Wanted: Student chefs

Secondary school students are being wooed by New Zealand's Hospitality Standards Institute in a drive to promote the industry as a tantalising career option.

The initiative, named OASIS (Offering Assistance to Students in Schools) involves giving students hands-on experience.

Hotels and chefs will adopt schools, give students work-experience and hotel visits, facilitate school cooking and service skills-competitions and assess their skills.

HSI chief executive Ian Harding said students would get to see what it took to make it in the business. While young celebrities like Naked Chef Jamie Oliver could make the business look glamorous, hard work and dedication to learning the basic skills still came first, he said.

A fast-growing tourism industry was putting pressure on the hospitality industry and Harding said New Zealand had a lack of skilled staff.

A sustainable supply of enthusiastic new recruits was needed and the OASIS programme would be the best way to plan for it.