Asian and Oriental Centres of Excellence

Changes in immigration law and a nationwide shortage of chefs have had an impact on ethnic restaurant businesses, especially in large towns and colleges. Whilst hundreds of colleges deliver chef courses, very few offer ethnic chef programmes.

People 1st worked with employers to introduce a new apprenticeship in Thai, Indian, Chinese and Bangladeshi cuisine. Now, under the auspices of the Hospitality Guild, five centres of excellence for Asian and Oriental cuisine will be established to deliver chef programmes using existing colleges and training providers.

The centres will select people onto a pre-employment programme. On completion of this programme, candidates will be interviewed by employers and successful applicants offered apprenticeships. This approach to addressing skills shortage will be used as a pilot model with plans to roll out similar centres in other occupations.