New approval criteria for Hospitality and Catering qualifications

Wales attracts visitors from around the world with its stunning natural beauty, diverse landscapes, and rich cultural heritage. The hospitality and catering industry plays a key role in welcoming these tourists, employing thousands of people across the country and contributing £4 billion to the economy.  

Marking a new milestone for Hospitality and Catering qualifications in Wales, the approval criteria were designed with input from stakeholders to provide a more coherent menu of qualifications that contain: 

The approval criteria set out some key requirements for the content and assessment of the new made-for-Wales Hospitality and Catering qualifications. This suite of post-16 qualifications will be ready for Further Education colleges and Work Based Learning in September 2026 and for first teaching to learners from September 2027.   

Lisa Mitchell, Qualifications Wales’ Qualifications Manager, said:  

"The hospitality and catering industry is a significant sector in terms of Wales’ overall workforce. During our engagements with stakeholders, we received feedback that it was important for Further Education to have access to a variety of qualifications that allow learners to develop sufficient knowledge and skills to enter the workforce, or to reach occupational competence. 

Our approval criteria give colleges the option to select a qualification that suits the needs of their learners, the capacity of their college restaurants and the skills of delivery staff.  

In addition to this, the full range of occupational competent qualifications will also be available for use in Work Based Learning and their associated apprenticeship frameworks.   

I’d like to thank all those who have collaborated with us on this work, offering their insights and constructively challenging our proposals throughout.”

Full details of the sector review and the published approval criteria are available here.