Chris Lucas thinks careers in hospitality aren’t as valued as they should be. Not content with just acknowledging the problem, he is working on real-world solutions, and has just started Collective Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation backing the long-term, sustainable future of Australia’s hospitality sector and the people within it.
Its team, a trusted collective of accomplished hospitality and hospitality-adjacent professionals, has four goals: to build community and highlight its contribution to the Australian economy, to foster education and career development, to support and encourage innovation across all sectors within the industry, and to enable future hospitality leaders through training and education.
How that comes together in practice looks like this: phase one sees the foundation dive deep into research with La Trobe University, exploring the roadblocks that tomorrow’s chefs, sommeliers and front-of-house professionals face in pursuing a career in the industry. This research also provides an opportunity to explore the gaps faced by restaurant operators when recruiting.
Phase two sees Collective Foundation pulling together its research and rolling out training programs that provide actionable industry education for those in the earlier stages of their career – with a particular focus on enabling people from diverse backgrounds and regional Australia.
“Australia’s restaurant and hospitality sector is world class and today, is one of the most consequential sectors of the Australian economy,” says Lucas. “Dining out remains a favourite pastime of Australians and is one of the top three motivators for tourism. There are 56,000 restaurants and cafés in a $64 billion sector that employs half a million people – and including indirect jobs, that number doubles. From barista to the board room, from apprentice chef to chief executive, the career paths in hospitality are many and varied.”
Collective Foundation is calling on the industry to get involved, too, with a steering committee in the works to help shape the foundation’s activity over the coming year. If that sounds like you, keep an eye out on collectivefoundation.org.au – expressions of interest open soon.