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Occupation information - In brief...



Career Interests 

Interest categories related to this occupation:

This occupation is associated with the following interest categories. These categories can be explored by clicking on the titles.

Naturalist
Enterprising
Creative

IrishJobs.ie
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Course Suggestions - CAO

Courses related to this or similar occupations:

If you are interested in this occupation, then these CAO courses may also be of interest. Note that these course suggestions are not intended to indicate that they lead directly to this occupation, only that they are related in some way and may be worth exploring.
Central Applications Office 25 courses found.
Culinary Arts
Letterkenny IT
Chef Programme - Total Immersion Cookery Programme TICP
Galway-Mayo IT
Cookery - Professional - Total Immersion
Tralee IT
Baking and Pastry Arts Management
DIT
Bar Supervision
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Culinary Arts
Waterford IT
Culinary Arts
Tralee IT
Culinary Arts
Letterkenny IT
Culinary Arts
IT Tallaght
Culinary Arts
Limerick IT
Culinary Arts
Galway-Mayo IT
Culinary Arts
Cork Institute of Technology
Culinary Arts
Dundalk IT
Culinary Arts
Athlone IT
Culinary Arts
DIT
Culinary Arts
Galway-Mayo IT
Culinary Arts
Dundalk IT
Culinary Arts
Tralee IT
Culinary Arts (Profesional Culinary Practice)
DIT
Culinary Entrepreneurship
DIT
Culinary Studies
Cork Institute of Technology
Field Biology and Wildlife Tourism
Tralee IT
Health and Nutrition for Culinary Arts
DIT
Hotel Management
Tralee IT
Spa and Wellness Management
Athlone IT

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Course Suggestions - PLC

Courses related to this or similar occupations:

If you are interested in this occupation, then these PLC / FETAC courses may also be of interest. Note that these course suggestions are not intended to indicate that they lead directly to this occupation, only that they are related in some way and may be worth exploring.
 
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In Brief... Chef

 Brief Description:

Works in a kitchen preparing food, organising supplies and supervising staff.

In small restaurants and some schools and businesses, the Chef has total responsibility for the preparation of food. This includes selecting and ordering the ingredients. They may also be required to plan menus and organise the serving staff.

In larger Hotels or Hospital kitchens for example, they may only be responsible for one area. This area could be preparing the desserts or cooking the vegetables. In these kitchens there is usually a Head Chef who takes charge of the overall operation.

A Chef needs to be versatile. They must be able to cook and prepare a wide variety of food types. There are good job prospects for well trained Cooks and Chefs. The work can be interesting and challenging. Travelling abroad to work is quite popular.

Typical tasks undertaken in this profession: 21

»  

Check the quality of raw and cooked food products to ensure that standards are met. 

»  

Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations. 

»  

Check the quantity and quality of received products. 

»  

Order or requisition food and other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation. 

»  

Supervise and coordinate activities of cooks and workers engaged in food preparation. 

»  

Inspect supplies, equipment, and work areas to ensure conformance to established standards. 

»  

Determine how food should be presented, and create decorative food displays. 

»  

Instruct cooks and other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, and presentation of food. 

»  

Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients. 

»  

Collaborate with other personnel to plan and develop recipes and menus, taking into account such factors as seasonal availability of ingredients and the likely number of customers. 

7 In Detail...
A detailed description of this occupation can be found on a number of online databases. Follow the link(s) below to access this information:
Note: you will be leaving the CareersPortal Site
Go.. Chef - from:  N.C.S. [UK]
Go.. Chef - from:  iCould [UK] Video
Go.. Chef/Cook - from:  Career Directions
Go.. Head Chef - from:  iCould [UK] Video
Go.. Head Chef - from:  YouTube [UK]
Go.. Kitchen Manager (Head Chef) - from:  N.C.S. [UK]
Go.. Sous Chef - from:  iCould [UK] Video

JobZone

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Education
Most occupations in this zone require job specific training (vocational training) related to the occupation (NFQ Levels 5 and 6 or higher), related on-the-job experience, or a relevant professional award.

Related Experience
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, electricians typically complete four years of training in order to perform the job.

Job Training
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognised apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Job Zone Examples
These occupations usually involve using communication and organisational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include restaurant managers, electricians, agricultural technicians, legal secretaries, hairdressers, and web developers.


Qualifications required?

Leaving Certificate + Further Cooking Training

Typical entry routes:

A wide range of full/part-time courses are available through Failte Ireland and Institutes of Technologies. Day release courses are also available. There is currently a shortage of trained chefs in this country and the hotel industry is seeking to train 3,000 people a year to address this skills shortage.

Related courses

Click here to search the National Courses database for courses related to this occupation or occupational area.
Note: this may not be relevant for certain occupations.
Go..

Sectors related to this occupation:

This occupation is typically found in the sectors below. You can explore information relating to sectors by clicking on the titles below.

Tourism & Hospitality


Future Skills Requirements & Concerns

Current Labour Market Research highlights concerns in some occupations. These comments are presented here where available: [source: Forfas]


 
This occupation has been viewed 75181 times
 
1 Salary Information
Note: All salaries are in thousands of euros and refer to annual salaries.

Job Title
Chef
Salary Range*
20 - 25
Related Information:
Commis (junior) chef: 20+
Chefs de partie (section chefs): 20+
Sous chefs (second chefs): 25+
Data Source(s):
FAS

Last Updated: February, 2011
* The lower figures typically reflect starting salaries. Higher salaries are awarded to those with greater experience and responsibility. Positions in Dublin sometimes command higher salaries.

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1 LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION


The following information is based on the National Skills Bulletin 2012 and displays some useful information about selected occupations, or occupation groups.

Each occupation is examined in terms of its employment profile (based on the data from the Quarterly National Household Survey by the Central Statistics Office (CSO)), recent employment trends and other available indicators on the demand and supply of skills.

Identified shortages are defined in terms of their characteristics, i.e. skill shortage or labour shortage. For more information see the Labour Market Information section of this site.

 
Labour / Skills shortage indicator

This provides an indication of shortage for this occupation.


 
 


Growth Rate 2007 - 2011

This shows the average annual employment growth for the period. May be a guide to future trends
 
+0%
 
Scale
 
 
-5%
 
     
Part-time workers

This shows the percentage of part-time workers in the total employment of an occupation

Total employed in this occupation: 20200
%
Part-time
26%
 
Scale
 
 
75%
Full-time
 
 
Older workers

This shows the percentage of workers over 55 in the total employment of an occupation
%
Over 55
10%
 
Scale
 
 
90%
Under 55
 
     
Ratio of Male / Female workers

This shows the percentage of male and female workers in the total employment of an occupation
%
Male
55%
 
Scale
 
 
45%
Female
 
 
Non-Irish National workers

This shows the percentage of Irish national and non-Irish national workers in the total employment of an occupation
%
Non-Irish
29%
 
Scale
 
 
71%
Irish
 

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1 Chef.
 David Kehoe
 
Failte Ireland

"There's no greater satisfaction than knowing that you have cooked good food for people from scratch or raw ingredients"
Go..
David Kehoe


 
 
 



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