Career Clinic

The expert panel
Our expert panel comprises representatives from the Hotel and Catering Training Company (HCTC), MaydayExec, Bartlett Mitchell, Learnpurple, Conran and Portfolio International.

The question
I am a Nigerian university graduate attending a course in food and beverage service at a UK college. My aim is to do a masters degree in hospitality management and become a hotel manager in the future. But is this the best path?

I would say in your situation it would be important to finish your studies in food and beverage services to get all-round basic training in the industry.

If you want to develop your career and are aiming to become a hotel manager, the best course of action you could take is on-the-job training. Try to find a large chain of hotels that can offer structured management training, allowing you to work in each department within the hotel.

Look for a hotel company that has hotels throughout the world, which will give you the opportunity to experience working within countries and cultures. The good hotel chains will look at a two-year management training plan for you, and if you still want to do a masters degree in hospitality management, it would be best to do this through Open University, allowing you to study while gaining valuable work experience.
David Goldfarb, director, MaydayExec
- Each week our expert panel will answer your career questions. If you'd like to submit a question, send it to chris.druce@rbi.co.uk.