There is a constant need for hospitality industry training. Many training institutions offer a wide variety of courses from short, safe food handling courses to advanced diplomas in hospitality management.
If you an experienced hospitality professional and are passionate about your work, becoming a hospitality teacher might be the next stage in your career.
Have you ever dreamed about passing on your skills, knowledge and experience to young people who are keen to make hospitality their career?
Do you know what it takes to become a good hospitality worker?
Do you have a vision of a future hospitality industry which employs workers who maintain only the highest standards of goods and services?
You can make a positive difference in the hospitality industry by becoming a hospitality instructor and pass on your professional skills, knowledge and experience to those entering the industry.
There is a need for people like you in the country’s hospitality industry training institutions. You don’t need to be Jamie Oliver, and certainly not Gordon Ramsey, to teach any aspect of hospitality, but you do need to be enthusiastic and be able to pass on this enthusiasm to your students.
You will need excellent command of all aspects of your profession, in theory and practice, and excellent communication skills.
Patience and a positive attitude is a must, but more important, you must be passionate about maintaining the highest standards in every aspect of the job, and be able to pass that on to your students.
There are different ways to get certified as an instructor, depending on the sector and training organization that you will be teaching in. Some require some level of teaching qualification, others will assess your experience in the field and your attitude towards teaching. If you have what it takes to be a successful instructor, you will be advised on the training courses available – either on campus or by correspondence.
Other requirements: Most hospitality industry training institutions strive to train students who can perform to international standards. Therefore, some courses in the hospitality industry require international experience from their teachers.
To maintain and be able to underline the importance of top quality standards and service, you will need experience in 4-star or higher establishments.
You will need to be self motivated and have the ability to motivate others.
Keeping up with the latest in the industry: to train hospitality staff, you need to be up-to-date with recent trends and developments in the industry. Be it the latest trends in the food & beverage sector, or the newest version of software for front-desk receptionists. You can do this by combining part-time work and teaching, or just educating yourself by keeping in touch with the industry through reading and personal contacts. In any case, you will always be in the frontline of developments in the hospitality industry, making sure the graduates you train will be transformed from unskilled novices into confident professionals who are ready to take on any job offered to them.
Teaching is a very satisfying job. It requires a lot of patience, commitment and dedication. But you will be rewarded by seeing your students acquire the skills that will lead them into the world of hospitality service. You will be taking part in shaping the future of the industry, knowing that your students will, upon graduating, be taking the first steps in an exciting career, with global opportunities.
Like every other career in the hospitality industry, a training instructor has many opportunities for personal development and diversification. You can gain certification as an instructor in higher level courses, be involved in developing educational curriculum and apprenticeship programs, or manage the job placement unit – interacting with workplaces to assist graduates in finding work.
If you feel you have something to give to the next generation of industry professionals, and have what it takes to become a teacher, consider this exciting and rewarding career as a hospitality industry training instructor.