Manjit Singh
In 2019, Manjit Singh came to New Zealand from Bangalore in India with his wife who was pursuing her PhD.
Although he was an experienced chef, he had no formal qualification, having taught himself by learning on-the-job and doing lots of reading.
“I’ve been in the industry for around 26 years,” he says. “Coming here was an opportunity to showcase my skills and knowledge.”
Those skills helped Manjit land the role of head chef at Barker’s Food Store and Eatery in Geraldine, then senior sous chef at the Tai Tapu Hotel, his current place of employment.
However, to enhance his employment opportunities, he decided to formalise his learning by gaining a qualification via Ara Instititue of Canterbury’s Centre for Assessment of Prior Learning (CAPL).
CAPL assesses and translates a candidate’s skills and experience into credits towards part of or all of a formal qualification.
“The CAPL team understood my work experience and were able to offer me the best possible solution to get a New Zealand qualification,” he says.
Manjit decided to use the CAPL assessment process to gain a Level 4 New Zealand Certificate in Cookery. It took just two weeks and Manjit says it was straightforward without any challenges.
“Ara’s hospitality faculty is well informed and knowledgeable. They’re as passionate about education as chefs are about producing great food.”
Manjit says Ara’s assessors were “kind enough” to let him undertake the assessment at his workplace.
“I sent them through photos with timestamps and documented the process of execution of the menu. I also had a face-to-face interview and a Zoom meeting. It helped that I’d documented my journey in the hospitality industry quite well and that gave them the confidence in my abilities.”
After nearly three decades in the industry, Manjit now has a qualification to show for all his hard work, and it’s also helped with his residency visa.
“A qualification isn’t essential in this industry, but it gives employers confidence that you have the knowledge of working in New Zealand and you understand relevant things like health and safety, especially if you’re from overseas. I’d recommend anyone who’s looking at furthering their career to look no further than Ara. They’re the best.”