A program to encourage high school students to choose commercial cookery and hospitality as a career has launched at Mount Lawley Senior High School.
Developed by Hospitality Group Training and FutureNow, with State Government funding through Tourism Western Australia, the program gives school students realistic information about careers in commercial cookery and hospitality, using chef ambassadors as advocates.
It will also deliver a pilot mentoring program for a select group of apprentice chefs in the first six months of their career, to assist in improving retention rates.
Stage one of the program includes 52 visits to metropolitan schools and four visits to South-West schools with chef ambassadors, as well as three master classes with ‘celebrity’ chefs.
Stage two involves the delivery of a mentoring program aimed at reducing the high drop-out rate among apprentice chefs, which is currently sitting at 50 per cent in the first six months.
This will include establishing a telephone hotline, mentoring for 50 apprentices, collecting information from participants, and a proposal to develop an ongoing mentoring program for hospitality apprentices.