Careers Brief - Professional Culinary Arts FdA
Overview
For a competent and skilled chef there are excellent and varied prospects in the UK and abroad. For example, you could create a career path in kitchens leading to Head Chef or Chef Patron, running your own restaurant, or start as a Relief Chef Manager leading on to Contract Catering Manager in business or industry, or work as a Product Development Chef in a retail or manufacturing company.
To make a successful career in catering and the culinary arts, you will need a business awareness as well as excellent practical skills and creativity. You will need to be energetic and demonstrate skills in planning, timing, teamwork and managing people.
Hospitality is one of the fastest-growing, job-creating sectors, offering the opportunity of an international career with rapid progression to management level in restaurants, hotels, pubs, clubs, bars, contract catering, hospitality services within other organisations or self-employment.
Go to the website links below to find out more.
To consider a wider choice of careers (matched to your interests) use Prospects Planner and other tools listed in the Career Planning section of this Careers Guide.
Further Study
You may be able to apply for a top-up degree course. Top-up degrees are designed as a direct progression from Foundation degree to achieve an Ordinary or Honours degree, though entry may be selective.
Alternatively, you could transfer onto a related Honours degree. Entry point would depend on your grades, experience and overlap between courses but could be the final year.
Foundation graduates may apply for final year degree and Top-up degree courses at Bournemouth University. Go to http://onlineservices.bournemouth.ac.uk/courses/ for information on courses.
Other institutions offering related Top-ups include:
University of Brighton 'Food & Culinary Arts'; University of Derby 'Professional Culinary Arts'; Coleg Llandrillo Cymru 'Management of Culinary Arts'; Manchester Metropolitan University ‘Hospitality Management with Culinary Arts’;
Sheffield Hallam University 'Hospitality Business Management with Culinary Arts'; Westminster Kingsway College 'Culinary Arts & Business Management'
To search degree courses go to www.ucas.com/ (UCAS - Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK). Use the university/college links for course details.
You will need to use UCAS to apply for courses. Contact the Course Tutor of your chosen course to find out your position, before you make your formal application.
Find out how much this will cost you. Where is the funding coming from? Go to the university/college links for course costs and finance and to www.direct.gov.uk/uni/ for additional help with student support.
With a good Honours degree (First or 2.1), you may progress onto an appropriate higher level Masters and/or PhD doctorate. This could be to develop your area of study to a more in-depth practical and/or academic level or to gain other specialist training.
For information on postgraduate study and finance, go to the national online directory at www.prospects.ac.uk/study.htm .
Go to the main section Further Study of this Guide for more information and help.
Useful Links
Springboard inspiring careers in hospitality, leisure, and tourism
Click on sub-heading ‘Careerscope’
British Hospitality Association
www.instituteofhospitality.org/
The Institute of Hospitality - professional body for managers (and aspiring managers) working in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industries
Caterersearch online magazine
Big Hospitality online magazine
http://jobseekers.direct.gov.uk/
Careers database and links to jobs nationally. Search by either clicking on side-heading ‘Careers’ and choose a category or type in job title.
www.prospects.ac.uk/starting_out.htm
Graduate Prospects - national careers website for HE students studying in the UK:
Drop down sub-heading ‘Jobs’ and click on ‘Types of jobs’ for 'Hospitality and events management'
Drop down sub-heading ‘Jobs' and click on ‘What jobs would suit me?’ to use Prospects Planner
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/
Careers Advice Service - click on 'Catering services'
www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u/
Jobs4U Careers Database - click on sub-heading ‘Job Families & Articles’
Barzone - specialist job board for the licensed trade
Totaljobs Group for careers and jobs - go to sub-heading 'Advice'
UKSP - hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism
Check out the 'interactive Career Map' on 'Career Tools'
GTI publication for graduate jobs and careers intelligence - click on sub-heading 'Careers advice'
Career in Travel – information for Overseas Holiday Reps and Cabin Crew
Go to the Job Applications section of this Careers Guide for additional help and advice with making applications.
