At least three years of professional experience as a commercial clerk and at least one year of this in administration or reception are required for persons with a Federal VET Diploma as a commercial clerk for the Federal Professional Examination for Chef de Réception, or at least four years of professional experience in administration or reception with another Federal VET Diploma apprenticeship qualification.

Vocational training to become a Federal VET Diploma hotel communications specialist requires a primary school leaving certificate (compulsory schooling), good foreign language skills, an independent way of working and good peripheral skills.

Prospective employees in reception and other areas of a hotel also need to be sociable and articulate, team- and guest-oriented and have organizational skills, as well as the ability to work under pressure, work in a structured manner and enjoy working on computers.

The further training course for Chef de Reception can be completed while working, as it consists of block courses that extend over approximately one year. With six block courses of 5 days each, the preparatory course for the Federal Professional Examination therefore lasts 30 days. Discuss your plans in advance with your employer, who may be able to accommodate you with an absence policy that is advantageous to you.

Working at reception is possible, for example, with an apprenticeship as a Federal VET Diploma hotel and catering tourism clerk, as well as to some extent, but only to a limited extent, with an apprenticeship as a Federal VET Diploma hotel specialist. With the new apprenticeship as a Hotel Communication Specialist Federal VET Diploma, on the other hand, you will spend a lot of time in the front and back office, including at reception.

The apprenticeship as a hotel communication specialist Federal VET Diploma extends over a period of three years and is carried out practically in a hotel with annual or seasonal operations. In addition to training at the reception desk, trainees are also familiarized with all other areas of the hotel business, such as the floor, kitchen, restaurant and back office, but you will mainly be deployed in direct customer contact in the front office at the reception desk.

The continuing education, further training for the Federal Professional Examination for Chef de Reception consists of five modules, or seven modules (5 modules + 2 basic modules) for people without a Federal VET Diploma in Business Administration. These modules are: Front Office and Administration, Management, Business Organization, Finance II, Marketing and Sales II as well as the basic modules Marketing and Sales I and Finance I. Participants can only register for the final examination, which is divided into a practical examination (reception, sales and service), a written case study, an oral specialist discussion and a learning reflection with a previously prepared learning dossier and examination discussion, once they have passed all the required modules.