Career Opportunities In Food Services

There are literally hundreds of Job roles that you could consider if you choose to enter in to a career in food services. You will not need to have achieved top grades in your GCSE results to go in to this Industry. There are several city and guild qualifications you can take, which include a diploma in food and beverage services, food safety in catering and cleaning and support services. All of these would be beneficial and will give you a head start against your competition when applying for any Job roles.

You could always start as a food service assistant. Providing good customer service, while meeting strict food hygiene standards, is an important part of the job. Most assistants work on the service counter. Some also help to prepare food in the kitchen and work in the dining areas. Others may help to organise and run events on the premises, such as children's parties. Service assistants are often provided with a uniform.

Service assistants may work shifts, totalling up to 40 hours a week. Flexible and part- time work are common. Assistants often have to stand for long periods. Fast food operations can be hot and noisy. At busy periods the work is demanding. Some customers can be challenging. Earnings start from around £9,920 per year for new entrants, and may rise to £20,000 or more for trainee or assistant managers.

Waitressing is another starting point in the catering world. Waiters/waitresses are busiest in the evening and sometimes well into the night. Part-time and seasonal work is increasingly common. Shift work is normal. Some staff based in remote areas need their own transport. Some employers supply a uniform, but others just require staff to adopt a dress code. Starting pay may be based on the national minimum wage, which is around £7,342 to £11,918 a year, depending on age. A head waiter/waitress may earn £18,000 or more. Tips from customers are a considerable addition to staff income. Meals are usually provided and sometimes your accommodation.

You could also consider bar work. The pub, bar and nightclub industry is currently suffering from the recession. In the longer term, however, the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector is still predicted to grow. Employers range from small bars, clubs and hotels to national chains of breweries and pub management companies. The positions above will give you the experience to progress your career. There are opportunities such as catering or restaurant manager, publican, hotel manager or chef, to name a few. There are several Internet Job boards and Job sites advertising vacancies in the food service Industry. This will give you an idea as to what is currently available.

Doctors to Prescribe Anger Management for Children

Doctors in the England could soon be able to prescribe anger management classes for children with behavioural problems under a new 8.9 million pound government scheme. Under the plans the NHS could pay for anger management for difficult children along with a number of other services such as air conditioning for those with lung disease who struggle to keep cool during the hot summer months. The scheme will see the 8.9 million pounds allocated to 81 deprived areas in England under a framework to tackle inequalities.

The framework also aims to encourage local councils and health services to find new ways of working together to prevent ill health amongst the community. Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "For too long health has been seen simply in terms of hospitals and bed numbers. NHS stands for the National Health Service not the National Sickness Service and we want it to live up to its name. We need to radically change the culture of how we shape and deliver care - shifting focus from curing the sick to the proactive prevention of ill health, as well as tackling health inequalities.

By giving GPs more flexibility in how they use NHS money and investing more in community based programmes, local services will be able to offer people a seamless service of care - whether in a hospital, in their home or in the community." Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly added: "By using this framework and working through Local Area Agreements local authorities and primary care trusts can begin to draw together the contributions of different services, leisure, transport, libraries and housing as well as across social, primary and community care to create the outcomes which lead to prosperous and healthier communities."

However, shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Patricia Hewitt must be living on a different planet. The NHS does not have enough money to fund operations, so how does she expect GPs to divert money for NHS treatments into preventative equipment or services? It further illustrates why public health budgets to fund preventative services should be ring-fenced. Joined-up health and social care is absolutely necessary but to break down the barriers we need direct payments that encompass social and healthcare following a single assessment."

Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs committee welcomed the idea of preventing illness through tackling inequalities. But he said: "At a time of massive deficits in local NHS budgets, hospital closures and redundancy and unemployment for doctors, nurses and other health workers, it beggars belief that a government that has lost its way with the NHS wants the service to provide air conditioning and anger management classes. GPs already refer children with behavioural problems to specialist psychiatrists or psychologists, the problem is the shortage of NHS provision in these services. As for air con units - let's hope that in 12 months time the government is not berating GPs for over-prescribing them."

Dame Helena Shovelton, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: "Providing air conditioning facilities during hot weather for people with lung disease can be helpful, as can community nursing support, timely weather forecasts and advice on pollution levels." Finally, Andrea Bilbow, of the National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service, said: "Anger management classes are an incredibly good idea. I hope they becomes a reality."