19 September 2024
South Metropolitan TAFE (SM TAFE) lecturer Clare Russell has spent the last 14 years dedicated to the area she is most passionate about - training students for their future in the hospitality industry. We caught up with Clare to find out what's really involved in hospo training! The SIT30622 Certificate III in Hospitality is currently offered half price and applications for Semester 1, 2025 are now open!
"It’s understanding your customers, it’s changing the mentality from just providing a service into providing an experience for your guests."
Clare Russell
Lecturer, and Head of Programs (Hospitality), South Metropolitan TAFE
South Metropolitan TAFE (SM TAFE) lecturer Clare Russell has spent the last 14 years dedicated to the area she is most passionate about - training students for their future in the hospitality industry.
Clare lights up when she talks about the new training facilities at the SM TAFE Mandurah campus, which include a brand-new hospitality and tourism training centre that allows students to live locally, work locally and train locally. She says that the upgrade has changed the landscape of training.
“It’s amazing to be able to walk into your workplace every day and be proud and excited. For our hospitality students, we’ve got our ‘live works’ area, which is Saltbush Training Restaurant.”
She elaborates on the valuable real-world experience that the restaurant provides her students. “We’re open to the public four times a week and this allows students to work in various job roles such as mastering the skills of cocktails, mocktails, pulling beers, cashiering, food and beverage service, and working in our barista coffee-making area.”
With over 30 years of industry experience, Clare started working in a restaurant as a teenager in regional Queensland and her love of hospitality became ingrained. She quickly progressed into management roles and her natural ability to train eventually led to her becoming a lecturer.
Clare herself has completed all of the hospitality qualifications at SM TAFE. Her advice to anyone thinking of beginning a career in the field is to be open-minded to what your future could hold.
“I really do think that people believe it’s a job you do in between something else, and I think there is the false belief that it’s just carrying plates or just making coffee but there is so much more behind those skills,” Clare said.
“It’s understanding your customers, it’s changing the mentality from just providing a service into providing an experience for your guests.”
One of Clare’s students, Brielle, completed the SIT30622 Certificate III in Hospitality and has a dream to one day open her own pet-friendly book café.
“I really enjoy reading, food and coffee so when I was stuck at school, wondering what I wanted to do, someone suggested why don’t you combine it all,” Brielle explained.
“I enjoyed the practical side of the course, making coffees and being behind the bar, because I want to open my own business and get a job at a café and work my way up and manage it. I would feel comfortable working at a café or bar after doing training here,” she said.
Clare works actively with school leavers like Brielle and also champions Vocational Education and Training Delivered to Secondary Students (VETDSS or TAFE at School), which provides pre-apprenticeships and training in areas such as cookery and tourism.
We also wish Clare well as she takes on the role of Chief National Judge in Brisbane in next year’s WorldSkills vocational education and training in secondary schools competition for food and beverage.
Most importantly, we asked Clare what her favourite meal to eat was when she catches a break.
“Anything fresh seafood! It’s food that takes you back to memories and growing up in Queensland, you can’t beat a bucket of fresh prawns on the beach,” she said.
Want to carve out your career in the hospitality industry?
The SIT30622 Certificate III in Hospitality will equip you with the skills to enter the industry as a waiter, barista or bar attendant, and this course is currently offered half price.* Start your journey in hospitality, or if you currently work in the field – formalise your skills with this course.
Learn in real-world restaurant settings at Saltbush Training Restaurant at Mandurah campus or Bentley Pines Training Restaurant at Bentley campus.
The SIT40422 Certificate IV in Hospitality is a slightly higher course that provides job-ready skills to become a team leader, whilst the SIT50422 Diploma of Hospitality Management is the more advanced course that prepares you for becoming a restaurant manager. The Certificate IV and Diploma are also currently offered half price* at our Bentley campus.
Applications for Semester 1, 2025 are now open!
Clare trains the next generation of hospitality professionals at SM TAFE Mandurah campus.
Students learn hands-on skills to prepare for industry.
Lecturers guide and support the learning journey.
Brielle enjoyed the practical side of the Certificate III in Hospitality.
Saltbush Training Restaurant at Mandurah campus.