The Australian School of Tourism and Hotel Management offers a structured career paths enabling you to qualify as a chef. Each of these pathways on which you are able to achieve your Trade Qualifications in Australia.

These are:
1a) Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) and Trade Skills Recognition

1b) Certificate III in Hospitality (Patisserie) and Trade Recognition Australia (TRA)

2) Chef Apprenticeship - 3 year employment and Trade Agreement

3) Trade Skills Recognition (TRS) - enabling unqualified cooks who have gained their skills informally on the job to achieve their Trade Qualification through this formal skills recognition process.


1a) Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery)
Qualifying as a chef has never been as accessible or flexible. Today you are able to gain your Trade Chef Qualification by completing the Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery). This qualification includes two (2) internships requiring you to complete a minimum of 226 hours of employment.

Following completion of the Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) you are required to gain a further year of employment in a commercial kitchen or at least 906 hours of valid employment.

Following this you will then be able to apply for a formal Trade Skills Recognition for Chefs to gain your Trade Qualification.

The benefits of this pathway are:
• you will have completed to equivalent of all the off-the-job training required for the Trade Chef Qualification, this enables you to complete the two internships and to gain meaningful employment to achieve the necessary workplace experience required for you to be eligible to apply for Trade Skills Recognition. This entire process may take up to 3 years however you are generally employed throughout this time as an unqualified cook.
• you gain significant experience and employment while you study.


2) Chef Apprenticeship
The cooking apprenticeship is available to permanent residents or citizens of Australia. The apprenticeship is usually undertaken once you have gained employment as a kitchen hand or unqualified cook and you and your employer agree to sign a formal training agreement with a selected Australian Apprentice Centre to be indentured as an apprentice chef.

Once you are employed as an apprentice chef you are able to nominate to complete the required off-the-job training with the Australian School of Tourism and Hotel Management while you continue your training in the workplace.

Within this pathway another very popular option may be to complete a Pre-Apprenticeship, that is the Certificate II in Hospitality (Kitchen Operations), and then following this enter into your apprenticeship. This pathway is now proving to be one of the more popular ways in which to qualify as it provides you with significant cooking skills and knowledge, enabling you to gain the type of employment you seek, and then complete your apprenticeship with the employer of your choice. It is also likely that you may be able to apply for term reduction at the completion of your apprenticeship.

This pre-apprenticeship course provides a broad foundation of practical cooking skills and product knowledge. The course includes a number of food preparation and presentation techniques using a large range of food and commodities resulting in a vast range of skills and knowledge being developed through a high degree of practical training.

The course includes Internship 1, a practical employment based placement in a commercial kitchen ensuring you gain the necessary on the job experience to meet course requirements. Upon course completion graduates will have the skills and knowledge in order to gain employment as a cook - non tradesperson or apprentice.

Australian citizens or Permanent Residents are also provided a guaranteed employment placement into a Chef Apprenticeship at successful course completion.

Unit Details

* Please note, this course is only available to local students.

This comprehensive course is designed to provide students with all of the skills and knowledge required to qualify for a Trade Chef Qualification. Student develop extensive practical food preparation, cooking and presentation skills. Following completion students are required to complete a further 1 year of employment and complete a Trade Skills Recognition (TSR) in order to qualify for the Trade Qualification.

The course includes Internship 1 and 2, a practical employment based placement in a commercial kitchen ensuring you gain the necessary on the job experience to meet course requirements. This employment placement is organised by the school and ensures all students are employed as a non-qualified cook.

Australian citizens or Permanent Residents are also provided a guaranteed employment placement or an apprenticeship at successful course completion.

Unit Details