B.C. Employers need thousands of trained cooks: Selkirk College offers unique 14-week training program
By Contributor
Are you a commercial cook with 1,000 hours of industry experience but no credentials?
Training makes all the difference in terms of employability, job security and earnings power. Nowhere is this more true than in the burgeoning area of commercial cooking. Currently, in B.C., thousands of trained cook positions are open at resorts, hotels, restaurants, nursing care homes, hospitals, and camps serving the logging, mining, and oil and gas industries.
In response to high demand, Selkirk College has introduced an opportunity to enter directly into a condensed 14-week Professional Cook 2 Program designed for people who have worked for a minimum of 1,000 hours in a commercial kitchen but who have no formal training.
“People with verifiable experience in commercial kitchens deserve credit for their knowledge and skills,” comments Bob Falle, Chair of Selkirk’s School of Hospitality & Tourism. “Our staff of chefs will tutor Program registrants toward completion of their Cook 1 Practical and Theory Challenge Exam while they work on their Professional Cook 2 certification. People who register now can graduate by Christmas 2012. It’s an incredible opportunity to be able to obtain this level of certification in such a short period of time.”
Cook training at Selkirk’s Tenth Street campus, Nelson, B.C., combines theory with hands-on practise in the college’s on-campus Scholar’s Dining Room. Classes are scheduled Tuesday-Friday, 2:30-9:30 p.m. to enable students to continue working weekends and mornings if desired.
Graduates also receive assistance finding jobs. Many employers recruit regularly on the Tenth Street campus, including Marriott, Fairmont, and Delta hotel chains, plus ski and golf resorts. Selkirk college staff also has contacts in hospitals and nursing homes, the types of employers that offer very attractive compensation and benefit packages for people who wish to have successful lifelong careers as commercial cooks.
Falle says people who complete the Professional Cook 2 designation are positioned to pursue Cook 3 Red Seal Interprovincial Certification as well.
Applications will be received until September 21. “Registrants will be enrolled in the same stream as our regular class of Professional Cook 2 students, after being pre-qualified by producing evidence of work history and following an interview with College chef instructors,” says Falle. Selkirk is an active participant in the B.C. Industry Training Authority Professional Cook Apprenticeships Program.
If you have questions regarding this career opportunity please contact:
Chef Gary Thompson, Tel.: 250-505-1331, or
Chef Ron Matthews, Tel. 250-505-1318
Submitted.
