The job profiles in the hospitality industry have been adapted and optimized in recent months. The focus is now on innovations, clearer guidelines and cross-professional areas of responsibility. The HOGASTJOB team has researched the specific changes in the three job profiles (hotel and catering specialist, restaurant specialist and chef) for you.

What are the benefits of the new apprenticeship package? On the one hand, the aim is to counteract the shortage of workers in the tourism sector. On the other hand, it enables all accommodation providers to train young people in a contemporary manner and in such a way that the apprenticeship meets the requirements of the industry.

This means that businesses without restaurants can also train an apprentice as a hotel management assistant in housekeeping or reception tasks. The new hospitality employees are therefore versatile and even more valuable to the business.

In future, the hotel and catering assistant apprenticeship will also teach minor service skills, so that the new job profile will also include the classic areas of breakfast and seminar service. In hotels that operate a restaurant, hotel and restaurant specialists can also be trained in addition to these two apprenticeships.

This new dual apprenticeship combines reception and service.

According to the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO), there were important reasons for adapting the new job profiles in the catering and hotel industry: It not only ensures that training will continue to meet the highest standards in the future. The teaching content can also be communicated transparently. As a result, trainers and trainees will find clearer and more structured processes to complete in the individual training stages.

The new features, changes and adjustments were implemented for each apprenticeship year.

The first year of the apprenticeship is all about working independently. A large amount of time is also devoted to carrying out preparatory work, i.e. when which ingredients are needed and where. Important techniques, such as cutting techniques, special place settings or booking systems, are also included in the timetable in the first year of the apprenticeship.

New: The content for each year of the apprenticeship has been formulated in a clear and detailed way. This leaves little room for interpretation and prevents misunderstandings - neither for the trainer nor the apprentice.

For all new apprenticeships, the focus is now on personal development and awareness of the economic environment. The use of technical terms is therefore part of the curriculum. But it's not just the technical jargon that should be in place after the first year of the apprenticeship. Economic thinking - for example, how much turnover must a company generate in order to be in the black - is part of the curriculum.

Apprentices are also taught how to interact with their guests and how to maintain a good conversational culture. This includes, among other things, small talk and using their in-depth knowledge to answer guests' questions. It is very important to learn how to deal with dissatisfied customers, complaints and grievances. The necessary understanding of the tourism industry is also part of the curriculum: you should keep an eye on new trends and know the company's mission statement.

All three apprenticeships and all training points can be found on the WKO website.

- Details on the apprenticeship as a restaurant specialist
- Details on the apprenticeship as a chef
- Details on the apprenticeship as a catering specialist