Parents don’t rate hospitality as a career choice for their children, survey finds

Just 17% of parents consider a career in a hotel or restaurant in a positive light, a survey from Best Western Careers Index has found.

The number rose by 4% to 21% when asked about management roles in hospitality however.

About one-third of parents (31%) said they’d discourage their child from a career in hospitality. Poor pay was the most popular reason, with 61% citing low wages as a factor while 52% of parents highlighted long hours as another disincentive.

The independent survey of more than 1,000 parents revealed that medicine is the top preferred career for the second year in a row, with 48% of parents indicating they would be happy to see their child become a doctor.

Becoming a sales professional was viewed as the least desirable career option. Drivers, farmers and cleaners were also not considered desirable.

Les Asplen, Best Western Great Britain’s managing director, said the research still showed how much work the hospitality industry needs to do.

“Despite the popularity of TV shows focused on the hospitality sector, such as Amazing Hotels, Life Beyond the Lobby, and Great British Menu, as an industry we are still struggling to fill positions and for the second year running our survey shows parents still don’t see hospitality is a first-choice career.”

He added: “I know myself from working my way up in hotels to the position I am now as Managing Director of Best Western Great Britain that hospitality offers great, diverse and rewarding careers.

“Opportunities to climb the career ladder are based on hard work and aptitude, not grades, and more school leavers should be considering us as first choice career, not just a summer job.”

[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]Top 10 preferred careers according to parents – Source: Best Western Careers Index

1. Doctors – 48%
2. Accountants – 41%
3. Architects – 38%
4. IT specialists – 35%
5. Engineers – 33%
6. Law professionals – 31%
7. Scientists – 29%
8. Dentists 28%
9. Environment and conservation professionals – 26%
10. Film producers & directors – 25% [/box]

[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]Bottom 10 careers according to parents

1. Sales professionals – 9%
2. Drivers and chauffeurs – 10%
3. Farmers – 11%
4. Cleaners – 11%
5. Marketing professionals – 13%
6. Mechanics – 15%
7. Plumbers – 15%
8. Public services professionals – 15%
9. Journalists – 15%
10. Brokers – 16%[/box]