Skip to Content

Career in Hospitality

 

Opening doors

We can help you turn a job in hospitality into a career. You’ll gain qualifications that will set you up for life. And best of all, most of our training is completed on the job, so you’ll earn while you learn.

  • New Zealand’s large and vibrant hospitality industry employs around 126,000 people. That’s nearly seven per cent of the workforce, working in more than 18,000 businesses around the country, so a career in hospitality is possible across a wide variety of workplaces.
  •  The hospitality industry includes cafés, bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants, through to hotels, motels, backpackers, hostels, holiday parks, lodges, resorts, and halls of residence. Food service, traditionally called catering, whether in hospitals, residential care, prisons, schools and universities, offices, airports, factories, or stadium and event catering is another part of the mix. Quick service restaurants, often called fast-food outlets, and clubs - sport and recreation clubs, social clubs, working men’s clubs, cosmopolitan clubs–  are two other parts that make up  this multi-faceted industry.
  •  Hospitality is very much a people business, so good social and communication skills are key; employers are looking for personality and enthusiasm too. Experience is not always essential if these attributes are shown.  A can-do, positive attitude is very important, and is always a good base to build hospitality - specific skills on. Skills learnt in hospitality - working with people, teamwork, sales and problem solving - are the foundation skills for any successful career.
  • There are many career pathways and opportunities in the New Zealand hospitality industry - from baristas to chefs, waiters, bartenders and maitre d’s, and from housekeepers to supervisors, front-line managers and more. Skill training is available for all these roles, either on the job with an employer, so you can earn while you earn, or through training providers like Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics. 
  • There are short sharp up-skill programmes available that meet specific needs, such as customer service and food safety, through to nationally recognised qualifications such Modern Apprenticeship programmes, National Certificate and National Diploma traineeships.

 


Modern Apprenticeships





National Qualifications in Hospitality