jobfacts

Catering manager

Catering and bar managers — SOC 2020 5436

Catering and bar managers plan, direct and co-ordinate the catering and bar facilities and services of licensed premises, factories, shops, theatres, educational premises and other establishments. They also manage outside catering businesses and shops selling food cooked on the premises.

Also calledFood service managerBar managerStewardCatererShift managerFloor managerand 27 more titles
Typical full-time pay£29,8002025 Provisional
People in the job76,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month2,700↓ 1.7%on last year · 66th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time catering managers earn between £26,400 and £36,700 a year.

What full-time catering managers earn, 2025
£29,800 typical£22,600lowest 10%£26,40025%£37,600top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£26,400–£36,700)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£22,600
Lowest 20% earn less than£25,000
25%£26,400
Median£29,800
75%£36,700
Top 20% earn more than£37,600
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £29,800
London!£36,200
South West!£31,500
East Midlands!£30,300
South East!£30,000
North West!£29,500
Scotland!£28,100
West Midlands!£28,000
Wales!£27,900
North East!£27,400
Yorkshire and The Humber!£26,800
East of England!£24,900
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £29,800
London£36,200 (small sample)
South West£31,500 (small sample)
East Midlands£30,300 (small sample)
South East£30,000 (small sample)
North West£29,500 (small sample)
Scotland£28,100 (small sample)
West Midlands£28,000 (small sample)
Wales£27,900 (small sample)
North East£27,400 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£26,800 (small sample)
East of England£24,900 (small sample)
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £26,400
  • 2024 £28,000
  • 2025 Provisional£29,800
↑ 13% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 2,700 jobs for catering managers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20262,837
Jul 20263,168
Jun 20262,491
May 20262,863
Apr 20262,911
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20262,607
Jan 20262,778
Dec 20251,325
Nov 20252,892
Oct 20253,079
Sept 20253,205
Aug 20253,132
Jul 20253,212
Jun 20253,237
May 20253,372
Apr 20253,243
Mar 20253,034
Feb 20252,654
Jan 20252,407
Dec 20241,352
Nov 20242,271
Oct 20242,829
Sept 20242,953
Aug 20243,011
Jul 20243,098
Jun 20242,895
May 20243,255
Apr 20242,934
Mar 20242,171
Feb 20242,228
Jan 20242,330
Dec 20231,673
Nov 20231,810
Oct 20232,072
Sept 20231,940
Aug 20232,710
Jul 20232,308
Jun 20233,295
May 20233,258
Apr 20232,858
Mar 20233,097
Feb 20233,324
Jan 20233,939
Dec 20222,788
Nov 20223,684
Oct 20224,083
Sept 20223,784
Aug 20223,937
Jul 20223,856
Jun 20223,896
May 20224,403
Apr 20223,645
Mar 20224,239
Feb 20223,874
Jan 20223,741
Dec 20212,685
Nov 20213,258
Oct 20213,272
Sept 20213,381
Aug 20213,497
Jul 20213,541
Jun 20213,206
May 20212,818
Apr 20212,159
Mar 20212,312
Feb 2021795
Jan 2021740
Dec 2020746
Nov 2020840
Oct 2020976
Sept 20201,307
Aug 20201,179
Jul 2020911
Jun 2020788
May 2020450
Apr 2020710
Mar 20201,811
Feb 20203,035
Jan 20202,685
Dec 20191,828
Nov 20192,400
Oct 20192,411
Sept 20192,674
Aug 20192,548
Jul 20192,840
Jun 20192,800
May 20192,762
Apr 20192,125
Mar 20192,261
Feb 20192,357
Jan 20192,390
Dec 20181,803
Nov 20182,612
Oct 20183,202
Sept 20183,211
Aug 20183,142
Jul 20183,130
Jun 20183,320
May 20182,688
Apr 20182,973
Mar 20183,379
Feb 20183,048
Jan 20183,656
Dec 20172,415
Nov 20172,810
Oct 20173,103
Sept 20173,057
Aug 20173,629
Jul 20175,710
Jun 20173,960
May 20173,838
Apr 20173,418
Mar 20173,299
Feb 20172,764
Jan 20173,323
Is there a shortage of catering managers?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsWell above usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
47%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for food preparation and hospitality trades, which includes catering managers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London1,157
City of Edinburgh154
North Yorkshire142
Manchester141
Glasgow City111
Bristol, City of106
Birmingham103
Leeds103
Cornwall94
Liverpool89
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where catering managers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 29 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from India, Italy, Albania, ranking it 164th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of catering managers
18%!
31%!
26%!
13%!
8.6%!
3.2%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–2418% (small sample)
25–3431% (small sample)
35–4426% (small sample)
45–5413% (small sample)
55–648.6% (small sample)
65+3.2% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent19%
Higher education below degree!5.8%
A levels or equivalent36%
GCSEs or equivalent22%
Other qualifications!11%
No qualifications!3.4%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent19%
Higher education below degree5.8% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent36%
GCSEs or equivalent22%
Other qualifications11% (small sample)
No qualifications3.4% (small sample)

Main employers: restaurants and mobile food service activities (27%), beverage serving activities (20%), event catering activities (9.9%), hotels and similar accommodation (4.4%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
19%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 36%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree.

Useful subjects include:

  • business and hospitality management
  • culinary arts or culinary management
  • hotel and catering management
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

College

You could take professional catering qualifications at college then move into management. You could also do a qualification in hospitality management and find work as a trainee catering manager.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could do a Hospitality Manager Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship, if you've got experience in catering and have also worked as a supervisor.

You could also do a Hospitality Supervisor Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship and then progress to become a hospitality and catering manager.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Work your way up

You could start as a kitchen assistant or trainee 'commis' chef and work your way up while learning on the job. You could apply for work with restaurants, bars or catering companies.

What you’ll need

  • get a food hygiene certificate by completing a short course at a college, a training centre or through your local council
  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Further information

You can find out more about catering careers from Caterer.com and CareerScope.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for catering manager. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • plans catering or bar services and supervises staff
  • decides on range and quality of meals and beverages to be provided or discusses customer’s requirements for special occasions
  • purchases or directs the purchasing of supplies and arranges for preparation of accounts
  • verifies that quality of food, beverages and waiting service are as required and that kitchen and dining areas are kept clean in compliance with statutory requirements
  • checks that supplies are properly used and accounted for to prevent wastage and loss and to keep within budget limit

Skills

  • arrange special events
  • comply with food safety and hygiene
  • control of expenses
  • devise special promotions
  • ensure portion control
  • ensure regular maintenance of kitchen equipment
  • ensure tableware is ready for use
  • handle customer complaints
  • identify customer's needs
  • identify suppliers
  • maintain customer service
  • manage health and safety standards
  • manage restaurant service
  • manage staff

Knowledge

  • hazard analysis and critical control points
  • quality assurance methodologies

Suits people who like

  • Leading and persuading
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for textiles, printing and other skilled trades, a group of 17 jobs that includes catering managers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035→ 0%about 0 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035276,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

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