Qualitaly_124

AUG. SEP. 2021 VI of employment contracts but of general welfare: it would be vital to create new jobs but with a relief for businesses,” Alfredo Zini concludes. OTHER PROFESSIONS AND TRAINING As a result, Antonio Morelli, chef at Doride Beach in Marina di Carrara, president of the Massa Carrara Chefs’ Association and an examiner at various Hotel management schools, also gives his opinion on the subject. “The period is not easy but, regardless, first of all there must be the passion for a job in the restaurant industry, made of sacrifices, exhausting rhythms and various situations to manage. That’s why, as an absolute basic, I think a certain type of training is needed, especially for those who decide to stay in the sector”. Morelli states. “On the other hand, when it comes to the difficulty of finding staff, I can say that this is a problem that we have been dragging along for years, and one that Covid has certainly emphasised. In the past few months, Covid has ‘relocated’ many people who worked in the catering sector because they were forced to stop during the total closure and, out of necessity, they found themselves looking for other solutions”. But there is a notable “identity crisis” especially in the restaurant: “Even if the food is well prepared, if it is served badly or if the waiter is not sufficiently professional, the whole place suffers,” concludes Chef Morelli. Being in contact with the public is very complicated and a certain preparation or predisposition to this profession is vital. Therefore, having reached this point, the problem is twofold: there is a lack of staff and the few available are not always up to scratch”. AT PAGE 18 COVER STORY Training 1: the tool to face the future The learning process is used to train newcomers to the restaurant industry, but also to help experienced operators cope with the challenges of the future. by Elena Consonni Never has the world of catering faced such challenges and changes for which perhaps not everyone was prepared: managing sudden closures and reopenings, quickly organising different services, finding new ways of keeping in touch with customers through digital media... Training is the only way of providing the right tools to deal with these changes. But what have the training providers done over the last year and a half? We collected the opinions of two hotel management schools, a professional training school and an online training provider. THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF ENROLMENT IN MILAN “Luckily, last school year we were able to safeguard the workshop hours,” says Rossana di Gennaro, principal of the Istituto Professionale Servizi per l’Enogastronomia e l’Ospitalità Alberghiera Carlo Porta, Milan. “Even when the schools were closed, we had permission to hold practical lessons, which are essential for completing the students’ preparation, in attendance. This was unfortunately not possible during the previous school year. Since September 2020, the workshops have resumed and we have never interrupted them. The other lessons were conducted partly in the classroom and partly remotely, depending on the shifts in attendance granted.” The worst time was last year’s second term. He explains: “The fourth-year students who took their final exams this year could not do their internships: only those who went on Erasmus were able to do them regularly. This year, however, the internships will take place regularly and this is very important for the training of our students. Fortunately, however, even the most disadvantaged students were able to prepare well for their final exams and, given the numerous requests for personnel that we received, many had the opportunity to start work immediately. Despite the difficulties that the sector is experiencing due to the pandemic, young people do not seem to have lost interest in this learning process. I haven’t seen any real disaffection with our school,” says Rossana di Gennaro, “only a very slight drop in enrolment over the last year. It is true that in recent years families have shown a preference for high schools over vocational schools, but it has happened that in some cases the high school was not the right path and parents are now asking us to take their children. I believe that the hotel management school is in good health and has good prospects. We hope that with the new school year the activities will MAGAZINE