Careers Spotlight: Hospitality

The hospitality industry is worth around £60 billion a year to the UK economy and employs around 3 million people.  Jobs in hospitality and catering involve food, drink and hotels. Most also involve customer service.

As well as preparing and serving food and drink, there are jobs in planning, ordering and buying supplies. You could work in a small restaurant, a fast food outlet or a huge hospital kitchen. You might work for a catering company, covering events of all sizes in different venues. Hotels range from small B&Bs to huge 5-star establishments, or you could work at a holiday centre, campsite or on a cruise ship.

It's important to be flexible. When there are customers to serve, everyone needs to help out, which may mean doing things that aren’t usually part of your job. 

Boosting your CV

So what is a CV?  CV is short for Curriculum Vitae and is a short document which summarises your unique skills, character, experience and achievements.  

For students it can feel difficult to know what to write as you haven't had the time to build up the experience that employers always seem to want.

In this section we will look at ways of making your CV stand out for future employers so you can get that dream job.  So far we have looked at  ideas such as attending after school clubs and work experience placements.  This month we consider what many think of as the core of a CV, your academic achievements.

Make the most of your academic achievements:

Most people list their GCSE and A-level results, but very few make the effort to make their qualifications stand out. For example, if you’ve been highly commended for a particular project or assignment, why not mention it on your CV?

Although your CV should follow a set structure, you should also do what you can to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Think about the order you list your qualifications, putting the best qualifications or the ones that you want to draw attention at the top of the list is often a good idea.

The link below will help you put together your CV

National Careers Week 2022

7th to 12th March is National Careers Week 2022.  The aim of National Careers week is to help schools and colleges help their students with careers guidance.  With this in mind we will be running activities during form time to help students think about what they want out of their career and the variety of careers available to them.

To coincide with National Careers Week 2022, Michelle Donelan, Minister of State for Further and Higher Education, is writing to students and parents about the education, training and work choices available to young people after they finish their GCSEs and once they turn 18.

Open letter to students 

Open letter to parents, carers and guardians 

Useful information on a variety of careers can be found by clicking on the picture below.

Current Opportunities

This month there are opportunities to from Young Professional UK to get involved with the law firm Pinsent Masons, accountancy firm PwC and the international logistics firm Kuehne+Nagel Group.  We also have a link for a webinar about green jobs

Time to talk police careers, dogs, crime prevention and more ….. at Herts Police LIVE.

Come and meet your local neighbourhood team, one of our talented police dogs (and their equally talented handler!) and officers from specialist units at a special Hertfordshire Constabulary community engagement event in Hatfield.

Along with neighbourhood officers and a police sniffer dog, you’ll have a chance to chat to our Positive Action Recruitment team about policing careers, learn about crime scene investigation, roads policing and Police Cadets.

There will be children’s activities, fun giveaways, and crime prevention advice available from 10am to 4pm at the Galleria on Saturday 26 March.

Inspector Steve Alison explained: “After two years of very few chances to host community engagement events, we’re really looking forward to getting out and about more in the community.

“The Galleria event offers something for people of all ages. We want children and younger people to know that they can approach police officers for a reassuring chat, and we’re keen to talk about policing as a rewarding career opportunity.

“We can explain how volunteering as a Police Cadet is a chance to expand your skills for the future while improving your CV and the support available to people through our mentoring scheme.

“For older people, you can meet local Safer Neighbourhood Team officers and talk through any concerns, getting crime prevention advice and reassurance about our priorities.”

Young Professionals UK:

Law - Pinsent Masons 

On Wednesday 2nd March from 5:00pm - 6:00pm we’re hosting an exclusive insight event to world-renowned law firm, Pinsent Masons. This is their first ever exclusive event as they open their virtual doors to show us what it’s like working for their organisation. 

Pinsent Masons is a multinational law firm with over 1,500 lawyers operating from 27 locations throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

As part of the online insight event Pinsent Masons will be sharing with us more on their upcoming work experience programme open to 16-19 year olds from across the UK and Ireland.

Registration Link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Pinsent-Masons-Law

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Accountancy / Professional Services - PwC

PwC is now open for their Summer Virtual Insight Week which is designed for all Y12 / S5 students to take part in a series of online activities and webinars over the summer break. PwC is one of the largest accountancy and professional services firms in the world and they are opening up their doors for students to get an incredible insight into the work they do and how they can ultimately kick start their early careers at PwC. 

On Thursday 3rd March, 5pm - 6pm we will be holding an exclusive online webinar where students can find out more on PwC's Insight Week, how to apply and ask any questions they might have about applying. This opportunity is for all Y12 / S5 students.

Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J4C19c8QSn-slkhR0F1_7Q

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Careers in Business / Logistics - Kuehne+Nagel Group

On Wednesday 9th March from 5:00pm - 6:00pm, we’re hosting a virtual careers insight event with one of the world-renowned logistics companies, Kuehne+Nagel. 

With over 74,000 employees at 1,400 locations in over 100 countries and global revenues of $20 billion, the Kuehne+Nagel Group is one of the world’s leading logistics companies. They provide logistics services to virtually all key industry sectors including Aerospace, Automotive, High Tech, Drinks, Event and Hotel logistics, Forest Products, Marine logistics and Food services as well as Industry.

Come and learn more about the movement of goods from their source through all the various parties until they reach your Christmas Tree on Christmas Day. 

Some of their recent apprentices now work in senior management roles in New York City and Hong Kong. Find out more about the career paths within this huge exciting business. 

Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PxY3cPtUR4ymxLgrV0JKFA

Insights: Your Guide to Green Jobs.

We are delighted to share with you details for our next virtual careers event – Insights: Your Guide to Green Jobs.  This event will be held between 5.30pm and 7.00pm on Wednesday, March 16th 2022.  Please not that this date has moved from the original date of 2nd February.

This event has been designed to showcase the huge range of careers within the Green Sector in the region, and to celebrate and raise awareness of Global Recycling Day on 18th March. Our volunteers will be able to give you a real understanding about the environmental challenges that we face, and the solutions they are coming up with to tackle them. The volunteers, from a range of different industries, will give an excellent insight into their work and pathways. Here is a list of just some of the companies represented:

• Colorifix

• Mole Architects

• Oxwash

• Johnson Matthey

• Online Eco-gifting

• And more!

This virtual event is open to all students from Years 8 and above, as well as their parents / guardians, and has been designed to allow students to:

• Interact and connect with some of the region’s leading green sector employers

• Learn about pathways available to a career in the green sector, including apprenticeships and graduate opportunities

• Find out about different jobs and opportunities

We would be grateful if you would kindly share this information with parents and students. We have attached a flyer which you are welcome to share/print. We have had a really positive response from parents that have joined, so we are very keen to stress that they are just as welcome. In order to register a place, please click on the following link:  

https://bit.ly/FtFInsights7

It is important that parents/students visit the registration page and click ‘join event’. You will be asked to register with Hopin, which is free.