Training for accommodation assistants or housekeepers is generally on the job and the hours can be flexible according to your circumstances.

But if your aim is to climb the ladder to supervisor and manager level, formal training is a big advantage. These are the options:

• A one-year course: there are post-leaving cert (PLC) courses such as Tourism and Event Management available in Colleges of Further Education throughout the country (direct application).

• A two-year course: Colleges of Further Education and Institutes of Technology offer two year programmes in Hotel & Catering and in Tourism & Hospitality, which would give a good grounding. An example of a course that you can do is Management and Marketing in Tourism in Crumlin College of Further Education.

• A degree course: the Institutes of Technology offer a lot of degree programmes that would help you get where you want to go. Suitable courses would be: Hospitality Management, Hotel and Catering Management, tourismManagement and others. Example: Hospitality Management  in Waterford Institute of Technology.