A hospitality training programme focused on major events is being introduced to ensure New Zealand has enough trained staff to provide top service to all those enjoying Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011) matches next year.

“We want to show that New Zealand can deliver great Rugby, great times and great hospitality to meet the high expectations of visitors and locals,” said Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI) CEO Steve Hanrahan at the March 11 launch of EventStarNZ©.

EventStarNZ© is New Zealand’s first specialist training programme to provide a certified training programme specific to the food service sector at major events. It has been developed by HSI and the RWC 2011 Hospitality Steering Group to prepare the industry for the Tournament and beyond.

Some 10,000 to 15,000 staff will be needed to serve the 1.7 million fans who are expected to attend 48 matches over 45 days in 13 stadia across New Zealand next year for RWC 2011 - the biggest hospitality event ever hosted here and one of the world’s top five sporting events.

“We were conscious that RWC 2011 would create an unprecedented demand for well trained service staff familiar with the requirements of a major event so we needed to respond to ensure the sector was match-fit by Tournament time.
“EventStarNZ© aims to make sure we have skilled food service staff delivering high standard hospitality during RWC 2011 and beyond that, to other large events hosted by New Zealand in the future.” EventStarNZ© will provide a range of intensive training courses across six modules, from half day to two days and will incorporate KiaOraMai – the customer service training programme launched last year.

Participants will be trained in a range of venue areas including hospitality, kitchen, retail and bar. Courses will be delivered via workplaces, polytechnics and institutes of technology from May. “It will mean graduates will be able to work with confidence and provide excellent service whether it’s for VIP boxes, pre-match dinners, corporate hospitality or retail areas,” said Steve Hanrahan.

The work was initiated by Tournament organiser Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd (RNZ 2011). RNZ 2011 CEO Martin Snedden said EventStarNZ© was another key part of the massive effort needed to get New Zealand ready in 2011.

“We need to get it right if we are to reap the tremendous economic benefits the Tournament will generate.

“RWC 2011 is expected to attract 60,000 overseas visitors and pump more than NZD 500 million into the New Zealand economy.

For more information, please visit www.hsi.co.nz/eventstarnz

NZSkillsConnect - www.nzskillsconnect.co.nz, - provides career seekers with the tools and industry information to manage their careers by outlining the main job roles, pathways and relevant training.

The site has been designed around an innovative and dynamic search tool – named the ‘Visual Mapper’. It illustrates specific job roles and their progression, while displaying a full range of careers across ten sectors within hospitality and in aviation and tourism.

Hospitality employers can advertise jobs, and for no charge at least in the short term through to April; an opportunity worth cashing in on while the offer is there. As well an employer can search for potential staff, as job seekers are listing their CVs on the site. Plus they can profile their businesses as workplaces that offer on-the-job training aligned to ATTTO and HSI qualifications and unit standards.

The Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI) and the Aviation, Tourism and Travel Training Organisation (ATTTO) have joined forces to develop and build the website. The website is a key part of their drive to attract, develop and retain skilled people in the workforce and increase productivity. Nearly one in ten New Zealanders work across these industries, making it a significant employer and contributor to the economy.

For more information about listing jobs or CVs, contact HSI on 04 8027887 and to explore the site visit  www.nzskillsconnect.co.nz

Over the last couple of years there have been a number of revisions of the unit standards within the Hospitality domains, across all levels, resulting in some confusion about the ‘correct’ version of resources.

When viewing the HSI website, you will sometimes notice a difference to the version of the unit standard on the NZQA site. This is because our HSI website will always list the version of the unit standard that we have resources available for. There is a delay from when new versions are published on the NZQA Framework to when resources for new versions are available from HSI because we cannot start creating resources until after the units are published. If you require a resource that is written to a different version of the unit standard, please contact
products@hsi.co.nz to investigate the development time and availability.

During 2009 HSI split the Hospitality Operations domain into four new domains: Hospitality – Generic; Hospitality – Gambling; Hospitality – Specific Skills; and Hospitality – Foundation skills. All the relevant units that were previously under Hospitality Operations or other domains have been moved into these four new domains, resulting in NZQA automatically rolling over the version number of all the moved unit standards, even if there has been no content change.

Note: This version roll over also occurs when a unit standard is tagged for expiry or deletion, even if there is no content change. Resources for all of the effected units will be created during 2010 please watch the HSI website for more information on availability.

The National Qualifications Framework on the NZQA website (www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework) has the most up to date version of each unit standard and qualification listed by domain, freely available for download and printing.

During 2009 we revised our LCQ resource to reflect changes made to the unit standards in the qualification (US 4646 v3 and US 16705 v6). As well as incorporating the content updates, the resulting Edition 3 COA workbooks look very different in terms of layout, particularly the Trainer handbook, so please ensure you get new Trainer books when ordering.

As part of the December 2009 changes to the Hospitality Operations domain, the unit standards in the LCQ were moved from the Food & Beverage domain to the Hospitality Operations – Specific Skills domain, consequently changing the version numbers as well.

We are currently creating the Edition 4 COA pack to reflect these further changes. The resource content will not change, so your Edition 3 Trainer books will be compatible with Edition 4, but the covers will now be purple instead of green for their new domain, and the unit standards will be US 4646 v7 and US 16705 v4.

If you have any feedback on the new layout content, or queries in regards to the resource, please send them to products@hsi.co.nz

A friendly reminder from the HSI Products team that during 2009 the following resources were re-written to reflect changes in the unit standards:

• All level 1 Hospitality Operations, Food & Beverage and Cookery resources
• All Level 2 Food & Beverage and Cookery resources
• LCQ COA
There are significant content and layout changes, so when ordering new resources, please remember to also update your Trainer Handbook and Power Point presentations to match the new Candidate Workbooks.

If you have any feedback on the new layout or content please email products@hsi.

HSI regularly maintains all the standards and qualifications in the Hospitality subfield of the National Qualifications Framework. This is done on a rolling basis over a planned five year cycle.
The following qualifications and standards are scheduled for review during 2010:

a) Qualifications
National Certificate in Hospitality (Accommodation Services) (Level 2)
National Certificate in Hospitality (Porter Services) (Level 2)
National Certificate in Hospitality (Front Office) (Level 3)
National Certificate in Hospitality (Hotel Reservations) (Level 4)
 

b) Unit standards
The following level 5 standards, in the domains of Hospitality Management and Cookery
16891 - 16895, 22031 - 22033, 22340, 22034 - 22038

For more information,
email qualifications@hsi.co.nz

 In the blockbuster 3D film Avatar, the hero battles incredible dangers in an alien world. Meanwhile, here in our world, a real danger is always in our midst – the possibility of being poisoned by what we eat. The food we put in our mouth can make us ill. While being educated about routine food safety is important for the home cook, it is essential for those preparing guest food in the kitchens of New Zealand’s many cafès, restaurants, hotels and more.

Just released on DVD, targeted at the professional food handler audience, is The Kitchen, an interactive short film, that delivers basic food safety techniques in a time and cost-effective way to your computer screen. In the two hours it will take you to watch the ‘movie’ (with intervals when you choose) and complete the course, you will learn from The Kitchen’s avatar as he is shown how to handle food hygienically, keep the workplace clean, maintain personal hygiene, and to monitor and control food safety.

The theory is backed up with practical experience with several exercises that the viewer can complete online. The Kitchen’s virtual actors are supported by real people with real skills who will give answers to your questions within 24 hours. Completing The Kitchen will give food handlers clear understanding of their responsibilities while working in a commercial kitchen and help them to gain the necessary credentials for the real position of preparing food for guests.

The Kitchen was made by Otago Polytechnic in collaboration with HSI and Intuto.

To buy a copy, and for more information, please contact products@hsi.co.nz

9 Business Facts all Staff Should Know
By Ken Burgin, from the Profitable Hospitality newsletter.

They probably weren’t taught this at school or in their last job. Without guidance, they’ll make up their own reasons to explain your insistence on efficiency or extra sales effort...and they may not get it right. Regular briefing on business fundamentals can grow them into real ‘business partners’ - there are huge benefits if you take the time. Start with these:

• Profit = Sales minus Expenses. If expenses are higher than sales, we can only stay open as long as someone finds extra cash to make up the difference. If it runs out, the business will close.

• There are 2 types of Expense: Fixed and Variable. The ingredients for making a pizza or cocktail are variable costs - mostly raw materials and labour. Rent and insurance are examples of fixed costs. The profit made on the pizza or cocktail first have to pay for the Fixed Costs.

• Food and Liquor Stock is just like Cash. Most businesses keep a week’s supply of food in stock, and several weeks of liquor. More than this and the boss should be getting worried - it’s easy to be overstocked.

• Boosting Sales is usually more profitable than Cutting Costs. But most people find it easier to cut rather than grow, so it needs smart leadership to handle them both. When you find someone who loves to sell, look after them!

• There are only 100 cents in a Dollar. Take 100 coins and ask staff to divide them up for rent, wages and all the other business expenses. What did they get wrong - any surprises?

• Staff is usually the biggest expense in hospitality. That’s why the boss watches the roster closely, and why productivity is so important. And why wage rises are a challenge, unless there’s a matching rise in productivity.

• Extras or ‘On-costs’ add 30% or more to the total cost of staff. Examples are workers compensation, leave, uniforms, training and staff meals. For every $100 per week you’re paid, add at least another $30.

• New equipment is paid for by profits. There’s nowhere else to get the money, unless we borrow it (then it has to be repaid). The best equipment has a fast ‘return on investment’ - it pays for itself quickly by saving labour and ingredients, or creating more sales.

• The cost of small items can be surprisingly high. Work out the exact cost of a strawberry, an olive, a scoop of ground coffee, a teaspoon or a napkin. How many are lost or wasted each week?
 

www.profitablehospitality.com

Hard on the heels of being named the world’s third greatest accommodation property by Reader’s Choice 2009 Top 100, Glenorchy’s Blanket Bay was recently ranked as the second-highest scoring hotel in Asia, Australia and Pacific nations by Conde Naste Traveler’s 200 Gold List.

The January 2010 edition of the magazine featured in depth ratings of the world’s best places to stay and Blanket Bay received perfect scores of 100 out of 100 in three categories; rooms, service and location.

source: Tourism Business Magazine
www.tourismbusinessmag.co.nz

To get a taste of the new “dish” on the HSI training menu, HSI CEO Steve Hanrahan, together with National Clients Manager Kath Williams, National Operations Manager Kate Flower, Regional Managers Grant Radovanovich and Mike Hull and all of HSI’s Training Advisors enrolled in the Kia Ora Mai Programme.

As HSI is a major supporter of this customer service programme, Steve Hanrahan decided that to sell the value of Kia Ora Mai to the hospitality industry, he and key staff should “walk the talk” and buy into the programme by being trained themselves.

“The first workshop was a positive day for us all, with a practical set of core skills presented that will really enhance customer service ability. You would expect to say that, as we are partners in this, but now I can recommend it from first-hand experience.”

All of HSI’s Training Advisors can give you ‘insider information’ on how the Kia Ora Mai programme will benefit your business. Contact your local TA, or email info@hsi.co.nz for more details.

Website: www.kiaoramai.co.nz

Laurent Loudeac, executive chef at Wellington’s Hippopotamus Restaurant, was named the Supreme Winner of the 2009 Kapiti Chef Collection after serving his unique dish using Kapiti’s Kikorangi cheese at an exclusive dinner attended by illustrious New Zealanders.

Eight chef finalists from around New Zealand presented their inspirational dishes to a table of equally unique New Zealanders including poet Sam Hunt, actress Robyn Malcolm, broadcaster Paul Holmes, author Emily Perkins, actors Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Michael Hurst, winemaker Rod McDonald and former All Black Josh Kronfeld.

The Kapiti Collection challenged more than 100 chefs from Cape Reinga to the Bluff to create a dish that celebrates the contribution Kapiti has made to our dining scene. The creations had to be New Zealand originals, hero Kapiti Cheese and use local products. Run in conjunction with Cuisine magazine, notable food expert Kerry Tyack convened a judging team of renowned chefs and food writers to assess the creations from around the country.

Laurent Loudeac’s creation was Kikorangi tortellini on creamed leek, micro salad and crispy parma ham shaving.

Story sourced from www.nzchefs.org.nz

Dates and venues are now confirmed for HSI's Regional Workshops.

Click here for more information

Entries are invited for the 2010 HSI Awards and winners will be announced at the HSI Awards Dinner on Monday 14th June at Langham Hotel, Auckland. Entry criteria and more information is detailed on the website.

Click here for more information

We are gearing up for our HSI NZJHC competitions in 2010 in association with Southern Hospitality Ltd and NZ Chefs Association. All the information that you need to know is now available and registrations are now open.

Click here for more information

HSI Quality Assurance Forums are scheduled for April and May and run for approximately 3 hours.

Click here for more information

13 - 15 June 2010
ASB Showgrounds, Auckland

Fine Food New Zealand is a partnership between the organisers of two of Australasia’s leading food events, Diversified Exhibitions Australia (Fine Food) and North Port Events, (The Food Show). Fine Food New Zealand will be the best targeted trade opportunity of the year for businesses wishing to connect face to face with thousands of potential customers across the retail, food service and hospitality industries. HSI will be there with an industry-relevant seminar programme on Monday 14th June 2010.

For more information visit www.finefoodnz.co.nz