Today, many young people are worried about their future. In particular, they are worried about finding a job when they leave school. As a result, students are increasingly seeking career advice at an early stage, and many are being advised to look at the hospitality industry. The reason for this is that it is an industry, which many predict there will be growing demand for. This means that there should always be plenty of work for those with the right training and experience.
The State of the Catering Industry since the Recession
Since the recession, the industry has naturally undergone some change. People have less money to spend than they once did on leisure and are therefore taking fewer holidays and spending less on meals out.
However, that does not mean that they are not eating out at all. They are still doing so, but rather than go out for an evening meal there are choosing to go out for a lower cost lunch, brunch or breakfast.
There is also increasing demand for street food. For a time demand for takeaways dropped off, but many companies responded by offering low-cost alternatives as well as their regular fare. Those firms that have taken this approach have seen the business flourish rather than struggle.
The same is true of large-scale catering. At first demand fell away as people struggled to make ends meet and stopped holding catering events for thinks like their anniversaries. However, as the catering industry adapted and offered a broader spectrum of foods, including budget options, people have slowly but surely return to holding catered parties.
The Future
Given that the UK’s population is continuing to grow and that people are leading increasingly busy lives, they are still looking for the opportunity to eat out. There is also growth coming from the tourist industry and businesses who want to entertain clients. People will continue to look for value for money, but there will definitely be more demand for caterers in the future, so the industry will need a new wave of well-trained workers. As a result, many young people are being encouraged to enter the industry.
If you are interested in hostitality recruitment the caterer.com website is a great resource. There you can look at the kind of work available and find a job once you are qualified.