Hospitality students take skills beyond the café

IMPACT Community Services’ Certificate III in Hospitality students will soon get their first taste of hosting a dine-in event.

Under the guidance of Hospitality Trainer Tania Willet, the class is preparing to welcome the Bundaberg Business Women’s Network (BBWN) for their Dine-In Networking Event (DINE) on 21 October. They’ll handle everything from table set-up and seating guests to taking orders, processing payments and preparing and serving meals.

“I hope they learn something new and gain confidence in themselves,” Tania said. “Approaching people, talking to people, having a big voice.”

While the students will be new to this style of table service, they’re no strangers to serving customers. Alongside their classroom studies, the group has been putting their learning into practice for weeks, keeping staff fed and hydrated through IMPACT’s Fig Tree Café.

The event will challenge students to take their hospitality and customer service skills beyond the café environment.

“They're getting those stepping stones in place,” Tania said. “Once they've got the confidence on the kitchen side, we incorporate the dining side of it. They're tracking really well.”

Student Izzy said she had come a long way since starting the course.

“It’s not easy,” Izzy said. “Practice makes perfect though. It’s gotten better with having Tania as our trainer.”

BBWN’s DINE Coordinator Kelly Best said the private environment would set the event apart from the network’s other networking sessions.

“I think it's a great opportunity for networking and building those connections regardless of what level of business people are in,” Kelly said.

“It will be a lot more intimate so they can have some really, really good conversations and get to know each other.”

Kelly said the event was a fantastic opportunity for the BBWN to give back to the community by supporting local hospitality students.

“I'm looking forward to getting to see what the students can produce and helping them along their journey,” she said.

Anyone is welcome to attend the event, regardless of whether they are a BBWN member. To register, visit www.bbwn.com.au.

The Certificate III in Hospitality is being delivered through the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative, proudly funded by the Queensland Government. IMPACT is a registered training organisation (RTO code: 0115).