'Ethnic catering industry is an asset' say ministers
The ethnic catering industry is an asset to the UK economy and urgent action must be taken to secure its future, skills secretary John Denham has said.
At a summit with employers and training providers Mr Denham made a commitment to supporting the Asian and Oriental catering industry in developing a supply of highly skilled chefs to help it thrive, and led the development of a joint action plan that will be reviewed after six months.
The meeting was called to agree how industry and Government can work together to engage and develop talent from the UK into the ethnic catering sector to tackle skills shortages, gradually moving away from the reliance on recruiting trained chefs from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
Delegates and ministers discussed the impact of immigration rule changes, the economic downturn and the barriers to recruiting UK based curry chefs: whether they would be perceived as 'authentic'; that English is often not used as a first language in the kitchens; and the fact that the hospitality sector currently has low appeal as a career choice.
Mr Denham said that Government and industry needed to find a raft of solutions to tackle the various obstacles in recruiting and retaining skilled curry chefs.
He said: "There is no such thing as a simple skills shortage – the issue is far more complex and wide-ranging than that, and to move forward we need to tackle all of the barriers, no matter how deep-rooted. The summit has proved that we all want to make progress – that is, to be able to recruit locally, offer attractive career opportunities and have structured entry routes into the profession."
Delegates have agreed to attend a follow-up meeting in six months' time to review progress in three main areas:
- How best to market the industry - to tackle reputation issues and to encourage young people, their parents, and others looking for a new challenge to recognise the potential of a career in ethnic cuisine.
- Hold further discussions on how the industry itself needs to evolve to thrive and succeed, now and in the future – to identify industry leaders and support them in implementing change.
- Consider how the current skills and qualifications framework could be adapted to be more relevant and targeted to the sector – including apprenticeships, Group Training Associations to help SMEs provide training, looking at the role of Colleges and specialist centres, and the National Skills Academy for Hospitality.
Denis Wong, Managing Director of Chinese Catering Solutions, said: "Through hard work, thrift and a highly skilled workforce, the UK oriental catering sector has achieved great success in recent years. It now faces considerable challenges in sustaining that success within a new business environment in which recruitment from outside of the EEA is restricted. The Summit has made the first steps towards meeting those challenges, with some positive suggestions on the way forwards."
Cyrus Todiwala, Executive Chef and Patron of Café Spice Namaste in London, said: "For the very first time I feel confident that the right people in politics are listening to the industry at large. I hope a concrete action plan will now follow, which will eventually result in the Hospitality Industry resolving our endemic problems related to finding the right skills at home, and that we may be able to nurture and develop future skills from within British home-grown talent - something that in the long term will benefit the entire nation. The Asian & Oriental sector needs all the help it can get to address these issues, and I feel assured this is likely to happen now."
The summit was held on Thursday 2 April in London.
The Asian and Oriental catering industry is worth around £4 billion a year to the UK economy and offers jobs to approximately 100,000 people.
Words: Clare Riley
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