New skills for sustainable collective catering

Ask a catering team to become more sustainable and the next question should be precise: what do we need people to do differently? A cook may need to record preparation waste consistently. A supervisor may need to adjust a production plan when attendance changes. A purchasing manager may need to compare suppliers using evidence that goes beyond price.

These are different tasks, requiring different knowledge, judgement and support. A useful training programme starts by identifying them.

At T.H.E. Management, our participation in RestaCoVE reflects the importance we place on connecting professional development with the way food services operate. The project plans to develop 18 micro-credentials linked to qualifications across European Qualifications Framework levels 3 to 7, supported by research into competence needs.

Making a skill visible

The European approach defines micro-credentials as records of learning outcomes acquired through a small volume of learning and assessed against clear standards. They can support focused professional development alongside existing qualifications. A certificate becomes useful when a learner and an employer can understand what was learned and how it was assessed. (European Commission)

For a catering employer, that clarity could mean distinguishing between someone who has heard about waste prevention and someone who can complete a waste record, explain its limitations and use it to propose an operational change.

Let the workplace define the learning problem

An employer’s request for digital skills can conceal several needs. One team may struggle with entering stock data. Another may be comfortable using software but unsure how to interpret a forecast. A manager may understand the figures but lack a clear process for acting on them.

Training those teams in the same way would miss the problem. Start with the decisions that affect the service and observe where performance becomes difficult. Speak with frontline staff as well as managers. Review whether the difficulty comes from knowledge, tools, time, responsibilities or conflicting instructions.

RestaCoVE’s planned Competence Needs Annual Monitor is intended to connect training with the requirements of employers and workers over time. That continuing feedback is valuable because a curriculum needs to remain useful as equipment, services and expectations change.

Practise where the skill will be used

Work-based learning offers opportunities to connect a lesson with a real task. Consider a hypothetical learning exercise in a workplace canteen: record waste using agreed categories, compare it with the number of meals served, discuss the likely causes with the team, and explain one feasible adjustment. The assessment could examine the quality of the records and the reasoning behind the proposal.

For that exercise to be fair, the learner needs access to the relevant information, guidance on the task and enough time to complete it. The supervisor needs to know what the learner is expected to demonstrate. Otherwise, the assessment risks measuring access to resources rather than competence.

RestaCoVE plans to connect its learning pathways with work-based learning and apprenticeship resources, trainer development and employer skill evaluation tools. The opportunity is to create a shared understanding of what competent performance looks like.

Design access into the learning pathway

A short course can still be difficult to access for someone working split shifts, studying in a second language or sharing a device at home. Flexible delivery needs to take those conditions into account. Clear language, practical demonstrations, time for practice and accessible materials should be considered from the beginning.

Experienced workers also need ways to demonstrate skills gained through practice. RestaCoVE’s planned work on validating non-formal and informal learning recognises this issue. The aim is to make learning visible while maintaining credible assessment.

Give employers evidence they can use

When reviewing a credential, an employer should be able to identify the learning outcomes, the assessment method, the provider and the basis for quality assurance. Recognition and progression also depend on how institutions and employers use it; a micro-credential does not automatically confer a regulated qualification or guarantee employment.

For T.H.E. Management, the useful question is whether training helps a person perform a defined task and whether the organisation enables that performance. RestaCoVE creates a framework for education and industry to work on that question together.

If your team needs to develop sustainability skills, start with one recurring operational difficulty. Describe the performance you need, then work backwards to the learning, practice and assessment that would support it.

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