the academy’s council of industry partners, said the new program had been a “long time coming” but its introduction had been accelerated by the skills crisis.
“A revamp has been needed for several years,” he said.
“You need to fast track training, we have a severe problem now.”
Several other industries, including home building and the motor trades, have been pushing for changes to make training faster and more responsive to industry needs.
The Master Builders’ Association, for instance, developed its own six-week TradeStart course to hasten the entry of new workers into the industry.
MBA director Gavan Forster said the future of TradeStart would partly depend on whether the Gallop Government accepted reform recommendations put forward by a residential building industry working group chaired by Alcock/Brown-Neaves director Dale Alcock.
“If the minister endorses those recommendations they would be a major step forward for the residential building industry and would go a long way towards dealing with the changes we have been seeking,” Mr Alcock said.
He said the building industry reforms could provide a template for reform of trade training in other industries.
A spokesman for Education and Training Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich said she was currently considering the recommendations, which would constitute the biggest change to the apprentice system in 90 years.
The new hospitality training program was initiated by the West Coast Academy of Hospitality and Tourism, which early this year opened an $8 million training facility at Joondalup.
The academy includes a 120-seat restaurant, a 200-seat function centre, a professional kitchen and bar, and a barista coffee training academy.
The academy’s program director, Jim Eriyagama, said students would spend four weeks completing intensive theory studies and learning foundation skills.
They would then be placed with one of the participating employers to complete their practical experience.
Mr Taylor said one of the benefits of the new program was that each hospitality business could tailor the practical training to suit their needs, rather than having to re-train students who have spent six months at the TAFE college.
Hotel Rendezvous human resources manager Pat Gibbons said the new program specifically addressed the demand for hospitality staff with practical experience over the busy summer period.
Mr Eriyagama said the students would return to the academy after their practical experience so it could validate their competencies.
He added that students could continue studying and obtain a higher qualification at a time suitable to their employer.
Meanwhile, Premier Geoff Gallop and Ms Ravlich announced the Government had reached its target of having 30,000 people in training years ahead of schedule.
Since 1997, the number of apprentices has risen 2 per cent to 16,558 while the number of people in traineeships has more than tripled, to 13,471.