What’s it really like working in hospitality?
Last week we hosted students from Tewkesbury School who came to look around and learn more about careers in hospitality. They spoke to various members of our team and we showed them tall the facilities and departments of the hotel. When asked about their career aspirations and interests the most popular vocation turned out to be a chef.
We’ve many different people and roles here so we thought now seems like a great time to chat with them and get their take on working in hospitality. Who better than 4 of our current and recently graduated apprentices who joined us from school.
Introducing Toby, Elliot, Sydney, and Amber…
Toby – I joined mid-way through my plumbing apprenticeship and have been here a year now. I’ve now completed my apprenticeship and work full time here at Tewkesbury Park. Eventually I want to own my own business but I’m keen to learn as much as possible.
The people here are like my extended family and I really enjoy the good friendships I’ve built over the last year. I’m well supported by my manager and receive a lot of on-the-job training. When I started I didn’t know that working in a hotel was a possibility. I’d assumed that it was mostly for waiters, chefs and housekeepers.
I didn’t know how many skilled people it requires to run a hotel. It’s definitely opened my eyes up to the industry and the opportunities it provides.
Elliott – When I was an apprentice I worked 4 days a week and went to college once a week.
I’ve completed two apprenticeship courses now. The first was in Plumbing and the second was in Multi-trade. I’ve now been at Tewkesbury Park for 4 years and no two days have been the same. I love the variation in the role, it ‘s one of my favourite things about my job.
Working in maintenance you have to be prepared for anything. We’ve had floods, power outages, and water shortages but I think the day I laid a new lawn and then the next day a car drove over it and it was damaged – that was a challenging day and a story I still tell people.
I am working towards being a Maintenance Manager so the more experience I can get, the better.
Sydney – I only started a few weeks ago so it’s all still a little new. I work 3 days a week and am then at college for 1 day.
It’s been great so far, the other day I learned to do a peel-off face mask – it was so satisfying. Gradually as I learn new skills, I can give treatments on my own. My apprenticeship is in Spa Therapy so I’m learning a wide range of treatments.
Massages are challenging because I didn’t realise how tiring they would be. I think it’s really important to practise, even outside of work. There’s so much to learn, especially when it comes to product knowledge.
Amber – I joined around 7 months ago and have been really enjoying my time so far. My apprenticeship is in Professional Cookery, I study on the job and get set time during my week to work on my course-work. While I don’t really like the course-work that much, the great thing is I get to work with amazing chefs each day.
I recently created a chicken dish as part of my studies and I worked closely with our Head Chef, that was great because he’s really busy, but he took time out to help me develop the dish.
I would like to specialise as a pastry chef, but for now, I’m happy to learn as much as I can. For anyone thinking about becoming a chef, if it’s what you love – just go for it.
It might be a challenge and some days will be hard, but it is definitely worth it!
As part of our latest project, we collaborated with students from our local school to design a board focused around careers in hospitality. Here’s our round up: