November 2014 update

Hospitality Services - change to optional units on Edexcel Online (EOL)

Following your feedback on the need for flexibility within the Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Hospitality Services, we've tweaked the way the units are set up on Edexcel Online (EOL) to align more with the diverse roles of learners taking this course.

In short, a learner should take the pathway that reflects the main function of their role – the pathways are named after the main function. However, it is recognised that even if the main function is non-food or food service, there may be times when a learner has to go beyond their main role and serve or prepare food to assist colleagues. Therefore, we have added optional units in food safety and preparing simple dishes to each pathway:

• The Food Preparation and Cooking route remains unchanged - there is still the requirement that learners preparing food in any way should take the unit ‘Maintain food safety when storing, preparing and cooking food’.
  
  
• The Food and Beverage Service route (Q7000809) was originally developed for waiters and waitresses who would store, hold and serve food but wouldn't be involved in the preparation of it. However, while the predominant part of a waiter's job is still serving, increasingly, they are having to support kitchen staff (in busy periods, for example) and preparing simple meals such as sandwiches and fruit salads. Therefore we have added the units ‘Prepare and finish simple salads and fruit dishes’ and ‘Prepare hot and cold sandwiches’ to the optional units in this route on EOL. Learners taking this pathway will still need to take one of the food safety units (which one they choose will depend on whether they have prepared or cooked food or just stored, held and served it).
  
  
• The non-food route (Q7000810) traditionally didn’t have a requirement to do a food safety unit as part of the pathway. However, while in the main learners may not serve or prepare food; there are sometimes cases where they are required to do so to assist colleagues in busy periods. In other cases, learners have started on this non-food route and then found they end up moving in to a more varied role which involves working with food in some capacity. To help remove the burden of switching pathways mid-way through a programme, we have added both the food safety units to this route as optional units in case a food-related unit is picked up. This means that if a learner takes any unit involving serving, preparing or cooking food, they will also need to take one of the food safety units (which one they choose will depend on whether they have prepared or cooked food or just stored, held and served it). Please note, there is a barred combination imposed so that both food units cannot be taken together.

Crib sheets

Crib sheets are now available for the qualifications listed below. You will find them available to download on our qualification pages under ‘BTEC Specialist’ or ‘NVQ and competence based qualifications’.

• Food Safety - Levels 2, 3 and 4
• Customer Service in the Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism sector - Levels 2 and 3
• Hospitality Retail Outlet Supervision Apprenticeship – Level 3

The crib sheets contain key information about each qualification including the purpose and target learner. Some of the smaller qualifications, such as Food Safety and Customer Service, can be used alongside other qualifications to help achieve study programme guided learning hours or to maximize learner achievement.

Achieving Excellence in Skills Performance

We also have a crib sheet for Achieving Excellence in Skills Performance at Levels 2, 3 and 4.

These qualifications are optional to take alongside all Traineeships, Apprenticeship and Higher Apprenticeship frameworks or NVQs (any that have vocational practical elements). They can also be taken as standalone qualifications. They apply to any Work Based Learning sector.

Each level of qualification has 2 pathways – a competition route and a non-competition route. Some of our Hairdressing course leaders are interested in the first pathway as they often enter their learners into local competitions. This qualification is a way of recognising the preparation that a learner puts in prior to the competition and how they conduct themselves within it. This could apply to any sector competitions, from bricklayers to chefs.

The non-competition route is for employees/learners who display capacity for self analysis and reflection, and subsequent improvement of their performance in their job role beyond the level required to show competence, in other words, ‘excellent performance’.

Hospitality Trailblazers

Phase 3 Trailblazers have been announced. In the next phase, the following Hospitality Standards will be developed by employers sitting on the TB group:

• Commis Chef
• Chef de Partie
• Hospitality Team Member.

We are continuing to engage with the group on the Phase 2 developments for Senior Chef, Travel Manager and Travel Supervisor. We anticipate that the full details of how these standards will be rolled out and assessed will be available in March 2015.