Jobs range from catering supervisors sourcing food, to chefs preparing food, waiting and bar staff serving food and drink, tourist information centre assistant, front office customer service for assisting guests and housekeeping behind the scenes. There are also managers for all these operations.
Workers in the industry are often at their busiest during evenings, weekends and public holidays, and many can expect long, irregular hours and shift and weekend working. A number of jobs are affected by seasonal variations.
However this may be compensated by the greater flexibility which shift-working can provide. Some people work in clean, comfortable surroundings, but kitchen environments can be hot, humid and noisy. Staff may be on their feet for long periods.
Many jobs offer the opportunity for promotion to supervisory or managerial levels. There are plenty of opportunities to work abroad and in some jobs it is possible to become self-employed.
Most jobs involve dealing with the public, so staff must be friendly and polite and, most importantly, enjoy giving good customer service. They should have stamina and be able to work well in a team. Staff at management level also need good organisational and problem-solving skills.
Visit the jobs4u Careers Database to find job profiles on a wide range of tourism and hospitality jobs, and information on possible career progression within the sectors:
Catering & Hospitality Careers
Leisure, Sport & Tourism Careers
Local companies advertise positions in the job section of 'The News', at the JobCentre Plus and on a variety of tourism and hospitality websites.
To find current positions search the following websites:
