CAREER IN CATERING

CAREER IN CATERING
Basically a service oriented industry, Hotel Management and Catering Technology, is a study of managing the various departments of hotel in order to provide efficient, effective, chivalrous service to its guests. The Indian hospitality industry is growing at a rate of 15 percent annually. Many foreign companies have already tied up with prominent Indian companies for setting up new hotels, motels and holiday resorts. This has given an international glitz to the hospitality sector. Several international chains including Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Radission, Quality Inn, Ramada Inn, Meridian, Kempenski and Four Seasons Regent are entering or expanding their hotel net work in India. But both Indian as well as the international hospitality industry are also facing an extreme shortage of talented, competent, well trained and experienced management staff. Basically a service-oriented industry, Hotel Management and Catering Technology, is a study of managing the various departments of a hotel in order to provide efficient, effective, chivalrous service to its guests. Thus it is a field where human relations play an important role. Providing best comforts, the best of entertainment and giving its customers a homely atmosphere are some to the major activities that form the core of hotel management.

Various institutions through out India offer diploma/degree course in Hotel Management and Catering Technology. The course generally varies form 3 to 5 years. Regular practical training and evolution, on the job training and assessment, exposures to the latest in the world are some of the aspects that are covered under this course. It demands a pleading personality, effect communicative skills, confidence, courteous behavior and a good command over the language.

JOB PROSPECTUS
Lots of money spinning opening are there for hotel management graduates in various fields like Hotel & Restaurant management, Airline catering & Cabin Services, Club Management, Cruse Ship Hotel Management, Hospital Administration and catering, Hotel and Tourism Association’s, Institutional Management, Catering Department of railways, banks, armed forces, Shipping Companies, etc. Each department in a hotel has a number of positions that one can go for. With the growth of hotel and tourism industry, the demand for well-trained personnel in this field has hot up. Various areas of specializations in hotel management are food and bereavement managing. Food and beverages deal with the preparation of food and beverages. Front office management involves reception and hospitality, billing and organizing transport and communication requirement for the guest etc. Housekeeping ensures the comfortable stay of guest. Most of these are specialized functions and require precise training.

Besides working in hotel management diploma /degree holders have following areas to work in Health Center Management, Cruise Ship Hotel Management, Hospital Administration and Catering, Institutional and Industrial Catering, Airline Catering and Cabin Services, Manufactures and Suppliers of Hotel and Restaurant equipment and services, Hotel and Restaurant equipment and service, Hotel and Catering Institutes, Hotel and Tourism Associations, Catering Department in banks and insurance house, With government owned catering departments for expel railway, Armed Forces etc.

As the industry grow in terms of its economic importance so do the programmes that the do offer education for such a career. Inevitable, educational programmes need to reflect the changes in the global market and they need to be updated regularly so that student will gain insight of the industry while they are studying.

SPECIALISED COURSES:
Hotel Management students also purse specialized training courses offered by the Institutes of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition at Mumbai and New Delhi. The duration of course may be varying fro sex months to one year. The areas of specializations are food production management, nutrition/teaching hotel management, house keeping, travel and tourism, front office and tourism management, specialized hotel management.
The Taj Group of Hotels ( The Taj Mahal Hotel, 1 Mansigh Road, New Delhi-110011) conduct a Graduate Management Training Programme of 2 years in Hotel operations management, food preparation, strive, maintenance, interior design, engineering finance and marketing.
Oberoi School of Hotel Management, which has been recognized by the International Hotel Association in Paris, offers the following course in Hotel Operations and Management Training, Senior Kitchen Training and House Keeping Executive Training (Add: Iberoi Center of Learning and Development, 1, Sham Nath Marg, New Delhi-110054).
National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMC) instituted in 1982, is aimed at advising the Central Government in Hotel Management Training NCHMCT’s website: http://nchmct.org has a lot of institutes across the country affiliated to it.

WHERE TO STUDY CATERING
1. The Welcome Group Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Valley View, Manipal, Karnataka-576119
2. Kadandala Krishna Roa Memorial College of Hotel Management, Woodlands Hotel Complex, 5, Raja Rammahan Roy Road, Bangalore-560025.
3. Saptagiri College of Hotel Management, Kavoor, Mangalore-575015
4. Srinivas College of Hotel Management GHS Road, Mangalore-575001.
5. RN Shetty College of Hotel Management and Catering Nagar, Hubli-580029
6. Government Institute of Hotel Management & Catering at Dehradun and Almora
7. Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition, IHM&C House, H 239 Shastri Nagar, Meerut-250005.
8. Oriental School of Hotel Management, Kozhikode-6730034.
9. Merit Swiss Asian School of Hotel Management, 22, Havelock Road, Nilgiris, Ooty-643001.
10. Army Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, A.Sc. Centre, Bangalore-560007.
11. Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, GV Raja Road, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram-695527.
12. Naipunya Institute of Management & Computer Technology, Pongam, Korathy, Thrissur.