Menglong Hua

He has qualifications in many different fields... but for Menglong Hua (Long) the hospitality industry is where his future lies.

In 1999, the motivated 29 year old headed to New Zealand to study and gain work experience. With a diploma in accounting already under his belt, he went on to gain diplomas in business and computer hardware engineering. Ironically though, Long ended up finding his passion not in the classroom, but through his part-time job.

"I worked part-time during my studies as a bartender at Daikoku Restaurant," says Long, who comes from Wu Xi in China. "I've been interested in alcohol since I was a child. My father doesn't drink a lot but he likes to have a well-stocked bar at home. I grew up seeing the bottles in his bar and they always fascinated me because there were so many different drinks.

"Even once I finished studying and got a full-time job as a marketing and administration assistant for a polytechnic I still bartended part-time at Daikoku. I really enjoyed the work so eventually I decided to quit my day job and pursue a career in hospitality instead!"

Long quickly landed a job as a bartender at Atrium Bar, in SKYCITY, where he has worked for more than a year. He recently decided to add another feather to his cap and has begun his National Diploma in Hospitality Management at NZMA's Auckland Central Academy.

"I decided I needed some hospitality qualifications to improve myself and build on my professional skills. If I want to apply for managerial positions I think I'll need more than just work experience. I'll need relevant qualifications also.

"A couple of my friends had qualifications from NZMA and I knew a few people who were still studying there. From what I heard the diploma course was very practical, which was what I was looking for."

So he began his diploma in May, and although it means he's available for fewer shifts at Atrium, Long's employer couldn't be happier.

"My boss is really happy about me studying here. He says if I want to apply for higher positions in the industry, this is what I need to do. Also I'm bringing what I'm learning on the course into the workplace. For example until now we haven't served special coffees at Atrium. I learnt how to make them recently at NZMA and I took the recipes to the manager and suggested we add them to the menu. Now they're considering it! It's a good feeling bringing new ideas to the workplace."

Although Long has done extensive study in New Zealand, he's finding his time at NZMA to be unique and particularly worthwhile.

"This is totally different from other courses I have done. It's not just boring paperwork, there's lots of practical stuff. At the moment we are working in the NZMA caf�. You have to do everything from preparing food to waiting tables to cashiering it's just like running a normal business. It's a very good experience. You also do barista training and next semester we are learning how to make cocktails. I'm really looking forward to that part of the course. To me, cocktails are not just a drink...they are an art form."

But it's not just the course content that Long is impressed with.

"The tutors at NZMA are very good. They have lots of work experience in the hospitality industry and many of them are from other countries so they can give us a lot of information about working in hospitality all over the world.

"That's one of the good things about this qualification - it's not only for use in this country, you can use this qualification anywhere."

Two places Long definitely plans to use the knowledge he's gained through his studies are in China and New Zealand.

"I'd like to keep working part-time at SKYCITY until I graduate in 2008, then I'll either apply for a higher position at work or go back to China and work in hospitality for the Olympic Games. That would be a great experience. Eventually I'd like to set up my own bar."

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