SUMMER EDITION 2007 - Faculty of Business and Law - Victoria ...

SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY, TOURISM & MARKETING
Heading up tafe
Degrees spoke with Nic Beredimas,
the new Head at Victoria University
TAFE’s Hospitality and Tourism
Department.
Degrees: You’ve been on the School of
Hospitality, Tourism & Marketing’s Program
Advisory Committee for a long time in an
advisory capacity, and now you’re an
academic within the university structure. What
are the things you’re learning now that you
didn’t realise
Nic Beredimas: The fantastic diversity of the
uni, and that it is important to work with others
both inside and outside VU. And how important
it is to treat them like a customer - if you don’t,
then you treat people as though you are doing
them a favour and this doesn’t build good, long
term relationships.
D: What made you enter the hospitality and
tourism profession
NB: I’d worked in kitchens for a while and I
wanted to do more, so I undertook a hospitality
course. I was a trainee manager for a hotel
group in Adelaide in South Australia and
worked my way up to Venue Manager. But
then I went on holiday and stayed away three
years… I’d recommend that to anyone young,
because you need to get that sort of thing out
of your system to have a real career.
D: What did you do after your three year
‘sabbatical’
NB: I came back to Melbourne and worked
at the famous Florentino restaurant, and the
Tramcar restaurant in hospitality and front of
house. That sort of role can teach you so much
about people. When Florentino was sold I
was in limbo, and I worked as a casual skills
trainer for Tourism Training Victoria because I
had five star restaurant skills, teaching food and
beverage skills to the long term unemployed. I
was working with some very damaged people:
people who had self-esteem issues, drug
problems, abuse problems, and my role was to
help them get the training they needed to find
a job. And I did; everyone who wanted a job
got one! It was fantastic.
D: But then you went back to study. Why
NB: I wanted some formal education
and training skills, so I enrolled in a postgraduate
course at VU. But I also worked for
Delaware North AVS as National Training
and Development Manager, which is where I
learned about big business and how to deal
with many different projects and teams, mostly
on remote control.
Nic Beredimas with his children Isabella and James
D: You ran your own consultancy for a long
time. How did that happen
NB: After Delaware North I joined Sodexho
as Learning and Development Manager, where
I looked after the southern regions, including
New Zealand. I secured funding for the Front
Line Management trial project, but business got
very tough and my position became redundant,
so I set up my own business as a consultant,
which I ran for nine years. It’s still going strong
now, under its new management.
D: Today you’re head of the TAFE Hospitality
and Tourism Department at VU. What does the
role entail
NB: Too many meetings and not enough time
to do real work! When I say real work I mean
income-producing. It’s a very administrative role
that could do with some tweaking to allow me
to get out there and promote to industry and
develop networks on a more regular basis.
Budgets are very important as it is a fair sized
department and we have two restaurants and
bars and all the stock and equipment as well.
Phew!
D: What advice would you give to prospective
students – those who are thinking of getting into
the industry
NB: Have a great attitude to people, and as
with any industry, be prepared to start at the
bottom. Learn the ropes and how to do things,
but never, ever forget that the key as I see it,
is knowing how to deal with and understand
others: people are the greatest strength as well
as potentially the greatest weakness for any
business.
D: Who do you think has most influenced you
in your career choice
NB: My mum, who brought me up alone
as a widow. My wife of 20 years who has
supported me the entire way (as well as my
kids James and Isabella). And an ex-teacher
and mentor of mine, Karon Hepner, previously
from RMIT, now Group HR Manager for
Compass, who taught me that if you want to
get ahead, focus, work hard and believe in
yourself and your abilities.
D: On a personal level, what sort of hobbies
do you have
NB: The kids and I love footy so we go during
the season, supporting my kids’ activities and
interests, relaxing in our swim spa, bike riding
and COOKING – that’s right – I am still very
handy with a spatula and rolling pin (in the
kitchen that is) and I tend to take over other
people’s barbecues when I visit, because meat
should never be cooked on a roaring, firespitting
barbecue! When I see that happening,
and if they’re wearing a ‘kiss the cook’ apron
and ask me how I like my meat cooked, I reply
‘cooking it myself thanks!’
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY