Cork college offers training in hospitality - an industry that’s under pressure

THE conversation surrounding the crisis in Ireland’s hospitality industry is dominated by a narrative cloaked in despair.

“There are no chefs, and no-one wants to work in the industry” is the de rigueur point of view.

Undoubtedly, this reflects reality, but it hardly stokes the fire in anyone considering a hospitality career. The narrative must change for there to be hope of setting a new course. It’s already happening in Cork, at a training centre providing qualifications and experience that works for both students and employers.

Cork College of Further Education Westside Hospitality Centre is where this bright beacon of positivity can be found. The centre works hard to change negative perceptions of careers in hospitality in an environment that is supportive and encouraging. The mantra here promises all who pass through its doors a pathway to learning and a rewarding career.

The centre is located on the Model Farm Road, part of the wider Cork Education Training Board and a satellite training centre of the college’s Bishopstown Campus.

Established in 2019, the centre has built up a repertoire of professional training programmes with internationally recognised qualifications, highly experienced and enthusiastic instructors, links with other training centres and campuses in the college, and successfully completing courses and apprenticeships with thousands of students.

The centre is the first FET to offer courses for both Adult and Post Leaving Certificate training provision for the hospitality sector in Ireland, with programmes delivered by the college’s Bishopstown and Morrison’s Island campuses.

Training programmes in kitchen, restaurant, bar, barista and accommodation skills are delivered at the training centre year-round and boasts state of the art facilities, including two professional kitchens fitted out to the highest standard, restaurant, barista suite, fully equipped bar and classrooms.

There is even a mock hotel room, complete with en suite bedrooms, and facilities for learning professional linen laundry, flower and gift arranging, ensuring students are abreast with best practice and standards expected in the modern hospitality service.

Anne-Marie O’Keeffe is Assistant Training Manager at Westfield Training Centre and explains each programme covers theory and practical aspects of learning underpinned by international recognised professional qualifications, equipping students with all they need for their hospitality career.

The centre is home to the National Commis Chef Apprenticeship, a two-year programme of learning undertaken by students with the support of their employer. 

Students are taught by instructors Yeohan Cunningham and Justin Ryan two days per week at the centre and return to their workplace three days a week. It’s a chance for students to earn as they learn and immediately use what they learn where they work.

The Commis Chef Apprenticeship is a QQI Level 6 qualification, and, as Justin Ryan says, for those who want to go further, completing the course is a gateway to going on and gaining culinary arts qualifications to level nine, (Masters equivalent), opening career paths from Chef de Partie (level 7) to Sous Chef (level 8) and Executive Head Chef (level 9).

Yeohan says the apprenticeship isn’t just about forging chef careers for students. The learning remit is broad, incorporating business, entrepreneurship, menu planning, product development, mentorship and health and safety skills in addition to how to be a chef.

Ger O’Callaghan is the lead instructor for the centre’s National Craft Butchery Apprenticeship, a QQI Level 5 qualification, and the only one in the Munster region. His background is as a master butcher, and in 2022 he represented Ireland in Sacramento, USA, at the World Butchers’ Challenge, winning an award for the best pork sausage in the world.

“We teach students about the abattoir, carcass selection, cutting and boning to get the most from the carcass and limit waste, different cuts for retail and hospitality. We teach them about curing, making bacon, sausages and puddings, and how to innovate for value added products,” Ger says.

Westside Hospitality Centre works in conjunction with Ó Crualaoí, Ballincollig, teaching skills such as sausage making, and Ger works with Yeohan and Justin on the Commis Chef Apprenticeship, too.

“When we get in a whole carcass, we work together across the programmes to use everything,” Ger explains, illustrating why prime cuts like steaks are not only expensive, but wasteful if the yield from the whole animal isn’t considered. With sustainability an important focus in the apprenticeships, teaching students to be aware of food waste and how to use and reduce at every interaction with food, not only feeds creativity for budding chefs, but also for future butchers.

The National Commis Chef and Craft Butchery Apprenticeships are carried out exclusively in conjunction with industry and employers. A varied programme of certified courses in patisserie, restaurant skills and the successful regional West Cork Chef Academy is open to students already working in hospitality looking for training or upskilling.

Courses offering City & Guilds in Professional Bartending and City & Guilds International Award in Barista Skills are open to anyone over the age of 18 and 16 respectively, either in the industry or just eager to learn a new skill.

John Tynan leads the three-week course on professional bartending, and says he loves opening students; eyes to the world of drinks by delving into history and origins to add something extra to their learning.

Students learn how to pour the perfect pint and mix a delicious cocktail, but they’ll also learn about the social aspects of bartending, including appreciation – the difference between budget and premium spirits, and practical skills such as cleaning lines or bar supervision.

“It helps to broaden students’ horizons about what their future employment could be,” says John, who teaches interested individuals and seasoned professionals alike.

Corporate clients can be catered for, too, with training courses delivered to a schedule that works for the business.

In the barista training suite, Michael O’Shea teaches a three-day intensive course to students from all walks of life and ages.

“We go through the history of coffee, it’s journey from farm to cup, how to make different beverages, customer service and equipment management and maintenance.”

In the final exam, students must make seven drinks in 16 minutes. It’s a tall order, achievable but designed to mimic the time management required in a real-life barista environment. Another attractive feature for undertaking the barista course is the internationally recognised qualification.

“I like to say the barista course provides students with the Two C’s: Competence and Confidence,” Michael says. “If you want to go to Australia and work as a barista, you must have this qualification.”

That exemplifies what Westfield Hospitality Centre is all about: it’s here to address the staff shortages in the domestic hospitality industry and upskill those already working in it, but also to expand horizons.

Course completed and certificate in hand, anyone can work anywhere in the world as a chef, professional bartender or barista.

Despite opening in 2019, I hadn’t heard of Westside Hospitality Centre until recently. This exceptional facility and its inspiring instructors have quietly built their offering and are now ready to accelerate growth.

“We’ve successfully put students through all the programmes, learned what needed to be tweaked or improved, and now we feel that we’re in the place where we should be, telling more people about what we do here,” Anne-Marie O’Keeffe says.

“When it comes to working with businesses and employers, because all of our programmes are funded by SOLAS [an agency of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science] most of the time when we work out what the cost to the employer will be to send a student here, it’s either zero cost or minimal cost to them.”

Calculating cost to release students to the centre for college days alongside the earn-as-you-learn element of the apprenticeships, for example, may mean students and employers are accessing training, upskilling and high-level qualifications for themselves and their staff at a value of thousands of euros for almost nothing.

Right now, spending on staff training may seem like an unaffordable luxury for employers, yet training will always yield benefits for individuals and businesses.

Knowing quality training is available in Cork, well-funded, with great supports for students that need it, and qualifications that work, while acting as a beacon for positive change in an industry under pressure, can only be a good thing.

For course information, visit www.bishopstowncampus.ie/westside-hospitality-training-facility-2/ or Instagram @corkcollege_bishopstowncampus