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Perspectives on Training for the 
Local Cafe Industry: 

How well does the Hospitality Training 
Provided by Institutional Providers Meet the 
Expectations of Local Cafe Stakeholders? 

A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the 
degree of 

Master in Education (Adult Education) 

At Massey University, Palmerston North 
New Zealand 

Ferdi Lutter 

2007 



Abstract 
The researcher holds a hypothesis about tacit differences in motivation behind training 

for the hospitality industry in New Zealand. Trainees have long held that there are 

differences between the experience of training in a tertiary institute and the realities of 

the workplace. These perceptions prompted this study of the values placed upon 

formal institutional training among a sample of owners, managers , and supervisors in 

the local cafe sector. The local cafe sector is known for its vibrancy, informality and 

unregulated approach to hospitality. The sector is a proliferation of small businesses 

which operates in a competitive environment. This study explores the relationship 

between small locally operated cafes and formal training of the kind fostered by 

polytechnics and similar institutions. 

The findings show there is little reliance on formal training or qualifications in the 

sector. There is a mixed attitude towards the hiring of staff members who have formal 

training. Some local cafe management views the qualifications and formal training with 

indifference. The main factor in employing new workers in the sector is 'experience' 

and in some cases, intrinsic qualities like 'personality' are important. This sector is 

largely made up of small business run by independent owner-operators. Competition 

in the sector is intense, and profit margins are small. Cafe employees are not generally 

well rewarded for their qualifications, and there is little in the workplace culture that may 

distract or inhibit the desire of workers to train formally . There is more evidence of 

formal institutional training and gaining of qualifications among cooking staff in cafes 

than front-of-house areas, signifying that cookery is an area of specialised skill and 

features more as a career choice. While the management of local cafes will sometimes 

seek to hire qualified staff, they accept the lack of them. Management of local cafes 

who have themselves in the past been trained in formal institutional programmes are 

more likely to see benefits in employing people who have undergone similar training. 

This study concludes that formal institutional training is not a necessity in the local cafe 

sector, and that generally this sector views formal training to be of lesser relevance. As 

in most small businesses, cafes show that the need to survive commercially over-rides 

the propensity employers may have to improve the professional standing of their 

employees. Many employers will train employees on-the-job with the skills immediately 

necessary for the commercial well-being of their cafe. Local cafe managers have little 

energy or time to promote formal training programmes, and are content to accept that 

many of their employees will not be formally trained . The relationship between the 

content of traditional institutional training programmes and the skills required in the 

informal environment of the local cafe industry is somewhat incompatible. 



Acknowledgements 

The researcher wishes to extend sincere thanks to those owners, managers and 

supervisors in the local cafe sector who agreed to participate in the interviews. 

Thanks also to them for giving up their valuable time and for trusting the research 

process with their personal revelations. Their generous insights and accounts of their 

experiences form the 'living heart' of this thesis. 

A very special thanks goes to Associate Professor Nick Zepke of Massey University 

who supported the research throughout the process and showed great forbearance 

and patience during the 'down' times. Sincere thanks also to Michele Knight of Massey 

University who co-supervised during the earlier stages. 

Gratitude also goes to Lanny, the researcher's partner in life, for continually 

encouraging him along, ("When are you going to finish your Masters?") and enduring 

the demanding times with him . 

"The chargings to and fro in the narrow passages, the collisions, the yells, the 
struggling with crates and trays and blocks of ice, the heat, the darkness, the 
furious festering quarrels which there was no time to fight out-they pass 
description. Anyone coming into the basement [kitchen] for the first time would 
have thought himself in a den of maniacs." 

George Orwell 

This project has been reviewed and approved by Massey University Human Ethics 

Committee, WGTON protocol 04/26 

ii 



Contents 

Abstract 

Acknowledgements 

Pagei 

ii 

Chapter 1 

Chapter 2 

Introduction 

1.1 Background 

1.2 The Researcher 

1.2.1 Professional Background 

1.2.2 Research Motivation 

1.3 Research Questions 

1.4 Structure of the Thesis 

Page 1 

2 

6 

6 

7 

8 

8 

Literature Review 10 

2.1 Literature Sources 10 

2.2 The Nature of a Cafe 11 

2.2 .1 What is a Cafe? 11 

2.2.2.The Fashion Factor 12 

2.3 The Nature of Training in Adult Education 13 

2.3.1 What is Training? 13 

2.3.2 The Place of Training in Learning 15 

2.3.3 Enlightened Learning and Generic Skills 17 

2.3.4 Who gets Trained? 18 

2.4 The Nature of Formal Hospitality Training for Cafes 20 

2.4.1 The Diversity of Training Requirements 20 

2.4.2 Confused Training Signals 20 

2.5 The Nature of Cafe-Oriented Courses which are 22 

available through Local Institutional Providers 

2.5.1 The Hospitality Standards Institute 22 

Perspective 

2.5.2 The Modern Apprenticeships 23 

2.6 The Nature of the Local Industry 23 

2.6.1 The National Importance of Hospitality 23 

2.6.2 The Wellington Cafe Scene 24 

2. 7 The Nature of the Working Culture in the Cafe Industry 27 



2. 7 .1 Hospitality Culture 27 

2.7.2 Last Choice Industry 28 

2.7.3 Staff Retention 29 

2.8 Other Studies on this Topic Page 30 

2.9 Summary 32 

Chapter 3 

Research Methodology 34 

3.1 Research Methods 34 

3.1.1 Qualitative Research 34 

3.1.2 Interpretive Processes 34 

3.1.3 Constructive Learning 35 

3.1.4 The Role of Subjectivity 36 

3.2 Literature Review 36 

3.2.1 The Use of Varied Media 36 

3.2.2 Triangulation of Sources 37 

3.3 Ethics, Privacy and Anonymity 37 

3.4 The Interview Strategy 38 

3.4.1 Formulation of the Questions 38 

3.4.2 Sampling 39 

3.4.3 The Interviews 40 

3.5 Data Collection and Analysis 40 

3.6 Possible Limitations of the Methodology 42 

3.6.1 Subjectivity Issues 42 

3.6.2 Mass Media Sources 42 

3.6.3 Interviewer Influences 43 

3.6.4 Sampling Issues 43 

3.6.5 Interview Environment 43 

Chapter 4 

Findings and Results 44 

4.1 Profiles of the Participants 44 

4.2 Profiles of the Participating Cates and Personnel 46 

4.3 Findings 48 

4.3.1 What is a Cafe? 49 

4.3.2 Are You Yourself Trained? 50 



Chapter 5 

4.3.3 Are Cafe Sector Staff Members Formally 51 

Trained? 

4.3.4 What Form does Training take in the Sector? 52 

4.3.5 What is the Value Placed upon Training in 53 

the Cafe Sector? 

4.3.6 How does Formal Institutional Training Serve Page 56 

the Sector? 

4.3.7 How does Working Culture Influence the 

Training? 

4.3.8 What Skills do People Gain in the Cafe 

Sector? 

4.4 Summary of Findings 

58 

61 

62 

Discussion and Proposals 64 

5.1 The Cafe Sector Differs from the Restaurant Sector 64 

5.1.1 The Differences 64 

5.1 .2 Fine-dining Restaurants 65 

5.1.3 Utilitarian Dining 66 

5.1.4 The Informality of Cafes 67 

5.1.5 Social Influences 69 

5.1.6 Casual and Versatile 70 

5.2 Training Needs Are often met 'In-house'. 71 

5.2.1 Managers' Training Culture 71 

5.2.2 The Workers and Training 74 

5.2.3 Part-time Workers 75 

5.2.4 Training vs . Work Experience 77 

5.2.5 Kitchen vs . Front-of-House 79 

5.2 .6 Pre-employment Training 80 

5.3 Formal Certification is not Relevant in the Cafe Sector 81 

5.3.1 An Unregulated Industry 81 

5.3.2 Relevance of Training 81 

5.3.3 Rewards for Training 82 

5.3.4 Education and Training 83 

5.3.5 Divergence of Needs 85 



Chapter 6 

Postscript 

Bibliography 

List of Tables 

Table 1 

5.3.6 Workplace Culture 

5.3.7 Environmental Influences 

5.4 Capability Skills are not Fostered in the Local Cafe 

Industry. 

Conclusion 

6.1 Limitations and Implications 

6.1.1 Sampling 

6.1.2 Postal Survey 

6.1.3 Time Period Constraints 

6.1.4 Use of the Internet 

6.2 Future Studies 

6.2.1 Trainees' Views 

6.2.2 Future Training 

6.3 Consolidating the Ideas 

87 

88 

90 

91 

91 

91 

Page 91 

91 

92 

92 

93 

93 

93 

96 

97 

Profiles of the Participants 

Table 2 

Page 45 

Profiles of the Participating Cafes 

List of Appendices 

47 

Appendix 1 

Appendix 2 

Appendix 3 

Appendix 4 

Appendix 5 

Massey University Human Ethics Committee research approval 
application 

Letter of invitation to participate in the research that was sent to all 
participants 

Consent form explaining privacy responsibilities that was completed 
by all participants 

The interview questions, as given to each participant before the 
interviews 

Letter of thanks to participants. 



Chapter 1 

INTRODUCTION 

Preface: 

• 'N' is the Head Chef and Kitchen Manager in one of Wellington 's busiest pub 

cafes. He has a share in the business which is the reward for long service 

marked by being a loyal and hard-working employee. 'N' is a formally 

trained professional chef and tries to employ trained workers where 

possible. In his considerable time in this cafe, he has undertaken one 

apprenticeship for a trainee. 

• 'C' is the owner/proprietor in a small cafe in the inner city on the fringe of 

suburbia. He is the latest in a string of owners of a cafe that was once a 

front-runner in the Wellington scene. 'C' does not have a lot of experience in 

this type of small business, having managed this cafe for only 2 - 3 months. 

He believes that 'experience' is an important quality in new employees. He 

says they do not have time to train staff in his cafe. 

• 'G' is a Head Chef in a contemporary waterfront cafe not far from 

Wellington 's central business district. The cafe he works in alters its 

character from offering cafe service during the day to restaurant service at 

night. The cafe tries to be different things for different types of people at 

various times during the day. 

• 'R ' is the Kitchen Manager and Chef in a small ethnic 1 cafe in Wellington's 

busiest cafe area. It is difficult to find people specifically trained to work in 

the style of cookery that is implemented. 'R' relies on informal on-the-job 

training to induct new employees. 

• 'D' is the owner-proprietor of another contemporary cafe on the fringe of 

Wellington 's main downtown cafe area. He finds that there are not many 

formally trained front-of-house staff members, but says that kitchen staff 

members usually have some formal training. 

1 An 'ethnic' restaurant or cafe engages in the cuisine of the people from one particular nation , region , or 
religious culture, e.g. Indian, Japanese, Creole, Jewish, or Szechwan. 



• 'P' is the owner-proprietor of a busy lunch cafe in a large downtown 

pedestrian plaza. He has been working as the front-of-house host for many 

years and his partner runs the kitchen. Neither of them is formally trained 

but they run a very successful business. 

• 'L' is a fully trained Head Chef in a popular suburban pub cafe. He worries 

about the part-time nature of many employees in his establishment and the 

stress that this factor places on the senior permanent staff. 

The experiences of these cafe owners, managers and supervisors are used in this 

research project to explore the value of formal training in the local cafe sector. The 

themes that are gleaned from the interviews of these people, together with a 

comprehensive review of the literature form the basis for the findings and 

recommendations of this research. 

A number of themes arise. The salient ones are: 

• The distinguishing characteristics of the local cafe sector and how these have an 

effect on the training culture of this sector. 

• The learning principles that could apply in cafe training, and whether these 

principles are more aptly applied in the training institutions. 

• The part that owners, managers and supervisors play in the training culture. 

• Formal training is more likely to occur in some cafe-based vocations than in others. 

• The usefulness of formal institutional training for the needs of this sector. 

• The methods of training that are used for workers in the sector. 

and 

• Employment factors and working culture in the cafe sector that may affect the 

training culture. 

1.1 Background 

The hospitality industry, which includes the local cafe sector, is one of the most 

important and widespread industries in New Zealand, although this importance is often 

understated. In introducing this study it is necessary to emphasise the importance of 

the hospitality industry to New Zealand and to the Wellington area. Statistics reveal 

that the hospitality industry employs_ at lee_st 60,000 people nationally and is the largest 

service retail sector in New Zealand. The cafe sector is a very vibrant part of the 

2 



hospitality industry in Wellington. As the dining habits of people have changed, the 

cafe sector has enjoyed an upsurge in patronage over the last two decades. There are 

currently about 240 local restaurants and bars, and about a third of these identify 

themselves as 'cafes'. The food in these cafes is perceived to be relatively 

inexpensive, yet good value for money. A significant number of these cafes are small 

businesses. These claims are supported in Chapter 2.2 of this report. 

Having an understanding of the significant characteristics of the local cafe sector is 

necessary in order to grasp the nuances of this study. In particular, the role of formal 

training in this sector is of significant importance. Many industries have a code of 

practice that dictates whether a product or service is being executed to acceptable 

professional standards. Is the cafe sector bound by any such quality systems? The 

cafe sector seems to be an unregulated labour industry in the sense that workers do 

not need to be registered on the basis of proficiency in the way that say, electricians 

do. In fact, the workers are not required to be formally trained or have formal 

qualifications at all , in order to work in the industry. This study hopes to identify any 

effects that these industry characteristics have in the local cafe sector. Is there an 

incentive to become formally trained when there is no absolute requirement to do so? 

Is there a responsibility for the employer to facilitate worker training and how much 

resolve, if any, does the worker have to become a trained operative? 

Hospitality is reputedly an industry that attracts workers from varied backgrounds and 

is regarded as an industry in which it is possible to gain employment easily. How much 

does the local cafe sector rely on part-time workers and casual workers? How is the 

value of formal training and qualifications affected by the presence of part-time workers 

and casual workers? What kinds of training are these people given, and how does the 

presence of trained or untrained workers affect the cafe industry? These are some of 

the important questions that this research will attempt find answers for. As there are 

numbers of unqualified workers in this dominant industry, this project also seeks to find 

what value formal training has within the local cafe sector. 

There is also a perception that a 'cafe' is different from a 'restaurant'. The research 

explores the differences and draws conclusions as to how these differences affect 

formal training regimes. It is hoped that important insights will emerge to indicate any 

disparity in training values between the two entities. A cafe, for the purpose of this 

study, is a small, (30-80 seats) unpretentious commercial hospitality business which 

serves food and beverages to the public to consume on the premises. 

3 



Some of the jobs within the hospitality industry, particularly that of chef2, maitre'd3
, and 

sommelier4 are regarded by those who engage in them, as being creative jobs in which 

a high level of skills is exercised by dedicated crafts people. This research will 

endeavour to discover if this is a context which exists mainly in the 'fine-dining' 

restaurant scene, or also in cafes. The fine dining scene, where customers expect to 

pay a premium price for top class food , served with particular attention in a salubrious 

setting , caters for a minority market. The skills required to function effectively at the 

fine dining level can be sophisticated and formal and much training is required. Cates 

can also have good quality cuisine and service, although perhaps not in such a 

traditional way. It would be interesting to discover if restaurant attitudes also permeate 

into the cafe scene. There is a variety of other types of catering in industrial and 

institutional settings, which are more utilitarian in nature and have fewer requirements 

for higher level skills and therefore less emphasis on formal training . Does this 

variation of standards indicate that different types of training are appropriate for 

different sectors of the industry? It is expected that a study of the relationship of these 

different branches of the local hospitality industry will reveal to the researcher the 

training values of each, and by comparison will give forth reasons for any 

distinctiveness in the value of train ing in the local cafe sector. 

What then is the nature of cafe culture? Many countries have a functional indigenous 

cuisine that is based on local ingredients, geography, climate and culture. These local 

cuisine styles contribute greatly to 'street food ' or the patchwork of informal eateries at 

which the local population of that country dines. In many countries, it is part of the 

social culture to frequent such places regularly. Historically New Zealand had little cafe 

culture of this type , but it is developing. Wellington has encouraged a wide variety of 

cafes featuring food from other countries and allowing diners to experience 

international cuisine styles. There has also developed a throng of informal eateries 

which provide good coffee, alcohol and good quality food which experiments with local 

and imported ingredients. Is one training regime suitable for these different styles of 

dining establishments? How would a trainee who works in a Turkish restaurant or 

perhaps a small cafe serving bistro meals fare in the typical traditional institutional 

training environment which is more suited to turning out fine-dining chefs? 

2 A chef is a professional cook, trained to a high standard . The term is also used as an abbreviation for the 
chef de cuisine or head chef. 
3 Maitre'd is an abbreviation for Maitre dhotis. This person is the head waiter. 
4 Sommelier is the wine waiter 

4 



Much of the content and methods of current hospitality training in New Zealand 

emanates from training systems that were in use in the days when hotels, traditional 

fine-dining restaurants, polytechnics and the armed services were the prevalent 

sources of hospitality training. The world of cafe catering is generally casual in 

comparison with the constraints and discipline of the traditional hospitality industry. 

Cates try to provide simple, nutritious natural products that are usually good value for 

money. How well do traditional hospitality values fit with this notion? 

A turning point in the hospitality industry was reached as a consequence of the stock 

market crash in October 1987, an event that punctuated the end of an economic boom 

in this country. Traditional restaurants suffered fall-off in trade and some were forced 

to close (New Zealand History Online, 2005). In this time of dramatic economic 

downturn the urban restaurant trade was forced to reflect on its purpose and intent in 

the commercial marketplace. This gave rise to the development of contemporary 

cafes; a new genre of eating houses that better suited the changing economic 

conditions of the time. How well has the training regime adapted to the changing face 

of local catering? The establishment of this genre as a major contributor to the 

hospitality industry was further enhanced by the deregulation of the liquor industry by 

the introduction of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989. The advent of liberated liquor licensing 

meant that alcoholic beverages could be sold more easily in restaurants, and people 

were changing their social habits. Hill, L., and Stewart, L (1996) write: "This change 

was attributed to consumer choice in a more open and competitive market, as well as 

to the legislative requirement to provide food." 

Many restaurants and cafes could now supplement food-related income with that from 

alcohol sales thus becoming more viable as businesses. In a growing marketplace 

these factors would assist the continued viability of many cafes and was to entice new 

operators into the industry. 

Social changes have also played their part in the development of the local cafe sector. 

New Zealand society has undergone many changes in the last few decades. Changing 

lifestyles in society have assisted the rise of the cafe industry. With both adults in the 

family often working, there is less inclination to cook meals at home than there once 

was. Increased leisure time and more expendable income has allowed for more time 

to indulge in the pleasures of life, including dining-out. The effects of increased tourism 

from abroad, immigration, globalisation, and New Zealanders travelling overseas have 

brought with them cosmopolitan influences in cuisine styles (New Zealand History 

5 



Online, 2005) . Among the many new influences is the introduction of superior coffee 

from freshly-roasted beans which the citizens of Wellington have learned to consume 

with a passion and is a cornerstone of cafe culture. 

1.2 The Researcher 

1.2.1 Professional Background 

In this introduction it is relevant for the researcher to share his professional background 

in order to establish his interests in the area of hospitality training for the local cafe 

industry. The views of the researcher are interwoven through the observations and 

discussions of the research project. He was until recently an educator engaged in the 

training of catering students at Massey University, Wellington. He held this position for 

eleven years, firstly in the employment of Wellington Polytechnic and subsequently with 

Massey University when the two institutes 'merged' in 2001 . Prior to this , he has 

approximately seventeen years experience as a chef, working in industry. He has 

worked abroad for several years, but much of his industry experience was gained 

locally in cafes, restaurants and hotels in which he held a variety of positions, many in 

managerial roles. Currently, the researcher is engaged as Head Teacher of TAFE 

Hospitality and Tourism Management at the New Zealand International Campus in 

Upper Hutt, a position he has held for one year. In all , he is well positioned to 

reasonably debate the aspects of this study. The training and formal learning he 

undertook to gain qualifications as a professional chef were completed in Wellington in 

the early 1980s but like many people, he has never stopped learning and studying . He 

currently maintains associations with significant personnel in the industry and he is 

actively involved in a couple of professional organisations related to the hospitality 

industry. An aspect of this research that he relishes is the opportunity to meet and 

communicate with industry people. 

1.2.2 Research Motivation 

Another question that propels this work is how well the type of catering training 

provided by local training providers meets the needs of the local cafe industry. While 

professional cookery is a long-held passion for him, the researcher's interest in this 

instance is principally educational in nature. In his commitment to hospitality training, 

he has for some time held a perception that there exists a difference in purpose 

between the technical environment of training institutions and that of the industry that 

makes use of the 'products' of the training . This hypothesis provides some motivation 

for engaging in this study. The researcher's opinions in this regard are based on 

6 



personal experiences and an assortment of anecdotal evidence which suggests that 

there are some differences in the intentions of training institutes and the requirements 

of the cafe industry. A part of the task is to undertake a study which will assist to justify 

this hypothesis. In acknowledgement of this perception , it has always been important 

to him, as an educator, to sustain meaningful connections with industry people in an 

attempt to diminish any feeling of seclusion of institutional training. 

To emphasise the perception of differences between the two environments, industry 

practice outside the training institute is sometimes called the 'real world ' by trainers and 

trainees alike. The use of the phrase 'real world' in this context, whether irreverent or 

not, implicitly suggests that the modus operandi of the two environments are different 

from each other, with the inference that the industrial environment is the valid example 

of the use of skills imparted. The researcher has some sympathy with this notion of 

validity as it is the industry that receives and utilises the products of the training , and so 

industry forces are the best placed to judge the value of the training. It seems natural 

that the proper context for the practice of the skills is in the industry. The cafe industry 

is a highly competitive industry that must respond to the realities of the marketplace for 

commercial survival and surely this is the best environment to discover the relevance of 

formal institutional training. Training requirements for the cafe industry are surely 

forged by the commercial expediencies that form an integral part of the industry. Cafes 

are typically small business operations which appear to operate in an ad hoc fashion, 

as needs dictate. The commercial forces that cause an industry to develop should also 

cause the training requirements for that industry to evolve. If there is a methodological 

disparity between the way skills are learned while training in institutes and the way 

skills are practised in the cafe industry, then how prepared is the trainee for the reality 

of the workplace and how valid is the institutional training? Is the training institute the 

best scenario for vocational skills training? If there is doubt about this , are there any 

improvements required that would make institution-based training a more viable 

proposition for the trainee and ultimately for the industry that will utilise the skills? 

What should these improvements be? 

The researcher's interest in undertaking this study has been spurred by a variety of 

factors . He believes the traditional nature of much institutional training is, in part, an 

impediment to the development of contemporary relevant training for the cafe sector. 

The researcher also has a belief that many training institutes have an ethos more 

interested in filling training programmes with students rather than educational integrity. 

He wonders how much the offering of international standards of skills at high levels is 

7 



warranted given that the trainee has aspirations to work in the less formal local cafe 

environment. In a recent study (Lutter, F.W. , 2001, p43) the researcher interviewed 

several ex-students of Massey University regarding their industry experiences. The 

responses he received varied in their point of view but one common sentiment that 

prevailed was a disparity of the experience between the training institutes and the 

reality of the cafe industry. This important revelation has further fuelled the 

researcher's interest for researching this topic. 

1.3 Research Questions 

The aim of this research project is to find out: 

1 Whether cafe sector staff is formally trained. 

2 What form does training take in the sector? 

3 What is the value placed upon training in the cafe sector? 

4 How does formal institutional training serve the sector? 

5 How does working culture influence the training? 

6 What skills do people gain in the cafe sector? 

1.4 Structure of the Thesis 

The thesis is organised into the following chapters: 

Chapter 1: The Introduction 

Chapter 2: The Literature Review 

This is made up of two parts, 

1. The first part is an extensive search of hard and soft literature sources. 

'Hard' and 'soft' are the terms adopted by the researcher for refereed 

and non-refereed data sources respectively. The key themes that are 

explored were those listed on page 2 of this chapter. Each theme 

provides a section in the chapter. The main questions (1-6, previously 

in this chapter) emanated from the literature research . In conducting 

the literature review the researcher had fears that it would not be 

singled out for study very often, given that the cafe sector is 

distinguished by its informality and improvisation, It was resolved to 

delve into unanticipated sources to extract information, and some of it 

will come from unexpected sources. 

8 



2. The second part of the literature review was a survey of thesis 

material that had been previously done by others on similar themes. It 

turns out that very little was discovered, especially local studies of 

training in the cafe sector. 

Chapter 3: The Methodology 

The methodology begins with a discussion on the nature of qualitative analysis 

and its value in the case of this research . The use of interpretive and 

constructivist epistemology is described in relation to current educational theory 

and its relevance in the context of this research is shown. The method of 

sampling is described and the reasons for selecting this method are discussed. 

Interview techniques that will be used with the industry based participants are 

discussed and described. The important issues of ethics, privacy and 

anonymity regarding the rights of the participants and the safety of the research 

material are emphasised and the role of Massey University in these processes 

is described. The rationale for the method of data analysis is described and 

finally, any perceived shortcomings in the methodology choices are 

extrapolated upon. 

Chapter 4: Findings and Results 

This chapter is developed using excerpts from the transcribed interviews with 

the local cafe sector managers, owners and supervisors. The findings are 

structured in the main themes developed and supported by the literature review. 

Chapter 5: Discussion and Interpretation. 

The key ideas which were expressed by the participants are discussed and 

important understandings formed on the relationship between formal training 

and the local cafe sector. 

Chapter 6: Summary 

The concluding section discusses the possible implications that the research 

may have on the local cafe sector and may also speculates how the tertiary 

educational institutes may gain some use from the outcomes. The limitations of 

this research are discussed. Ideas for future research projects emanating from 

this study are suggested. 

9 



Chapter 2 

LITERATURE REVIEW. 

2.1 Literature Sources 

Initially the researcher did not expect a wealth of information on the training practices 

within the cafe sector of the New Zealand hospitality industry. This assumption has 

proved to be ill founded, although some of the information uncovered does tend to 

merge the characteristics of cafe sector with the more academically studied restaurant 

and hotel sectors. The lack of distinction for the cafe sector as an separate entity has 

served to make specific literature and electronic sources more difficult to uncover. 

This literature review has been gleaned from a variety of sources. The researcher 

notes that some of the material is not from academically refereed sources, or 

sanctioned public documents. Information from all sources is useful as it provides a 

means of cross-referencing to endorse or contradict key themes. Some of the 

information that is not refereed is written by journalists and placed in publications that 

have professional standards to uphold, so such information has some credibility as a 

source or as an example but the researcher acknowledges that journalism is 

sometimes emotive and political in intention and must be used prudently. The 

researcher also acknowledges that his own experiences within the industry in question 

have also enhanced the research experience. 

The key areas identified as being important to this literature review are: 

1. The nature of training in adult education. 

2. The nature of a cafe. 

3. The nature of hospitality training for cafes. 

4. The nature of cafe-oriented courses which are available through local 

institutional providers. 

5. The nature of the working culture in the cafe industry. 

6. The nature of the local cafe industry. 

These themes above are explored in this literature review. 

10 



2.2 The Nature of a Cafe. 

2.2.1 What is a Cafe? 

It is difficult to categorize exactly what a cafe is. Specific literature on the subject is 

scarce. In many contemporary situations , the distinction between restaurant and cafe 

is blurred. The Food Lover's Companion, 2nd Edition (Epicurious website, 1995) defines 

a cafe as being "a small , unpretentious restaurant" and draws a significant connection 

with the French term for 'coffee '. Celia Hay (2000, p12) writes: 

"A cafe was originally called a maison de cafe and the first records date from 

1672. ' Coffee was originally thought to be a cure for alcoholism! Later cafes 

began selling beer, wine and offering small meals. During the 19th century, the 

Parisian cafes became more fashionable and sophisticated. The decor became 

more elaborate and the prices more expensive. In the early 20th century the 

less formal corner cafe was established. This was open from breakfast until late 

at night, serving both coffee and wine as well as light meals." 

(Hay, C. 2000 p 12) 

Official descriptions often place cafes and restaurants in the same category. This is 

because bureaucracy sees these two entities as providing similar public services, with 

similar business structures and requiring similar legal regulation . For instance, under 

the auspices of the Food Hygiene Regulations 197 4 restaurants and cafes are 

regarded as "eating-houses" for the purpose of applying the food safety laws (Statutes 

of New Zealand website, 2005) . It is therefore useful to study definitions of 'restaurant' 

as well. 

The meaning of 'restaurant ' is varied. A Google search on the web brings forth many 

descriptions. The definition of restaurant that the researcher prefers is from a local 

health authority in Fort Worth , Texas, USA which states that a restaurant "shall mean a 

food service establishment where food is served in individual portions for consumption 

on the premises". (City of Fort Worth Texas website, 2005) An important proviso of 

this definition is that food must be served for consumption on the premises, which 

separates a restaurant from other food establishments which specialise in 'takeaways' 

or ready-to-eat food to be eaten away from the premises (although some food 

premises provide in-house dining together with takeaways) . A further important 

condition the researcher wishes to add to this description is that a restaurant is a 

commercial entity and the food is sold to the customer in the hope of making a profit, 

11 



as opposed to those dining operations (usually institutional) which work within a 

prescribed budget. So the qualities of dining on the premises and producing for profit 

are the two important requirements of a restaurant, with the other characteristics found 

in a restaurant being found in other forms of the catering industry also. This description 

is also accurate for local cafes, thus further confusing the distinction between cafe and 

restaurant. The Fort Worth Health Authority makes a further interesting observation 

that a cafe can have "an outdoor dining area located on a sidewalk and containing 

removable tables, chairs , plants, and related appurtenances" (City of Fort Worth Texas 

website, 2005) . In New Zealand a lack of formality, functional unobtrusive service, 

good simple food that presents value for money, the availability of good quality coffee 

and often alcoholic beverages are the basic hallmarks of a cafe operation . A more 

extensive description of 'cafe' is found on wikipedia, the internet reference site. This 

definition clearly delineates restaurants from cafes. 

"A cafe (also spelled cafe, ['kcefer] or [kce'fer]) is a type of cafeteria, often with 

an enclosed or outdoor section extending onto the pavement or sidewalk, 

where food and drink are served. Generally serving coffee and other 

beverages, cafes (or more commonly known as cafeterias) also serve meals 

but this is generally not considered their main trade (in contrast to a 

restaurant) ." 

(Wikipedia website, 2007) 

Thus a cafe, for the purposes of this study, is a small (20-80 seats) informal 

unpretentious eating house that serves food and beverages to the public to consume 

on the premises, with the intention of making monetary profits. In New Zealand the 

typical cafe is classified as a 'small business'. Statistics New Zealand website (2005), 

states that "ninety-six percent of non-farming businesses had fewer that 20 

employees." Most local cafes are in this group. 

2.2.2 The Fashion Factor 

A further operational aspect of a cafe is that of 'fashion '. Parts of the hospitality 

industry, in particular some local restaurants and cafes, are part of the food 'fashion ' 

industry, whether they realise it or not. This faction relies on being constantly in the 

public eye in a strategy of self-promotion. Part of this emphasis requires 'trendy' food 

and atmosphere. Walker and Lundberg (1993, p17) describes this fashion-driven part 

of the industry as being "funky". This phenomenon is a product of commercial 

12 



pressure, steeped in marketing values and requires the cafe or restaurant to 

perpetually reshape its 'concept' to maintain its public image and its market share. 

Such establishments are constantly changing menus and styles to keep in touch with 

the competition and to utilise the latest trendy ingredients. The converse of the 

fashion-oriented sector is those cafes that have a set theme which is unlikely to 

change, like a franchise cafe which has bought into a prescribed theme, or an ethnic 

cafe which is bound to the signature food and atmosphere of the featured country, or 

those cafes that operate at a level where they provide basic sustenance food and 

service which also does not change much. Management and staff skills and attitudes 

will differ in relation to the level of fashion requirements of the business. The skills and 

flair of the staff are partly inherent qualities, partly as a result of training and partly 

developed from experience. How much of a factor the fashion requirements of the 

industry feature in the nature of training for the local cafe sector? 

2.3 The Nature of Training in Adult Education. 

2.3.1 What is Training? 

This study explores the value of training in the local cafe sector and so it is pertinent to 

look at the meaning of 'training' in educational theory and how it relates in context to 

the area of this study. It is hoped that it will be possible to formulate a definition of 

training that will suit the context of this study. It is prudent to look at the wide view of 

training first and then specify how training is applied in the local cafe context. What is 

the nature of training? Some commentators of adult education explain the position of 

'training' as related to those of 'education ' and 'learning' . Malcolm Tight (2002, p 21) 

states that: "The idea of training is most usually associated with preparing someone for 

performing a task or role, typically, but not always in a work setting." A prevailing view 

is that training is centred on acquiring or improving specific task-oriented skills, 

knowledge and attitudes to an accepted standard (Tight, M. , 2002 p. 21). These 

values of training are further enhanced: 

13 



'Training became involved with the 'how', teaching with the 'why'; the former 

activity was concerned with the acquisition of appropriate pattern of habits in 

limited situations, the latter was said to be related to 'development of the whole 

person' . ... "Education" implies that a man's outlook is transformed by what he 

knows [whereas] "training" suggests the acquisition of appropriate appraisals 

and habits of response in limited conventional situations [and] lacks the wider 

cognitive implications of "education"." 

(Curzon, L.B., 2003 p 28) 

"Learning is a general term covering all the experiences, processes and 

activities by which a person can gain new behaviours. Training is a subset of 

learning, limited to the acquisition of specific skills through deliberate classes 

and structured instruction." 

(Burns, Robert, 2002, p. 95) 

The tracts above have a common thread in that training as an educational regime is 

seen as being different and subservient to education and learning. An inference drawn 

from the tracts is that training is an educational strategy of lesser importance as it deals 

with material tasks and perhaps the study of training is less interesting to 

educationalists as it deals with manifestly functional learning. 

"Training is a learning process that involves the acquisition of skills, concepts, 

rules, and attitudes so as to increase the performance of each team member. 

Training is not education. Training is the process of integrating personal and 

organizational goals. Training is used to close the gap between current and 

desired performance of individual kitchen team members. It is also about 

helping people learn and develop." 

(Cullen, Noel C, 2000, p 171) 

Cullen (2000, p 171 ) sees training as a vehicle to meet immediate and commercially­

oriented needs within industry with the objective of influencing and enhancing 

performance to meet prescribed standards within the hospitality industry. Cullen 

suggests that that the outcomes of training are prescribed and can be measured 

against. A study of course outlines from local training institutions endorses this idea as 

skill levels are described in learning outcomes as defined competences. Competency 

in these skills being measured by prescribed developments in performance, behaviour, 

knowledge and attitude (New Zealand Qualifications Authority website, 2005.). 

14 



The notion that training is usually tied to work is a common one among commentators, 

as espoused by Goldstein and Gessner, (1988) in Tight, M., (2002 p. 43) ; "training is 

defined as the systematic acquisition of skills , rules , concepts or attitudes that result in 

improved performance in the work situation." Training can also involve the changing of 

behaviours, at least in relation to work practise; such as customer relations, sales 

techniques , supervisory skills, assertiveness training (Dearden 1984, p. 59 in Tight, M., 

2002) . 

Some of the factors identified as inherent in training are 'mastery' of a task or role and 

the need for repetitive 'practice' in order to achieve this. (Tight, M., 2002 p. 20). The 

concept of mastery, as used in reference to training to describe a standard of 

performance, is similar to professional 'competence' in this context (Bennett, N, Dunne, 

E., & Carre C., 2000 p. 13), in that it is not intended to describe a measure of 

excellence. Moorby, Ed. (1996, p. 89) further endorses the position of prescribed 

outcomes of training : 

"[training approaches] tend to regard the subject as rather inert and typically 

produce a training course aimed at the medium level, with remedial training for 

those who are significantly worse than the norm but have to do the task. The 

basic logic is very appropriate to jobs that can be analysed and where the 

learning and behavioural change objectives can be specified clearly and 

unambiguously." 

(Moorby, Ed ., 1996 p 89). 

2.3.2 The Place of Training in Learning 

The training regime in its workplace setting usually enhances a person 's performance 

to achieve a prescribed standard consistently within an accepted timeframe, and this 

reinforces the notion of competence. Bennett, N, et al , (2000 p. 12) views competence 

as a set of professional attributes, and proceed to interpret the Chetham & Chivers 

(1996) model of professional competences and discuss four sets that interlink: 

1. "Functional - the ability to perform a range of work-based tasks effectively to 

produce specific outcomes. 

2. Knowledge/cognitive - the possession of appropriate work-related knowledge 

and the ability to put this to effective use. 

15 



3. Personal/behavioural - the ability to adopt appropriate behaviours in work­

related situations. 

4. Values/ethical - personal/professional values and ability to make sound 

judgements." 

(Chetham & Chivers, 1996 in Bennett, N, et al , 2000 p. 12) 

In relation to the above sets of professional competences, Bennett, N, et al , (2000, p. 

12) further argue that corralling these competences is a set of "meta-competences" 

(Bennett, N, et al, 2000, p 12) which are "generic, overarching, transferable between 

situations and tasks, and fundamental to effective performance." These meta­

competences can be seen as life-skills which profoundly influence the use of the 

professional competences. These life-skills are listed as including "communication, 

self-development, creativity and problem solving" (Bennett, N, et al , 2000, p 12), and 

they rely on the inherent character make-up which is different for each individual. 

Although theoretically a person can be trained in the techniques of a task, the quality of 

the application of professional competences is greatly refined by the natural meta­

competences that are present, or not. This argument suggests that there is an 

intermingled dependence between the four competences: functional , cognitive, 

behavioural and ethical abilities required for training , which is not effective without 

certain standard of generic life-skills. 

Other commentators view these generic skills as components in a stratified hierarchical 

relationship with each higher layer building on , and being influenced by the skills 

acquired at the lower levels. Anderson and Marshall ( 1996) see the primary stage as 

being the "'educational basics' of reading , writing , numeracy and oral communication, 

and 'personal traits ' including honesty and reliability". The second stage is made up of 

'occupation-specific skills ', i.e. those skills needed to complete the job to a satisfactory 

outcome; "generic skills ' such as communication, problem solving , application of 

number and reasoning skills ; and 'personal competences' such as motivation and 

leadership." Stage three of this model is "the 'Overarching Capabilities' for maximizing 

organizational performance ... which include teamworking , self-management, business 

thinking and customer orientation." (Anderson and Marshall , 1996). The researcher 

speculates that the occupational skills at stage two above are currently the most 

consciously desired in the local cafe sector, with the inter-social and generic skills at 

stage two also being important. While the overarching skills in stage three are 

16 



intrinsically desirable it is suspected that they do not consciously feature prominently in 

many employers' recruitment strategies, with the exception of customer orientation. 

2.3.3 Enlightened Learning and Generic Skills 

Bennett, N, et al, (2000, p. 14) state that a report by Harvey, et al (1997) establishes 

that employers generally require "employees who are going to be effective in a future 

changing world - intelligent, flexible , adaptable employees who are quick to learn and 

can deal with change." The evidence for this theory is inconclusive, but it is useful to 

test it in the local cafe scene to discover how important these attributes are. Do cafe 

employers really care about such things, or are they focussed on creating the product 

and providing service; the practicalities of their business? Bennett, N, et al , (2000, p. 

16) also discusses the transferability of skills. They ask how well do core skills, or 

transferable skills transfer from the educational to the workplace setting. 

The researcher has mused on the effectiveness of the skills transfer from one 

environment to another very different environment. Informal discussions with industry 

people over the years have disclosed a divergence of training and industry reality 

between the learning in the training environment and the commercial use of the skills in 

the industry. Industry operatives sometimes display dismissive intolerance to the 

precepts and niceties of the training curriculum in educational institutes. On occasions 

he has heard supervisors with trainees telling them to 'do it that way at Tech , but do it 

this way here! ' This questions the relevance of some aspects of the training . It would 

be interesting to discover whether there exists such an attitude of separation between 

the perceptions of the conditions in local cafe sector and the conditions of the training 

institutes which train the workers for it. 

The cross-over from the training institution to the industrial workplace is also elaborated 

on by Bennett, N, et al , (2000, p. 18). They make reference to the 'culture shock' and 

resulting stress experienced by many first-time employees, and the differences in 

ethics and conditions between the training institution and the industrial workplace. Is it 

that the generic skills required in the workplace are not covered in the training institute? 

The social and interpersonal skills required are apparently mainly acquired 'on the job'. 

What does this say about the effectiveness of institutional training? Other questions 

also emanate from this discussion on culture shock. How much should training be 

oriented towards acquiring the skills that are useful commercially, i.e. industry oriented , 

and how much should it be oriented towards the long-term capability and adaptability of 

17 



the trainee? Who decides the emphasis of the training , as it seems that the interests of 

the various stakeholders are different in nature? 

"the increasing focus on education and training as primarily or solely a servicer 

of the economy. As its role in relation to democracy, citizenship, personal 

development, and culture has been marginalised, it is those areas which 

service the economy which have been emphasised and funded ." 

(Edwards, R. , Sieminski , S., & Zeldin 0 ., 1995, p 3) 

2.3.4 Who gets trained? 

While the trainee may well be interested in acquiring some generic skills to assist in the 

future, the employer may prefer to emphasize training for the tasks in hand as a means 

for sustaining the commercial activity and the training provider may emphasize training 

courses that attract students and government funding . The government of New 

Zealand is also an important stakeholder and can revise national training strategies in 

dramatic ways, as the current awareness of skills shortages in industry (Conway, P. & 

Mcloughlin S, 2002, p24). has done in reviving the emphasis on apprenticeships. 

Skills in England, (2002,) is an annual report produced to promote economic prosperity 

in that country through encouragement of employers to enable training and employees 

to take up training . In this instance training is seen as the universal panacea, "they [the 

skills] can enhance economic performance at an individual , organisational and societal 

level" and "investment in skilJs, by individuals, by organisations and by the state can 

reap substantial [financial] rewards ." (Skills in England, 2002, p 2) Is this propaganda? 

Do trained cafe personnel 'reap substantial rewards' because they are trained? The 

purposes of the stakeholders are not necessarily aligned to each other. The motivation 

to participate in and the accessibility to training differs from one stakeholder to the next. 

Edwards, R, et al , ( 1995, p 1) states: 

"Participation , that is who engages in what forms of learning, is one of the 

central issues in the education and training of adults. While initial schooling is 

compulsory, encompassing everyone up to a certain age, adult learners are 

overwhelmingly voluntary learners, choosing to participate" (emphasis from 

original text) ." 

. (Edwards, R, et al , 1995, p 1) 

18 



This is a commentary on adult learning in general. The researcher feels that this view 

is further complicated by the motivating factors of gaining employment. The possibility 

of attaining wage rises and promotions within work will spur adult learners to undertake 

further education and training that is work related . It could be said that whilst there is a 

choice to gain further training, there are often negative consequences of not doing so, 

which compromises the notion of choice. Employer-initiated training also has a 

distinct financial and productivity focus , with training being sponsored to enable 

employees to keep abreast of new and emerging trends in the industry concerned. 

Based on the readings of the educational principles of training it has become obvious 

that, in terms of this study, it is proper to view 'training ' as a work related activity, while 

acknowledging that it can take place in other settings too. It is useful to see training as 

a task-oriented activity. Later stages of this literature review will show that most tertiary 

programmes engaged in training for the local cafe industry are very much concerned 

with training for the overtly materialistic aspects of providing products and services 

within the industry (Bennett, N, et al , 2000 p. 12). 

A surprising revelation from the reading is the notion that those who already have 

qualifications of some sort are more likely to receive further formally training , i.e. the 

gaining of more skills and qualifications, than those without any. The Skills in England 

report (2002) states 

"access to training remains unevenly distributed across the workforce. Semi 

and unskilled manual and service workers, part-time workers and older workers 

are least likely to receive training . Most training is received by those who are 

already quite well qualified and endowed with skills ." 

(Skills in England report 2002, p26) 

It seems that industry has determined that it is worth training those who already have 

some training . The unskilled are economically not so viable as a training option . This 

state of affairs leads the researcher to ask if there is a vocational sector which acts as 

an area of refuge for the unqualified (but possibly informally skilled) within the 

hospitality industry. If there is such a refuge, how much of it is exists in the informality 

of the cafe sector? 

19 



2.4 The Nature of Formal Hospitality Training for Cates. 

2.4.1 The Diversity of Training Requirements 

The cafe industry is involved in making and providing products and providing services. 

Most cafe employees work in small businesses and have some direct contact with the 

customers. These employees need to be multi-skilled within their field . Is it true that 

the smaller the business the more skills and versatility are required of an employee due 

to the intensive nature of the work? Larger organizations deal in catering for larger 

numbers of customers and so there is more specialization in the work. Do smaller 

operations like cafes need employees to be 'jacks of all trades'? How do training 

institutions deal with this disparity in employee functions in different industry 

operations? The inherent skills that involve behaviour and values that are of 

importance in the industry feature strongly in the written curricula of the cafe oriented 

training programmes that were accessed for this study (Whitireia Community 

Polytechnic webpage, 2005) . How are these values and attitudes encouraged in the 

trainee? Are we to assume that the aspects of training involving behaviours and values 

are somehow woven into the learning informally by emulating the attitudes of the 

trainer or role-model on the job or as the task-oriented training takes place? Is this 

learning to take place by a form of osmosis or is to be taught in an open structured 

way? 

2.4.2 Confused Training Signals 

The New Zealand Government Department of Labour website production "The 

Changing Workplace - Future of Work" (2005) is a source of interesting theory on the 

expected changes in New Zealanders' working habits in the future . A tract from this 

production states: 

"As the economy shifts from goods production to services, manual skills are 

declining in relative importance, whereas communication skills are increasingly 

in demand. While vocational skills (those relating to a particular occupation) are 

still important employers are putting more emphasis than before on generic 

skills such as literacy and numeracy, problem solving , and communication 

skills. These skills are essential for workers to adapt to the changes taking 

place in today's workplaces. Flatter management structures and decentralised 

decision-making have raised the need for workers to display judgement, 

leadership and initiative. Personal traits such as motivation and attitude are 

becoming more important." 

20 



('The Changing Workplace - Future of Work" website 2005) 

Although not a source of 'hard' data this website must hold some credibility because of 

its official nature as the mouthpiece of a government department. This information 

echoes the views of Bennett, N, et al , (2000 p. 16) and it will be interesting to see how 

much value is placed on personal attributes of the employee in the local cafe sector. 

A confusing relationship exists between information in various on-line documents by 

the New Zealand Labour Department. In the previous quotation we are told "manual 

skills are declining in relative importance"(The Changing Workplace - Future of Work 

website, 2005), yet in another presentation we are told : "The fall in the unemployment 

rate to a 19-year low was matched by a sharp rise in skill shortage indicators to 30-year 

highs." (Department of Labour, Publications website, 2005) . If a skills shortage 

currently exists how is this affecting the local cafe sector? It is possible to find some 

reference to the implications for restaurants. In the Wellington region in 2005, three of 

top ten categories of job vacancies were for positions in the hospitality industry. 

(Labourmarket website, 2005) . Keith Stewart writing in the 'New Zealand Listener' 

(April 8th 2006, p26-27) offers a reason for the shortage of 'good' people training in the 

hospitality industry: 

"If restaurants want school leavers to make a career in hospitality, they need 

better training , wages and leadership. Yet restaurant-sector wages went down 

in the five years to 2005." 

(Stewart, K, 2006 p 26-27) 

Is it also more difficult to find suitably trained staff for cafes? How has this affected 

training for the industry? 

It will be interesting to note the commitment of the employer to training and what form 

that training takes . Kate Payne (2001) notes that: "Small to medium sized hospitality 

businesses for example fail to recognise that training and education of employees is an 

investment which returns healthy profits." One would expect that such a situation 

would have an effect within the cafe sector. 

21 



2.5 The Nature of Cafe-Oriented Courses which are available through Local 
Institutional Providers. 

2.5.1 The Hospitality Standards Institute Perspective 

The Hospitality Institute lists typical cafe occupations as: waiter, short order cook, 

kitchen assistant, food counter worker, and cafe manager (HSI Careers Info website, 

2005) and gives job outline descriptions of them. As this study is concerned with 

training in the local cafe industry it is useful to look at personal and educational 

requirements in the sector. It is noted that educational requirements at secondary and 

tertiary levels are not of a mandatory nature but the recommendations are "Sixth Form 

Certificate or NCEA equivalent English , maths is useful" (Kiwicareers.website, 2005) 

for most of the positions outlined. A look at the skills requirements required for these 

positions reveals that they require "practical skills , memorising skills, the ability to follow 

instructions and good communication and people skills. They also need to have 

organisational ability." (Kiwicareers website, 2005) Personal qualities required are 

largely a list of attributes which could apply to many vocations and so must be seen as 

generic and at a basic level. They are listed as: "- Friendly, helpful and polite. - Able to 

work well and remain calm under pressure . - Quick and efficient. - Reliable and 

punctual. - Able to deal with complaints ." (Kiwicareers website, 2005) These general 

skills are supplemented by low-level specific skills, largely task-oriented such as: "serve 

food and drinks, open and pour bottles of wine at the table ... clear used dishes from 

tables, calculate bill and take money from customers, tidy the restaurant. " 

(Kiwicareers.govt.nz/jobs 10/04/2005) Of the positions described, that of the cook has 

similar personal requirements and in addition , the skills requirements state that some 

low level cookery experience would be beneficial. (Kiwicareers website, 2005) The cafe 

manager position outline again recommends certain secondary standards, including 

English , maths, and accounting. Tertiary education recommendations for a manager's 

position are limited to a National Certificate in Hospitality, but this is not mandatory. 

(Kiwicareers website, 2005) At the level of cafe manager a General Manager's 

Certificate is a requirement if the cafe in question wishes to sell alcoholic beverages. 

(Kiwicareers website, 2005) With the exception of some aspects of the cafe 

manager's position the vocational descriptions for this sector of the industry are lacking 

in pre-employment training requirements. This suggests that a degree of training 

occurs informally on the job. It is useful , in the context of this study, to discover the 

extent of informal on-the-job training and the ramifications for the local cafe industry of 

this type of training . 

22 



2.5.2 The Modern Apprenticeships 

The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) (2005) has endorsed the 'modern 

apprenticeship' scheme as a vehicle to solve current skills shortages. 

"There are currently more than 6000 Modem Apprentices in New Zealand, 

working in 31 industry and business sectors, towards more than 260 different 

qualifications. A Modern Apprentice will study for a National Certificate at levels 

3 and/or 4 of the National Qualifications Framework. This will take two to four 

years, depending on the industry." 

(NZ Government Modern Apprenticeships website, 2005) 

Modern apprenticeships are work-based training schemes which sometimes use 

tertiary institutes to augment the workplace training . This study seeks to ascertain the 

impact of workplace apprenticeships in the local cafe industry. Modern apprenticeships 

involve workplace assessment and considerable input from the employer. The training 

is regulated by a national curriculum which is devised and supervised by the Industry 

Training Organization (ITO) for the hospitality industry. The Hospitality Standards 

Institute (HSI) fulfils this function , purportedly representing the interests of the 

hospitality industry as a whole in New Zealand. A modern apprenticeship usually leads 

to the attainment of a National Certificate or Diploma which is nationally recognized . 

"Gaining a national qualification means your Modern Apprenticeship is flexible and is 

recognized by employers in New Zealand and increasingly overseas." (NZ Government 

Modern Apprenticeships website, 2005) There is no National Certificate specifically for 

the cafe sector. The national certificates in hospitality are designed for the general 

hospitality industry and encompass the variety of skills required in cafe work as well as 

other skills more suited to the structured work environment of hotels and 'fine-dining' 

restaurants (New Zealand Qualifications Authority website, 2005). It would serve the 

purposes of this study to learn how much the workers and management of the cafe 

sector value the national qualifications in hospitality. 

2.6 The Nature of the Local Cafe Industry 

2.6.1 The National Importance of Hospitality 

The Restaurant Association of New Zealand (RANZ) provides the following statistics to 

emphasise the national importance of the hospitality industry, "Food Service employs 

63,340 people [in New Zealand]. This industry provides the largest retail service sector 

in the country" (Restaurant Association NZ, website 2004) . The RANZ industry 

23 



forecast for 2004 tells that "industry sales will continue to rise in the next 12 months 

reaching a record $3,763 million dollars." (Restaurant Association NZ, website 2004) A 

significant part of this income is from restaurant and cafe sector of the industry 

(79.9%). Significantly RANZ predicted that the cafe and restaurant sector "will show 

most growth" and will experience "growing skill shortages" (Restaurant Association NZ, 

website 2004) . These two factors are paradoxical as a growth industry should attract 

more trainees. How do these factors affect the training environment in the local cafe 

sector? The New Zealand Immigration Service lists 'Chef' as being the only category 

of service workers to be included on its Long Term Skills Shortage List for preferred 

immigrants (Immigration .NZ website, 2007). This is an attempt to alleviate the shortfall 

of trained chefs in New Zealand by encouraging those from overseas with appropriate 

qualifications to immigrate here. The qualifications required are professional chef's 

qualifications which would indicate that most of these immigrants will gain employment 

in hotels and restaurants rather than cafes. 

2.6.2 The Wellington Cafe Scene 

An area to be explored in this literature review is that of the Wellington city cafe scene. 

This is useful to place the concept of 'training ' in the distinct environment of the local 

hospitality industry. A study of the history of the local cafe scene can be viewed on NZ 

History website, (2005). This is a brief history that encapsulates the evolvement of tea 

rooms and milk bars in the city in the 1930s and 1940s to the coffee bars of the 1950s 

through to the 1980s. It was mainly due to an influx of discerning European 

immigrants, a few of which saw an opening for the comparatively sophisticated coffee 

bars of their former homelands (NZ History website, 2005). The New Zealand liquor 

licensing laws did not allow the legal sale of alcoholic beverages in these places 

(Ministry Social Development Publications website, 2005) prior to 1970 there was not a 

great emphasis in the region on institutionalized tertiary hospitality training in 

Wellington, except in the armed services. Wellington Polytechnic was the main 

provider of tertiary technical training in the area and hospitality courses were initiated in 

1972 (Dougherty, I., 2001 , p 38) and implemented the British oriented London City & 

Guilds programmes. 

Commercial hospitality in the Wellington area is a vigorous and diverse industry which 

has continued to flourish and evolve over the last two decades. Wellington Tourism 

Statistics (2005) states that the "Cafe Society is an integral part of Wellington's lifestyle 

and visitor appeal" 1999 saw a significant increase in 43% in retail sales for cafes, 

restaurants and bars since 1996." (About Wellington Tourism Statistics website, 2005). 

24 



A search on this website conducted in April 2007 shows that 249 restaurants and bars 

are listed in Wellington City, of which 83 have the word 'cafe' in their title. The price 

range of menu items in the cafes is shown as being generally in the $10.00 to $20.00 

price range. Statistics New Zealand website, (2007) indicates that in 2005 there were 

398 cafes and restaurants with 4,490 employees in the greater Wellington region . The 

Wellington region had an estimated population of 460,300 in 2005 (Statistics New 

Zealand website, 2007) These figures emphasise the number of restaurants and 

cafes , (with one for every 1156 people) and the large number of small businesses in 

the local cafe industry with an average of 11 employees for each cafe or restaurant. 

Wellington has many cafes and restaurants. According to the Positively Wellington 

Tourism (WellingtonNZ.com website, 2005) web page "Wellington has more places to 

eat and drink per head than New York [City]". There is fierce competition between the 

many cafes and ethnic restaurants with many of them located in the same district of 

downtown Wellington . Keith Stewart writing in the 'New Zealand Listener' (April 8th 

2006, p26-27) describes the downturn of profitability in the hospitality sector relative to 

the increase in competition . To illustrate the competitive nature of the industry he says 

this of 'fine-dining ' restaurants: 

"However, with restaurant returns at a miserly 4%, compared with 11 % 20 years 

ago, the demise of restaurants as we know them is a possibility if the real profit 

crisis they face is not resolved". 

Stewart K (2006) p 26 

This indicates that people are not spending money on lavish dining experiences as 

they once were. It is also an indicator of the changes in dining in New Zealand over 

this time. This research will try to discover how training has adapted to this trend . 

Have cafes become the preferred places to dine out? The standards of local cafes 

have improved immensely. An indication of the level of sophistication that the local 

cafe scene is capable of is that "Cafe Bastille was named Cuisine [Magazine's] 

Restaurant of the Year [for 2004]". (Search Wellington website, 2005). The website 

goes on to describe Cafe Bastille in the following way: "This is a restaurant which looks 

and feels like a friendly neighbourhood cafe, but which serves outstandingly good 

food ." The description indicates quality of product and informal , unobtrusive service. 

What is the value of training in such a cafe? David Burton the renowned food writer, in 

25 



assessing his picks for the 'Top Ten Wellington Restaurants' in 2007, has this to say 

about the differences in skills between the upper echelons of restaurants and 'the rest': 

"I have to concede that at the lower end of the industry chefs make no great 

claims to innovation and refinement. Rather humbly, they work at the level of a 

craft ... The service too, is often wanting at these lower end bistros ... " 

(Burton, D, 2007) 

In 2003 the Wellington accommodation industry had around 3.7 million visitor nights 

from international tourists and this was increase of 48% over the previous year. 

International tourists comprised 40% of the accommodation market with the remainder 

being internal New Zealand tourists (Search Wellington website, 2005) . Assuming 

that many of these visitors frequent local cafes and restaurants during their stay, and 

then including the many local customers it is possible to see the economic and social 

importance of the sector. 

The current local cafe scene emerged in the early eighties and gained momentum with 

the onset of the stock market crash in October 1987, which brought forth harsher 

economic times and changed the dining habits of the wealthy and corporate 'high 

flyers' who had formerly feasted in style at 'fine dining ' establishments. Throughout the 

last few decades the local population have travelled more overseas and have become 

more aware of international dining-styles. Wellington has become home to more 

immigrants who brought their diverse food styles with them, and locals seemed willing 

participants. Society was changing and people ate out more often. (NZ History 

website, 2005). Perhaps the most important liberating factor was the introduction of the 

Sale of Liquor Act 1989 which made it easier for eating houses to serve alcohol. (NZ 

Government Legislation website, 2007.), (Hay, Celia. 2000, p 9) . This ended the 

brewery monopoly of alcohol retail in New Zealand and enabled the traditional 

accompaniment of alcohol and food in cafes and restaurants in New Zealand on a 

widespread scale (NZ History website, 2005). These foundations, along with the 

influence of some visionary cafe owners like Harry Seresin and Suzy van der Kwaast 

who believed in a 'keep it simple, keep it honest' approach to food, laid the basis for the 

local cafe industry as we find it today (NZ History website, 2005). These early cafe 

owners helped introduce New Zealanders to continental foods and fine coffee. 

Through this history runs a thread of informality in the preparation and presentation of 

food, and informality in the training . Is this still the case? 

26 



2.7 The Nature of the Working Culture in the Cafe Industry 

2. 7 .1 Hospitality Culture 

The researcher construes from his own experiences in the local catering industry that, 

to some extent, the prevailing work culture has an effect on the value placed on 

training. He recalls twenty years ago working in cafes where few staff members had 

formal institutional hospitality training . In fact, formal training was decried as being 

contrary to the informality of cafe work in one place that he worked. This informality 

lends itself to the various functions of the cafe in a variety of ways. The decor, 

atmosphere, management styles, furniture , mode of service, dress of the staff and type 

of food all expressed a kind of studied informality that expressed a subdued disdain for 

the ostentatious affectations of 'fine-dining' restaurants and hotels. Inherent in this 

early maverick cafe culture seemed to be a disregard for the conventions of formal 

training . Yvonne Guerrier (1999, P 43) describes the relationship between the guest 

and the staff of a restaurant thus: 

"Natural hospitality involves welcoming guests into one's home. But guests are 

not members of the household and so there need to be some restrictions about 

where guests are allowed. All hospitality operations have a front-of-house area 

where hosts are on their best behaviour for the benefit of the guest and a 

private back-of-house area where the household can behave in their natural 

way." 

Guerrier, Y. (1999, P 43) 

The notion of customers as 'guests' and the idea of: "best behaviour for the benefit of 

the guest" are passe concepts in the local cafe sector. In cafes host behaviour towards 

the customer is often utilitarian and natural , without being offensive. Staff dress and 

manner is often as natural 'out front' as it is 'back of house'. The kitchen operations 

are sometimes visible to the customer, and so kitchen staff behaviour becomes part of 

the atmosphere of the premises. Another aspect of cafe work that is evident is relative 

lack of the traditional demarcation of jobs and skills. Employees are expected to be 

more multi-skilled and versatile . These are attitudes that belie the almost militaristic 

staff hierarchy of more traditional catering establishments. How does this relatively 

relaxed attitude to traditional labour delineations affect the motivation for cafe 

managers to implement traditional training regimes? 

Some people are attracted to cafe work because of the lifestyle that accompanies the 

job. This lifestyle is not readily apparent to the customers when availing themselves of 

27 



the cafe's services , but it is an implicit , latent part of cafe and restaurant staff culture. 

Anthony Bourdain is a chef from the United States of America and an articulate 

commentator on the sociological nuances of the hospitality industry. He describes a 

swashbuckling kitchen culture that belies public perceptions: 

"Highwaymen rogues, buccaneers, cut-throats, they were like young princes to 

me, still only a lowly dishwasher. The life of a cook was a life of adventure, 

looting , pillaging and rock-and-rolling through life with a carefree disregard for 

all conventional morality" 

(Bourdain, A. 2000 p 22) 

While this is a theatrical description of kitchen life, it is in some ways realistic. It is 

difficult to reconcile this image with the views provided by hospitality management 

orientated texts. From my own experiences I can verify the impressions of kitchen life 

given by Bourdain (2000) . In another publication Bourdain elucidates further on the 

peculiarities of kitchen life: 

"I love the sheer weirdness of the kitchen life: the dreamers, the crackpots, the 

refugees, and the sociopaths with whom I continue to work ... In America, the 

professional kitchen is the last refuge of the misfit. It's a place for people with 

bad pasts to find a new family . It's a haven for foreigners - Ecuadorians, 

Mexicans, Chinese, Senegalese, Egyptians, Poles." 

(Bourdain , 1999. p 61) 

2.7 .2 Last Choice Industry 

Yvonne Guerrier, (1999, P 58) describes the hospitality industry as "the Cinderella 

industry". She argues that the industry tends to attract people who see it as a "last 

choice industry rather than the industry of choice. " It seems to attract people not 

readily accepted in other sectors of industry. The views of Bourdain and Guerrier are 

important as they describe an industry in which many people take refuge for a variety 

of reasons, rather than an industry which attracts people as a planned career option. Is 

this the case in New Zealand? Could the local hospitality industry be failing to attract 

and retain the people it needs to function at its best? Is the industry attracting people 

who seek to receive formal training to do the work or are people being attracted 

because of the lack of requirements for formal training? Guerrier (1999, P 58) 

contends that the industry gets the calibre of workers it deserves, "by offering the 

lowest pay and poorest conditions that they can and by neglecting to invest in training 

and development. " 

28 



Aspects of these descriptions of working-life in cafes are evident in the local industry. 

An important feature of the hospitality industry is the large numbers of part time and 

casual workers employed in the industry. Statistics New Zealand figures for 2004 show 

that of a total of 98,100 workers in the accommodation , cafes and restaurants sector 

56,900 of them are in part-time employment (Statistics New Zealand website, 2005). 

This makes 58% of the employees in the sector part-time employees. This is a high 

percentage and it is debatable whether part-time employees have the same degree of 

pride and professionalism in the job as full time employees who have made a career 

commitment and are looking to get ahead in the industry. Which of these types of 

employees are likely to be interested in formal training? 

A tacit feature of the seamy side of restaurant life is the alcohol and drug abuse 

amongst the staff. The hospitality industry is one of those known to have a significant 

proportion of its staff indulging in such activities, even at work. An article (anonymous) 

in Hospitality magazine states 

" ... the Institute of Environmental Science and Research estimates that 40% of 

the national workforce in New Zealand has partaken of illegal drugs at least 

once over the past 12 months. With the social nature of the hospitality industry 

- combined with the relatively young demographic of the workforce - ESR 

believes the 40% figure hold true for the hospitality and foodservice sectors." 

(Hospitality magazine, October 2004, p 6) 

The article goes further to link substance abuse with "workplace violence and theft" 

(Hospitality magazine, October 2004, p 6). It is appropriate to ask whether a cultural 

climate of such concern is an environment that is conducive to attracting and retaining 

people who value training and professionalism. 

2. 7.3 Staff Retention 

It is important to note the trouble that catering employers have retaining employees of 

the right calibre. A recent U.S. report states "With an average annual employee 

turnover rate of 125 percent, and rates as high as 300 percent in some segments, hotel 

and restaurant companies are losing employees as fast as they get them" 

(Goldwasser, 2000, p46) . What is the message here and how accurately does this 

situation apply to the local cafe scene? Is it that employers are forced to hire people 

with insufficient professional abilities who cannot cope with the demands of the 

industry, is it that expectations of the employee's professional abilities are unrealistic, 

29 



or is it a combination of both? In the New Zealand context, Paul Stowers (2005, p22) 

of Food Service magazine writes about the staff turnover in the local industry " ... once 

employed, there is a 50% chance that that any given foodservice or hospitality 

employee will leave their job within one year." He goes further and makes a startling 

revelation that 

"The overwhelming majority of people who leave foodservice or hospitality 

business leave because of the way they are treated every day. Lack of 

appreciation , lack of teamwork and the perception that the company doesn't 

care about employees are consistently the highest-rated reasons for low job 

satisfaction." 

Stowers, P., (2005) p22. 

The point of this Food Service magazine article is to explain the cost to the industry of 

discontented staff and to extol the virtues of retaining staff in a positive way within the 

local hospitality industry. Could employer encouragement of enhanced career 

prospects based on the acquisition of skills and qualifications be a way of retaining staff 

in the industry? 

2.8 Other Studies on this Topic 

Despite much searching , not a lot of information on the subject of training cultures in 

cafes was discovered from academic theses or dissertations. Perhaps this is because 

the cafe industry is large and diverse with much of its functions improvised and 

informal. It involves a myriad of small businesses which may find the precepts and 

structure of formal business practice unpractical. One treatise on training for the local 

catering scene is a Masters' degree thesis by John Hudson (2003) . He explores the 

impact on the industry of the various changes in catering qualifications over the last few 

decades and the different emphases in training that these changes provided. Hudson's 

study focussed primarily on chefs' training and so is grounded in the more traditional 

and entrenched side of the hospitality industry. He makes an interesting observation 

on the state of industry training latterly. 

"Four different eras of recognized training structures, and their respective 

qualifications, were utilized over the 1980 - 2000. At the same time that the 

hospitality industry has reinvented itself to keep pace with an increasingly 

competitive and diversifying market. With the diversification of the industry, it 

30 



seems that their training needs became equally diversified. Unit standards 

were introduced as a training model that would accommodate the diversity of 

industry by introducing national standard in the workplace. The data suggested 

strongly that one particular standard in one business was not necessarily the 

standard required in another - there is a marked difference for instance, 

between a fast food restaurant and a fine-dining hotel restaurant - both 

establishments respond totally differently to the requirements of their 

customers. The catering industry is a clear example of an industry sector where 

one size does not fit all." (emphasis from original text) 

(Hudson, J B, 2003. p 58) 

Hudson is saying that within the training there is a diversity of standards depending on 

the type of establishment and the background of the trainer. He is suggesting that the 

type of training should fit the style of establishment. Training in one establishment will 

not be the same as training in another establishment, thus creating inconsistency in the 

outcomes of the training . An all-encompassing National Certificate system based on 

units of competency might not be the best option for all styles of establishment. What 

kind of establishment does this system of training suit? As the current training regimes 

have developed from the earlier chefs' apprenticeship systems (Hudson, J B 2003, p 

58) this suggests that the same structured sector of the industry is being targeted still. 

This is possibly because the traditional side of the hospitality industry is organised, 

represented, and has its requirements heard through official channels. The diversity 

and informality of the cafe sector possibly makes it averse to such organisational 

aspirations and so it seems to remain a maverick force in the industry. What is the 

best training option for the local cafe industry? Indeed, does the local cafe industry 

favour a training option leading to a formal qualification at all? It may be that the 

attraction that this section of the hospitality industry has for employees and customers 

is in its informality and lack of prescribed standards. Perhaps the laissez faire 

environment of the cafe sector is required to create cutting edge cookery that is 

innovative and commercially sensible. The final decision of quality lies with the 

customer. John Hudson's thesis (2003) traces the evolution of catering training in the 

last two decades and asks serious questions about the place of competency-based 

assessment in the training environment as a whole. His thesis does not specifically 

emphasize the cafe sector and this researcher has had difficulty locating other studies 

that deal with the local cafe training situation. The conclusion drawn from the lack of 

other academic analysis is that this area has not been extensively studied to date. 

31 



2.9 Summary 

Through extensive reading on the area to be studied using a variety of sources, a 

number of key themes have emerged from which the interview questions will emanate. 

These are as follows: 

• The qualities that it is desirable for employees to bring to enhance the cafe 

enterprise. 

• The value to your cafe enterprise is training in the 'life-skills' of communication, self-

development, creativity and problem solving. 

• The relevance of skills taught in the training institutions to your cafe enterprise. 

• The value of social and interpersonal skills acquired 'on the job'. 

• The accessibility of formal training and how the cafe enterprise supports the 

training . 

• The extent that trained cafe personnel are rewarded for having qualifications. 

• The reliance on new employees learning from more experienced workplace role 

models. 

• The value of apprenticeships in the local cafe industry? 

• The value placed by workers and management of the cafe sector on the NZQA 

national qualifications in hospitality? 

• The ability of the industry attracting people who are amenable to receiving formal 

training? 

• The smaller the business the more skills and versatility are required of an 

employee. 

• The influence that the culture of cafe work has on the conduciveness of formal 

training. 

• The qualities that employees to bring to enhance the cafe enterprise. 

• The value to your cafe enterprise is training in the 'life-skills' of communication, self-

development, creativity and problem solving . 

• The relevance of skills taught in the training institutions to your cafe enterprise. 

• The value of social and interpersonal skills acquired 'on the job' . 

• The accessibility of formal training and how the cafe enterprise supports the 

training . 

• The extent that trained cafe personnel are rewarded for having qualifications. 

• The reliance on new employees learning from more experienced workplace role 

models. 

32 



• The value of apprenticeships in the local cafe industry? 

• The value placed by workers and management of the cafe sector on the NZQA 

national qualifications in hospitality? 

• The ability of the industry attracting people who are amenable to receiving formal 

training? 

• The smaller the business the more skills and versatility are required of an 

employee. 

• The influence that the culture of cafe work has on the conduciveness of formal 

training . 

• Training can have inconsistent outcomes. 

There seems to be a lack of research in the area of cafe sector training in New 

Zealand, which suggests that any work in this area will be rewarding . 

33 



Chapter 3 

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 

This chapter discusses the methodology of this research project. It details the reasons 

for selecting the type of research method used and then describes the research 

process as it is expected to occur. The description of the process is concerned with 

planning issues, operational aspects, analysis and presentation. This chapter ends 

with a discussion of possible limitations of the research in view of the chosen research 

methods. 

The issues that emanate from the literature review are: 

• Whether cafe sector staff is formally trained. 

• What form does training take in the sector? 

• What is the value placed upon training in the cafe sector? 

• How does formal institutional training serve the sector? 

• How does working culture influence the training? 

• What skills do people gain in the cafe sector? 

3.1 Research methods. 

3.1.1 Qualitative research 

These issues have a qualitative theme as they seek to gain deeper understanding of 

the issues within a particular socio-cultural context. Qualitative research is the 

exploration of social issues in a mainly subjective way in order to gain understanding of 

a localised set of circumstances by interacting with others who experience those 

circumstances (Holliday, A. , 2002, p7) It does not focus on achieving an objective 

scientifically quantifiable result. So the aims of this research include trying to gain an 

understanding of how and why things happen rather than merely what happened. 

Qualitative research is the suitable format to facilitate this , as it allows a personal 

interaction with the sample group of contacts. 

3.1.2 Interpretive processes 

lnterpretivist processes will be used to analyse the qualitative data accumulated from 

the interviews. lnterpretivism is described as being interpretations of social issues 

based on interactions of people within a cultural environment at a given time (Crotty, M. 

1998, page 67) . Harris, C. & Jimenez, S. (2001 , p. 85) explains the interpretivist 

34 



approach as being an 'interpretive lens ' which brings together the influences of theory, 

data, participants, and the researcher. They say: "The interpretive lens is both shaped 

by and in itself shapes, our views of these four informants and the ways in which they 

inter-relate." (Harris, C. & Jimenez, S. 2001 , p. 85) In this research, a number of 

people engaged in management and supervisory jobs within the local cafe industry will 

be interviewed to give their interpretations on the value of formal institutional training in 

their sector. The views expressed will be tinged with the feelings and meanings of 

those interviewed and inextricably, those of the interviewer. The findings of such 

discourse will be "values mediated" (Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. 1998 p. 206). These 

findings need to be interpreted with an eye to the social and cultural context from which 

they are generated. Theories that develop from interpretivist research are not 

generally theories that are universally applicable in a normative sense but usually apply 

to the localised situation (Cohen, L., Manion, L. , and Morrison, K., 2000, p. 23) . 

lnterpretivist research does not usually come up with truisms or rules but may lead to 

the construction of generalisations which can lead to the formulation of helpful themes. 

It is useful to note that the factors of interpretivist research are continually changing 

with the interaction between the targeted group and the evolution of the targeted 

environment, in this case local cafes and their management. As well as concentrating 

on the issue of training , this study seeks to also explore the nature of the environment, 

albeit a changing one. 

3.1 .3 Constructive learning 

lnterpretivist research is strongly supported by the premises of constructive learning. 

Internet educational website thirteen: ed online (2004) describes constructivism in the 

following way: 

" ... people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, 

through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we 

encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and 

experience, maybe changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new 

information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own 

knowledge." 

(thirteen: ed online website 2004) 

Guba, E. G., & Lincoln , Y. S. (1998, p. 207) describe the function of constructivist 

epistemology in research by stating that 'The investigator and the object of 

35 



investigation are assumed to be interactively linked so that the "findings" are literally 

crnated as the investigation proceeds." 

3.1.4 The role of subjectivity 

The views of Guba & Lincoln (1998 p. 206) endorse an anti-positivist view that in 

qualitative research the issues are best understood in a situation where "the researcher 

shares the [participants'] frame of reference: understanding of individuals' 

interpretations of the world around them has to come from the inside not the outside" 

(Cohen, L. , Manion, L., and Morrison, K., 2000, p. 20). The researcher in this case, 

has knowledge of both the cafe sector of the hospitality industry and local institutional 

vocational training and so his experience in these areas will enhance the outcomes of 

this study. While objectivity is a desirable feature of research (Langley, P, p. 1) 

subjectivity in interview processes is inherent. This subjectivity is due to the various 

perspectives, motives and feelings of both the interviewer and interviewee which they 

bring to the interaction, and even their abilities to articulate their ideas (Atkinson, P., 

Coffey, A. , and Delamont, S., p. 120). In this research the subjective influences in the 

data will be recognised as such and will be used as effectively as possible to help 

establish the themes. 

3.2 Literature review 

3.2.1 The use of varied media 

An extensive literature review has been conducted and a variety of media explored to 

build a picture of the knowledge and views of other commentators on the subject. The 

following media sources have all provided valuable information for the literature review. 

1. Academic literature, subjected to referee processes. 

2. Theses on related topics 

3. Other literature, not refereed. 

4. Trade and Professional Magazines 

5. Tertiary institute training course outlines 

6. New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) competency descriptions 

7. Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI) training standards 

8. Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) reports 

9. Department of Labour reports 

10. Statistics New Zealand 

11 . Tourism Wellington 

36 



12. Daily newspapers 

13. Video material 

14. Television presentations 

As is the case in much contemporary research this material was gleaned from a 

mixture of media including websites on the Internet and also from 'hard copy' sources. 

The hard copy material was obtained from library collections, borrowed from peers and 

mentors , or from the researcher's own collection . Some hard copy material was 

obtained directly from government department offices, HSI and the Wellington City 

Council. 

3.2 .2 Triangulation of sources 

Information from a variety of sources is useful as it provides a means of triangulation to 

endorse key themes. Triangulation, in this instance, is "the use of two or more 

methods of data collection in the study of some aspect of human behaviour. " (Cohen, 

L. , et al, 2000, p. 112). The aim was to identify convergent overlapping areas within 

the different sources to identify themes and add validity to the research outcomes. 

Comparing different sources of data has brought forth compatible themes and 

contradicting ones. Both cases are useful for supporting discussion. Compatible 

themes allow data from various sources to verify and support each other whereas 

contradicting themes bring cause for further discussion and contemplation . 

3.3 Ethics, privacy and anonymity 

The research proposal for this project is subjected to Massey University Human Ethics 

Committee (MUHEC) scrutiny (appendix 1 ). This is undertaken to seek endorsement 

of the proposed research methods and to seek approval for the processes designed to 

protect against repercussions to the University or to the participants and their 

establishments, employers or employees. 

The researcher has taken all possible steps to ensure the privacy and anonymity of the 

participants. Initial contact with the participants is either by telephone or in person. In 

each case, the participants have been invited to take part by letter (appendix 2) and 

advised of the aims and processes of the research . The research questions have been 

given in writing with sufficient time for the participant to reflect on them before the 

interview. A consent form (appendix 3) has been included and has been read and 

signed by each participant as a statement of understanding and participation in the 

37 



research processes. The consent form also outlines the participant's rights in the 

research process. It states that the participant: 

• Has read the information letter and the details of the study have been explained to 

their satisfaction. The particip