ABOUT two million people are expected to be out of work by Christmas, as the credit crunch turns into a crisis.

So it is crucial that young people currently going through the education system are given the relevant skills to enable them to find work when they finish.

The largest employment sector in the UK is hospitality and catering, with one in 12 people working in the industry.

So Worcester College of Technology’s hospitality and catering department is ensuring its courses are relevant to employers.

“We tailor the courses to what employers want,” said Stephen Hewitt, head of the faculty of creative and hospitality industries at the college.

“We consult with them and they tell us what they think we should be doing.

“What we are finding is that the industry wants more knowledge of old fashioned methods of cooking, using cheaper cuts of meat, offal, braising etc, because of costs.

“So we are adapting our courses accordingly, ensuring that our students can meet the demand.”

Mr Hewitt said industry chiefs were becoming increasingly worried about the public’s lack of ability to cook, with supermarkets reporting joints of meat are being left on shelves because people don’t know how to cook them.

“The whole hospitality and catering industry is having to adapt, as less people can now afford to go out for meals, and people want cheaper food,” he said.

“So as it adapts, we have to adapt, to ensure we are training our students to fulfil the needs of the employers.”

Young chef Sarah Sheen is an example of how the college is getting it right.

The 21-year-old, of Honeyman’s Gardens, Droitwich, was recently featured in your Worcester News after scooping a job at one of Gordon Ramsay’s European restaurants.

Miss Sheen will work at the television cook’s Maze restaurant in Prague as a demi chef de partie, based in the city’s prestigious Hilton Hotel.

“We are really proud of Sarah’s achievement,” Mr Hewitt said.

“About 85 per cent of our students find work in the industry after completing their course here.”

The college runs NVQs, VRQs and even a National Certificate in different aspects of hospitality and catering, including cookery and supervision.

There is also a foundation degree in culinary skills and kitchen management, run in conjunction with the University of Worcester.

The technology college boasts six kitchens in total, one of which is a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE), plus a fully functioning restaurant and a cafe.

The Spires restaurant, based at the college in Deansway, is open Monday to Friday at lunch times and evenings.

All the food is prepared, cooked and served by the students.

“It is important the students put their skills in to practice right from the start,” Mr Hewitt said.

“Most weeks we do more than 200 covers and we are already fully booked for our Christmas lunches and dinners.”

Cafe 21 is situated in Worcester Arts Workshop in Sansome Street and gives opportunities for students who have disabilities and learning difficulties to use and develop their skills.

As well as working in the college’s own restaurant and cafe, hospitality and catering students also get to work in some of Worcestershire’s best hotels and restaurants, before spending two days in London, working at venues including the Ritz, the Dorchester and even the celebrity favourite hang-out the Ivy.

“This gives the students a real insight into the world of work, which is crucial,” Mr Hewitt said.

“Some of them might never have stayed in a hotel or been out to a restaurant, so it’s important if they are going to work in the industry that they see it first hand.”

The college is also thinking ahead to the hospitality workforce for the London Olympics 2012.

“With the Olympics coming up there will be more and more demand within the hospitality and catering industry,” said Richard Brighton, deputy head of the creative and hospitality industries faculty.

“Those people that we are training now will be in a position to play a major role in the Olympics’ hospitality provision.”