Hospitality and Catering
Meet the team
| Mrs E. Ruddock | Teacher of Hospitality and Catering |
What is Hospitality and Catering?
The hospitality and catering sector includes all businesses that provide food, beverages, and/or accommodation services. This includes restaurants, hotels, pubs and bars. It also includes airlines, tourist attractions, hospitals and sports venues; businesses where hospitality and catering is not their primary service but is increasingly important to their success.
According to the British Hospitality Association, hospitality and catering is Britain’s fourth largest industry and accounts for around 10% of the total workforce. Since 2010, over 25% of all new jobs have been within the hospitality and catering sector with the majority of new roles falling within the 18-24 age group.
The WJEC Level 1/2 Vocational Award in Hospitality and Catering has been designed to support learners in schools and colleges who want to learn about this vocational sector and the potential it can offer them for their careers or further study. It is most suitable as a foundation for further study.
How does the course break down?
There are two units in this course:
- Unit 1: The Hospitality and Catering Industry
Learners apply their learning by considering all aspects of the vocational sector. They should acquire knowledge of all aspects of the industry and be able to propose new hospitality and catering provision for specific locations. Learners will be able to use their learning of different types of establishment and job roles to determine the best option. They will then apply their learning in relation to front of house and kitchen operations to determine how the proposed hospitality and catering provision will operate efficiently legally and financially viably whilst meeting the needs of their potential market. This unit provides a broad introduction to the vocational sector in a way that is purposeful and develops a range of transferable skills.
- Unit 2: Hospitality and Catering in Action
Learners apply their learning to safely prepare, cook and present nutritional dishes. They will draw on their learning of different types of provision and kitchen and front of house operations in Unit 1, as well as personal safety in their preparations. The content is relevant not only to employees within food production, but also those with a responsibility for food safety in the industry, nutritionists and managers and owners. This extends the learners appreciation of the whole vocational area beyond the kitchen environment.
Both of the above units are mandatory.
How is the course assessed and what does it lead to?
The WJEC Level 1/2 Vocational Award in Hospitality and Catering is assessed using a combination of internal and external assessment. The external assessment is a 90-minute exam, sat in Year 11, and worth 40% of your final grade. The internal assessment is where learners plan, prepare, cook and present nutritional dishes and worth 60% of your final grade.
Further study would provide learners with the opportunity to develop a range of specialist and general skills that would support their progression to employment. Employment in hospitality and catering can range from waiting staff, receptionists and catering assistants to chefs, hotel and bar managers and food technologists in food manufacturing. All of these roles require further education and training either through apprenticeships or further and higher education.
