David, now a chef at a reputed restaurant, didn’t have it easy. He shares his journey from being a kitchen hand to becoming a chef. Enrolling in RPL in Diploma in Hospitality Management helped him move up his career ladder.
David wasn’t sure what he wanted to do in life, what he knew though was that he loved cooking and enjoyed spending a significant amount of time rustling up food for the family. He was not much into academics, as he recalls, “Studying was never one of my strongest suits.
I always found it difficult being locked up in a classroom trying to learn from prescribed texts, I like learning non-theoretically and believe in hands-on training to develop a skill.” After much contemplation, he decided he will give his passion for hospitality a go.
Without any valid experience or skills, it wasn’t going to be an easy ride for David. As he embarked on his journey to find his place in hospitality, he was faced with rejection for his lack of experience, until one day he landed a job as a kitchen hand except it wasn’t paid. He was disheartened but he knew that he needed to get his foot in the door and even though he will be working without remuneration, it will gain him the experience that he so desperately needed.
Working as a kitchen hand had its trials. When he started as unpaid labour, the restaurant was downsizing due to change in management therefore he didn’t have a mentor to learn from. On his first day, he was inducted and immediately commanded to work with a list of instructions.
Far from what his experience in running the kitchen in his own house was, David recalls, “I was overwhelmed by the workings of the kitchen, it was such a busy place and everyone was multitasking and here I was trying to work out how to rinse the perenially piled up dishes and toss them into the dishwasher. I was slow and thought I wasn’t up to the mark.” But slowly through observation and his share of trial and error, David learned to work around the dishwasher, cutting and cleaning and arranging the kitchen utensils.
Before he realised he became adept at his job and moved to a permanent position, but after two years of working as a kitchen hand, David knew it was time for him to level up. He had the experience and in these two years, he not only gained the skills of working around a kitchen but also the tricks and tacts of managing staff and time better.
I chose to enrol in Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) which was just the pathway I needed to recognise my experience and issue me a certification without going through the repetitive process of learning what I already knew.
David recalls, “I wanted to move up in my career but dedicating that much time to study wasn’t something I was looking forward to. I knew I had the skills and the experience, and doing a course to learn the same stuff would be a waste of my time but not having a formal qualification also didn’t do much for my CV.
So, I chose to enrol in Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) which was just the pathway I needed to recognise my experience and issue me a certification without going through the repetitive process of learning what I already knew.
I ran through my pre-eligibility check for Diploma in Hospitality Management with Frontier Institute of Technology. The staff was supportive and directed me around to providing the required documents proving my experience and skills. After two weeks, my assessment officer granted me the certification.”
Davide continues, “My new certification diploma shone like a crowning glory on my CV, added value to my experience, skills, and passion in the field of hospitality. I eventually landed the role of a sous chef in a busy restaurant in the city.”
In retrospect, David thinks that he is one of the lucky ones who can say that he loves his job. “Opting for RPL was the best decision of my life because not only did the certification change my life but it helped me save my time and energy and make my learnings outside a formal setting recognised and valued. Frontier Institute of Technology made this journey all the more smooth sailing for me.”
