We all know that the way to get ahead in your career is to develop skills. This is especially the case in the hospitality jobs. Whether it's training in a new style of cooking, health and safety training in your bar, training in an aspect of accounting, customer service, management, or something else, it can all help you to take the next step up to more responsibility, authority and pay.
The problem is that sometimes employers can be reluctant to provide this type of training. It can be expensive after all, and in these many organisations are still cutting back on non-essential spending.
So, what do you do? You should first remind your employers that training is in fact essential spending. You’d be right, after all! You could look for a new job, which offers move more prospects to further your training. If you need extra skills however, to impress those employers, you'll need to get a bit inventive, but don’t give up. And if you're not working at the moment, it's a fantastic opportunity to beef up your CV.
Resolve instead to take matters into your own hands. Get out there and train yourself. There are plenty of places you can go to get free, or inexpensive, training. In fact, here are four online courses you can take straightaway that will give you skills in four essential areas. It will take around 20 hours to complete, so do an hour a day every weekday for a month. And they're all under fifty quid, too!
1. Time Management
Wasted time costs British businesses £80 billion per year. Learndirect's online course, which costs just £39.99, and takes two and a half hours, will give you a three-step process for prioritising your daily workload, making the right decisions about what to do and what to postpone, and so vastly improving your productivity. You can get it it here: http://www1.learndirect-business.com
2. Food Hygiene & Safety Certificate
Food hygiene and safety is a high priority in almost every hospitality environment, so you will do your chances of career progression no harm at all by brushing up your skills in this area. This online course, which costs just £25 plus VAT and takes two hours matches all UK and EU legal requirements, and following completion you will be issued with a certificate. You can get it it here: http://www.food-certificate.co.uk
3. Excel Spreadsheets
You know how whenever you see your manager all he or she seems to be doing is staring a spreadsheet on a computer screen? Well, in preparation for your move into management maybe it’s time you learnt to use that mystifying but essential piece of computer software. For £49.99 you can get Learndirect’s Excel 2007 Introductory and Intermediate courses. These take eight hours to complete, but by the end you will be able to how perform complex calculations, create and work with larger spreadsheets, use charts to highlight trends and even publish your data on the web. You can get it here: http://www1.learndirect-business.com
4. Management skills
Management skills training consultancy MTD charges many hundreds of pounds for its full training courses, but you can get a taster – and some useful tips on how to manage people and projects – by signing up to its free email course. MTD will email you the course in five stages, and you complete them in your own time and at your own pace. Sign up here: http://www.m-t-d.co.uk/freecourse.htm
Related articles:
- What's better, exams or experience?
- Scholarships in hospitality jobs
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