KEY POINTS:
THE QUALIFICATION
What: National Certificate in Hospitality (Basic Cookery) Level 3, National Certificate in Hospitality (Professional Cookery) Level 4
Where: Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI)
Contact: 0800 ASK 4 HSI (0800 275 4474), www.hsi.co.nz
Entry requirements: There are no entry requirements
Course costs: $3000, which the employer often pays. Equipment is minimum $500 (knives and uniform)
Hourly rate: Apprentice chefs $10-$12 per hour; Newly qualified chef $30,000-$35,000
There is a shortage of qualified chefs locally and globally, a shortage that will only increase as New Zealand's hospitality industry gears up for thousands due to arrive for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
The most direct pathway to becoming a chef is through an apprenticeship. Modern apprenticeships are available for young people between 16 and 21 years old and involve three years' training in a restaurant or hotel kitchen.
You find a position yourself with help from local HSI training advisers.
Once you've signed an apprenticeship you work under a qualified, experienced chef who must verify in a logbook that your skills meet apprenticeship standards.
Twice a year you attend week-long block courses at a regional provider, such as a polytechnic or institute of technology, where you practice your skills further.
Topics include customer service, food safety and hygiene and knife skills. During your apprenticeship you learn how to cook dishes including meat, poultry, fish, salads, stocks, sauces, pastry and desserts that become more complex in style and ingredients as you progress.
THE APPRENTICE
Steve Foepua (18)
Soul Bar & Bistro second year apprentice chef
During sixth form I was doing a part- time kitchen job at Soul Bar when Judith asked me if I wanted an apprenticeship. It seemed a good opportunity because I like food and working in Soul Bar was fun.
Since then I've been learning a lot; watching and working with good chefs. I have become more confident and picked up my speed, which is really important.
One thing that surprised me is the maths. You have to know how to weigh ingredients. I hated maths at school but now it's okay because I need it.
As an apprentice I work through different sections of the kitchen so when I finish I will know all areas well. At the moment I'm working on pastry, which is real fun.
I have a verifier's book which the sous chef or head chef goes through and ticks things off once I've done them properly. The chefs give really good support. Like when I have to learn something Soul Bar doesn't normally make, the chefs get the ingredients so I can still do it. I also go to MIT where we do lots of practical cooking, come back here and practice, then go back to MIT and get assessed on it.
We do shift work which I don't mind except I miss playing rugby. Still, I want to do this apprenticeship.
THE EMPLOYER
Judith Tabron
Soul Bar & Bistro general manager/chef
Soul Bar has 10 to 12 chefs on a shift and two or three kitchen hands. We are training two chef and two front-of- house apprentices and intend to take on one more of each in 2008. I believe strongly in apprenticeships and think hotels and restaurants should be taking on more.
Apprenticeships mean commitment on both sides.
We're committing three years' training and in return we know they'll be around for three years - hopefully longer.
Apprenticeships are great for young people because they finish with three years' experience behind them and a higher earning capacity than full-time students in the polytechnic system where they don't get the same level of kitchen experience.
For employers, first year apprentices are hard work, but second year apprentices are good and by third year they are worth their weight in gold. We are always looking for chefs who can run a section without supervision.
We want people who are flexible because every day is different. You need an interest in food whether you show it through part-time work, cooking at home or a course.
You need to understand the importance of good customer service. In New Zealand we're too small to think, "Oh, it doesn't matter, there are more customers around the corner".
You must like people because hospitality is very diverse. We bulk up another 20 per cent over summer, including international staff on short- term contracts.
You also have to be able to work under pressure but I believe our apprentices cope because we give them the tools and support to do so.
Chefs have to work really hard in their first 10 years and then the world is their oyster.
