POPULAR WORDS

By Jayne Munday | June 25, 2010

The Hospitality Training Association (HTA) has unveiled plans to duplicate its award-winning system interstate and overseas following a significant refurbishment at its Brisbane facility.

CEO Phillip Charlton says the Queensland-based organisation, which specialises in the training of hospitality and tourism apprentices, is currently in the process of a $17.5 million makeover.

“We gained a very good reputation for the quality of our graduates and obviously we started to look at diversification,” he says of the additional kitchens and training rooms.

On top of the multi-million dollar facelift, the HTA is now looking at breaking into new markets.

“The board have now given the approval to go overseas or interstate,” Charlton reveals.

In terms of increasing HTA’s national footprint, the Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne are tipped as firm favourites.

Charlton says a combination of state-of-the-art equipment, local expansion and international prospects is helping build the foundations for a prosperous future.

“We’ve had the enviable position of expanding while also trying to refurbish…which is never easy. But that’s all worked out quite well,” he says.

FOUNDATION MEMBERS

HTA – ranked 151 in the 2009 Queensland 400 – was formed in 1982 by the then president of the Queensland Hotel Association Dick McGuire, of McGuire Hotels.

With his finger on the pulse of a burgeoning industry, McGuire was an early visionary who had the desire to become more involved with training.

“He knew the hospitality and tourism industry was changing and he took the view training was going to be an integral part of that,” Charlton says.

“He wanted the industry to take the directive approach, so he brought together the key foundations of what we call our foundation members,” he says.

These include: the Hotel Motel & Accommodation Association; Clubs Queensland; Restaurant & Catering Association of Queensland; Liquor, Hospitality & Miscellaneous Union; and Queensland Hotels Association.

“With those five organisations they formed the Hospitality Training Association and changed the way Queensland looked at employing and training apprentices,” Charlton says.

Today, HTA is South East Queensland's leading recruitment, employment and training specialist of apprentice chefs, and has assisted thousands of young people establish careers in hospitality and tourism.

NEW FACILITIES

Some 18 months ago HTA started to outgrow its Fortitude Valley premises and undertook the first part of a five-level, $17.5 million refurbishment.

The existing headquarters are being equipped with three commercial kitchens, a pastry lab, two restaurants, cocktail/lounge bar and multimedia equipped training rooms.

“We are about three-quarters of the way through that…so fundamentally most of our facilities are in now,” Charlton says.

He says additional classrooms and lecture theatres are currently being installed, and should be completed around August next year.

“We have grown really rapidly over the past two years. We’ve got new facilities, which are really state-of-the-art,” Charlton says.

EXPANSION

As the only training provider in the country which is wholly-owned and operated by the hospitality and tourism industry, it comes as no surprise HTA is on the move.

“What we’ve done for Queensland we can now duplicate in other states or overseas,” Charlton says.

“The Gold Coast is a firm favourite just because of the nature of the tourism strip there. But in terms of market share and population, Sydney and Melbourne are also looking good,” he says.

Within the next two to three years, HTA is also planning to debut its ward-winning business overseas.

“Central Asia and China would be our ideal situations from the markets we see,” Charlton says.

Geographical expansion is not the only big change on the cards; the company is also looking to broaden its course offerings.

Building upon its already extensive syllabus, the HTA is investing further into English programs, business programs and corporate training.

BACKBONE OF THE INDUSTRY

The secret to HTA’s success comes down to its unique positioning within the industry and balancing of market demand.

“The industry are our members, so we are responsive to their training needs,” Charlton explains.

“We work with industry on a daily basis and that provides all our graduates with part-time employment opportunities while they’re studying, which helps them develop those hands-on practical skills while they develop their theoretical skills,” he says.

HTA’s services are essentially driven by market demand, whereby apprentices will either seek placement or industry comes looking for them.

“It depends of market cycles, but it will be a combination sometimes,” Charlton explains.

“We know from our historical data when the peaks and troughs of the industry are,” he says.

“In recent years we’ve actually gone into schools and got people starting their apprenticeships in years 10, 11 and 12. This was driven by industry demand.”

Putting graduates in direct contact with various member organisations and training individuals for a career rather than just a job is all part of HTA’s mission.

“Rather than being in one establishment and learning one way, it’s feasible for us to move them [apprentices] around to a whole variety of different establishments, which gives them a whole depth and breadth of training and industry exposure they wouldn’t normally have experienced,” Charlton says.

“This way we provide them with a set of skills for the future,” he says.

INDUSTRY BOOM

While there has been a contraction in Australia’s hospitality and tourism sector as a result of the GFC, Charlton assures things are still “quite vibrant”.

“People stopped going on holiday or going out to restaurants, but we’re now seeing it start to blossom again and we’re starting to see demand rise,” he says.

“I would imagine by the end of September we will be heading back to skill shortages and demand for apprentices and hospitality staff will far outstrip supply.”

Poised for a strong recovery, the hospitality industry has attained a much more professional status in recent years, according to Charlton.

He admits shows like Masterchef help raise the profile of the industry, and demonstrate to people the value of growing with a brand/business.

“I think in general terms the wider populous has become more demanding, more educated and more aware of their food,” Charlton says.

“We now live in the age of the celebrity chef. It’s a fashionable trend to be knowledgeable about food,” he says.

Growth in the wider hospitality industry can only mean good things for Queensland and the HTA.

“I think the business will go very well,” Charlton says of the year ahead.

“Demand will continue grow, and then we will continue to look at our expansion plans and put those into implementation,” he says.

“As long as the demand is there, we will keep looking to expand in that way.”