It’s easy for many young Italians with a working holiday visa to find a job in the Hospitality Industry but they need to get a qualification if they want to find a way to live in Australia permanently.
When you ask a young Italian with a working holiday visa: “What’s your job in Australia?”, 90 per cent of the answers are “I am a waiter”, “I am a chef”, “I am a kitchen hand”, “I am a runner”, “I am dishwasher”, “I am a restaurant manager”. It seems that in Australia and particularly in Victoria there are more jobs related to hospitality then in any other place. When in Italy someone works as a chef, he is probably also the restaurant manager and the waiter is also a runner and a kitchen hand, when needed. In Australia it is a different story: every employee has a specific role. So there is space for every person, depending on his or her skills, experiences, qualifications, time, passion and of course the level of English. In particular, in Victoria people are serious about hospitality. The website Live in Victoria states that more than 120,000 people work in the hospitality industry and this number is destined to grow. According to a research by “Future Melbourne”, in the city there are more than 2,500 bars and restaurants, able to guest 200,000 people.
In most cases a qualification is required and years of experience are an influential plus. In Italy you don’t need to go to school to become a chef. Everyone can cook a nice dish of pasta and make an exquisite risotto and learns the job by practice. That’s why many Italians who come to Australia end up working in cafés and restaurants without a formal qualification. It’s the fastest way for them to start working, even if in Italy they had a completely different job. Nevertheless if they want to find a way to live in Australia permanently, a Diploma in Hospitality could allow them to get a sponsor. Consequently it is advisable to invest time and money firstly in an English course and then in a Diploma of Hospitality, which can lead in many directions and many career opportunities, as chef, restaurant manager, café or hotel manager. The hospitality institutes run classes twice per weeks, leaving plenty of free time for working and doing internships; they offer not only theories, but also practical classes in real equipped kitchens and finally they help their students finding a job by referring them to restaurants, bar and hotels, that are constantly looking for qualified staff.
