Hotel Reception

Training

There are various training routes for people entering the industry.  Most younger people (16+) choose to go to a college of further education to gain a relevant qualification before starting their career, some train on a part-time basis attending college weekly, and others seek employment with a hotel offering in-house training.

Qualifications

The industry allows for employees to have a wide range of qualifications - not all hotel managers will have degrees, not all supervisors with have a GNVQ Advanced in Hospitality and Catering.

Most hotels will expect their receptionists to have a good general education comprising, at least, four or five GCSE's on leaving school.  After leaving school, any of the following qualifications would be useful for the aspiring receptionist:

National Vocational Qualifications

NVQs are available at different levels with Level 1 indicating the ability to perform basic or routine tasks whilst Level 3 denotes skilled work of a complex nature and the ability to undertake a supervisory role.

NVQs are based on workplace assessments, and when a course is held at a college, the assessments are carried out in conditions that closely match a workplace situation.  The qualifications are offered by a number of awarding bodies including City and Guilds.  There are no entry qualifications for NVQs, and you do not have to begin at Level 1 - general education, previous qualifications and experience may enable you to begin at a higher level.  The qualifications are recognised by many European countries as they are similar, using industry-based levels of competence.  This gives qualified people the opportunity to travel and work abroad - very useful in the travel and hospitality industry.  An NVQ in Catering and Hospitality would be a useful qualification for a prospective receptionist.

General National Vocational Qualifications

These are currently awarded at three levels - Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced.  They have been designed to provide a broad educational base leading to employment in the industry.  Qualifications are awarded by City & Guilds, BTEC and OCR.

GNVQ Advanced in Hospitality and Catering

Students need GCSE's at grades A-C or an Intermediate level GNVQ or equivalent.  The course is usually for two years and may include some links and work experience with relevant industries.  To complete this course, students need to pass eight mandatory units, four optional units and the three key skills of application of number, communication and information technology at level three.  Additional units are available to complement the course and are useful if the student wishes to move into higher education.  Of the eight mandatory units, the following are specifically for hospitality skills and front office operations:

• Investigating and providing customer care in hospitality and catering
• Accommodation operations
• Reception and front office operations in hospitality

Higher education courses such as the HND in Hotel and Catering or degree level courses are available to students who have achieved a GNVQ Advanced or 2/3 A levels.  At this level, graduates would be aiming for supervisory and managerial posts within a hotel.

Hotel, Catering and International Management Association

For those aspiring to management, this association has two programmes of study -

• Professional Certificate
• Professional Diploma