The industry employs around two million people in half a million restaurants, cafes and catering outlets across the UK.

From hotdog stands to elite hotel restaurants, there are jobs on offer to suit all levels, whether it’s junior chefs and kitchen staff or waiters, senior managers and company directors.

And the even better news is industry experts predict 660,000 new workers will be needed in the next five years to support the existing workforce.

 

THE PAY

• Trainee (commis) chef: £13,000- £15,000 per year
• Section chef (chef de partie): £14,000-£18,000
• Second chef (sous chef): £17,000-£23,000
• Head chef (chefs de cuisine): £25,000-£35,000
• Executive head chef: £40,000-£50,000-plus

 

THE JOBS

At fish4jobs.co.uk there are 1,170 catering jobs and 307 chef roles including a catering supervisor in Leeds (£14,904 to £16,967), a gastro pub sous chef in Northop in Flintshire (£20,000 to £23,000) and a bank catering assistant in Haywards Heath in West Sussex (£7.32 per hour).

We found 16,289 chefs and 2,566 general catering roles at gov.uk/jobsearch ranging from a catering aide in Sheffield (£8.30 per hour) and a team leader in Telford in Shropshire (£7) to a chef in Coventry (£7 to £9) and a pizza chef in Bishopton, Renfrewshire (£7.50 to £8).

Another place to search is caterer.com, which has 15,513 jobs including a restaurant managership in Abingdon, Oxfordshire (£25,000) and a chef de partie in Lancashire (£17,000).

At hospitalityguild.co.uk we spotted 4,183 opportunities such as a grill chef in London (competitive) and kitchen manager (competitive) in Scarborough.

Incatering (incatering.co.uk) has 755 jobs including head chef in Dorchester in Dorset (£25,000 to £26,000) and kitchen manager in Glasgow (£19,000 to £21,000).

At jobs.thecaterer.com, there are a further 1,206 jobs including a catering assistant in Edinburgh (£8), a catering manager in Stafford (£16,000), a regional manager for a large catering firm in Manchester (£25,000) and a chef in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire (£20,000).

At apprenticeships.gov.uk there are 1,171 chef apprenticeships and 426 catering roles.

And of course don’t forget to check out our own Jobs section!

 

THE TRAINING

Once you’re working in a kitchen, you will receive on-the-job training and work under the supervision of experienced staff. Your employer may encourage you to take further qualifications, such as a Level 3 (NVQ) Diploma in Professional Cookery, a Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety in Catering and a Level 3 (NVQ) Diploma in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership.

Some of these qualifications give you the option to specialise in particular types of regional cookery – Chinese, Indian and Thai.

There are also many private training academies offering a range of specialist professional development courses and qualifications, such as the Level 4 Diploma in Professional Culinary Arts.

Find out more from Springboard’s careers site at careerscope.uk.net and the National Careers Service at nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk.

Many employers and training providers offer structured programmes with work placements which let you earn while you learn. Visit apprenticeships.gov.uk and training providers City & Guilds (cityandguilds.com) and Lifetime Training (lifetimetraining.co.uk).