Foreign language skills are extremely important for working at a hotel reception and are therefore considered a basic requirement. However, knowledge of English is not mandatory for an apprenticeship and can also be acquired during training.

During their apprenticeship, prospective hotel communication specialists Federal VET Diploma are not only familiarized with working at reception, but also get to know all areas of a hotel. This includes the kitchen as well as the floor, the back office and, of course, reception and the restaurant.

After completing an apprenticeship with a Federal VET Diploma, hotel communication specialists can, in addition to a shortened additional apprenticeship as a cook, hotel specialist Federal VET Diploma or restaurant specialist Federal VET Diploma, also aim for a Federal Professional Examination (FPE), such as Chef de Réception, after a few years of professional experience, as well as continuing education, further training at a College of Higher Education (CHE), for example as adipl. Hôtelier/-Restaurateur CHE / dipl. Hôtelière/-Restauratrice CHE. In addition, graduates with a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate can also study at technical colleges, such as the Bachelor's degree courses in Business Administration or International Hospitality Management, as well as various further education courses for working at reception or in other areas of the business.

The continuing education, further training for the Federal Professional Examination Chef de Réception consists of five to seven modules, depending on previous education. People without a Federal VET Diploma in Business Administration must also attend two basic modules: Finance I and Marketing and Sales I, in which they learn about and implement the tools of finance and accounting as well as marketing and sales, how to draw up and monitor budgets, and how to design services and offers. In addition, there are five further modules for all participants in the continuing education, further training to become a reception manager. Module 1 "Front Office and Administration" teaches skills in the areas of guest care, information processing, guest bookkeeping, offer design, employee recruitment and travel agent cooperation, Module 2 "Marketing and Sales II" deals with the topics of marketing concepts, idea and innovation management, marketing measures and sales and Module 3 "Business Organization" deals with structural organization, process organization, infrastructure, information, administration and communication, laws and regulations, quality management, ecology and inventory management. In Module 4 "Leadership", participants gain extensive knowledge in the areas of employee management, training and continuing education, employment law, conflict resolution and team development, and in Module 5 "Finance II", the topics of operational accounting, financial accounting, financial policy and planning accounting are taught.

Participation in the Federal Professional Examination for Head of Reception (Chef de Réception) with a federal certificate requires those interested in further training to have a Federal VET Diploma in Business Administration and at least three years of professional experience in this profession after completing their apprenticeship, including at least one year in administration/reception, or a Federal VET Diploma in another profession and at least four years of professional experience in administration/reception after completing their apprenticeship. In addition, all participants must have successfully completed all the required modules by the time of the final examination or have the relevant certificates of equivalence and have passed a vocational trainer course.

Depending on whether your employment contract is subject to the L-GAV in the hospitality industry at the time of registration or not, different costs are payable for continuing education, further training to become a Chef de Réception / Chef de Réception. For example, participants with an L-GAV employment contract will only have to pay CHF 1,800, of which CHF 900 will be reimbursed if they pass the final examination in the first run, so that in this case the complete training (excluding travel expenses, overnight stays, vocational training course and meals) costs CHF 900. If your employment contract is not subject to the L-GAV in the hospitality industry, the costs will be either CHF 7,450 (cantons of Jura, Vaud, Aargau, Geneva and Neuchâtel) or CHF 4,705 (all other cantons and Liechtenstein), depending on the canton. These prices apply to the 2017 / 2018 academic year in Weggis.