Advanced Diploma in Food Service Management

Qualification: Advanced Diploma in Food Service Management

Purpose:

The purpose of this qualification is to develop the necessary knowledge, understanding, skills, and competence for the learner's further learning towards becoming capable employees in both the food and nutrition field and entrepreneurial hospitality-related enterprises. A qualified learner will demonstrate competence in using advanced managerial skills and problem-solving in both existing and entrepreneurial hospitality ventures and the community at large. The qualification will provide students with the necessary skills and competencies to focus on research in the field of Food Service Management.

Rationale:

The South African Hospitality and Tourism industry, especially the hospitality sector, demonstrates continued growth and a clear demand for well-qualified staff within the corporate and entrepreneurial sub-sector, specifically in the field of Food Service Management. The core of the qualification revolves around the development of potential managers with sound operational backgrounds and specialized skills specifically in the industries that fall under the Food Service Management sector, such as hospitals, private hostels, and government catering establishments. Through consultation with other universities offering similar qualifications and advisory board meetings, stakeholders from the industry have suggested that a 'gap' currently exists and should be addressed by training students in this field. To close the gap, students should be exposed to doing research in the specific field.

This range of typical students will be in possession of a Level 6 Diploma who can articulate from a relevant Diploma or Bachelor's Degree, including both cross-border and international students. The Bachelor of Technology qualification at the University of Technology will be phased out and replaced by new qualifications. The Advanced Diploma is imperative for progression and articulation purposes. The student can articulate from the Advanced Diploma in Food Service Management to the Postgraduate Diploma in Food Service Management. The Bachelor of Technology (BTech) in Food Service Management will be phased out. The Advanced Diploma in Food Service Management is a new qualification at Level 7. The changes aim to bring the Advanced Diploma in Food Service Management in line with the criteria of the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF). A discipline-based approach has been used, and there is a strong relationship between subjects in the curriculum and the sequencing and progression of skills and competencies. The growing food and nutrition industry demonstrates a clear demand for well-qualified staff. Students will gain skills, knowledge, and competencies that they can apply in the socioeconomic structure of the broader South Africa.