John McNamara is the new chief executive of the BII. Caroline Nodder meets a man hoping to change people's perception of the Institute
The enthusiasm John McNamara has for his new position is almost palpable. The former commercial director of the Hospitality Training Foundation (HTF) has just taken up his new position as chief executive of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII).
In doing so, John has what many would see as the unenviable task of filling the shoes - high heels, in fact - of previous incumbent Mary Curnock Cook.
A tall order indeed - but one that has apparently not fazed John.
"It is certainly a challenging role to fill," he admits. "The sheer achievement that there has been in the last 21 years is staggering.
"But I am a different person with different rules and values to bring to it."
One of John's first tasks as he sees it will be to meet as many of the members of the BII out in the regions as he can - and through this he hopes to help build membership.
"I would like to change some of the perceptions people have of us," said John.
"There are some who view us as remote and that is why I want to try and meet as many of our members as possible, face to face.
"I also want to see us building membership faster than we have until now and also attracting younger members," he explains. "Membership for an organisation like ours is really why we are here - the unsung heroes of the whole thing are the regional chairpeople who are all voluntary and are out there doing all this at the grassroots level."
Another area John intends to scrutinise is qualifications - most importantly ensuring that the BII provides a complete framework of courses that cover everything from basic knowledge for new entrants to the trade, to the most advanced degree courses.
"This is a ladder being built really," said John. "We now have the basic level in place and I want to look at the top level. We are already working with Wolverhampton University and with the Advanced Qualifications (AQs) we could work it so that credits go towards degree courses, for example."
Many of these qualifications have already gained Government approval and the BII is widely recognised as the leading qualifications provider in the industry.
John stresses the importance of being adaptable and revising these qualifications when circumstances change.
"Our most popular qualification, the National Licensee's Certificate, will be affected when licensing law reform is brought in," he added. "We are seen as a leader in this field and we want to remain that way."
John also hopes to continue the BII's work in representing the views of his members, most of them pub licensees, to government.
"As a members' organisation we have a duty to represent our members' views and I think the government would look at us a bit strangely if we didn't have a view on certain issues," he said.
He is very keen to maintain relations with other organisations and associations within the industry - believing that the BII can use its unique position as an organisation representing individual licensees rather than the pub companies and breweries which own the pubs.
"We are able to survey members so that we can gather opinion on different issues at ground level," he added.
Some of the main issues he will be keeping tabs on are bootlegging, on which the BII did some substantial research last year, the after-effects of foot-and-mouth and red tape.
One of John's first meetings with the Government is to be with tourism minister Dr Kim Howells.
"The minister keeps talking about the skills shortage in our industry and firstly we want to show him that we are working to do something about that," he explained. "But we do need the money to fund skills development and I will be asking him to help with that.
"To get and retain the top people in the industry is so difficult and it is skills and training that can do that."
Pub companies will not escape either - John will be taking the lead from his predecessor Mary, who was notoriously outspoken on the subject, in trying to encourage the big operators to help fund the BII's careers projects. This funding will enable schemes such as the BII Careers initiative, that aims to raise the profile of the industry with potential recruits, to continue.
John was furious when his daughter began a temporary job behind the bar in her student union and was not given any basic training or support from its management. It is this lack of investment in younger, part-time workers, he says, which gives the trade a bad image with school-leavers and graduates.
But within the trade, the message of the importance of training is starting to get through. The BII last year processed a total of 76,000 exams (including those for off-licensees and re-sits) which represents a significant increase on the 69,000 sat in 2000.
John hopes to keep building this figure with the eventual aim of growing the pool of trained staff so that pub operators find it easier to fill vacancies with ready-qualified staff. He also believes that through training the standards of customer service in UK pubs will improve.
He cites the sandwich and coffee chain Pret A Manger as one company that in his opinion has got it right - he is, he says, particularly impressed by the standards of customer awareness.
"My test of a good pub is when you walk out of the place and the person who served you says 'Goodbye, see you again soon'," he added.
With a background at the HTF, John is no stranger to training and even counts teaching as one of his hobbies. He teaches both history, his degree subject, and financial investment to students during his ever-decreasing spare time. His obvious passion for it will certainly come in handy in his new role.
"I actually believe in what we do," he concluded. "If I didn't I wouldn't do it."
Facts:
Name: John McNamaraJob title: Chief executive of the British Institute of InnkeepingJob CV: Previously spent two years as commercial director at the Hospitality Training Foundation and before that, 20 years working for a bank, both at its head offices and in Jersey, including seven or eight years as a training specialist. Has a degree in historyBackground: Comes from an Irish family and spent a lot of time over there during his childhood where he remembers being taken to the pub after Sunday mass for a glass of lemonade from a very early ageFamily: Now lives in Loughton, Essex, with wife Caroline and four children, three of whom also work in the hospitality sector Favourite drink: Guinness