In his latest book Are you qualified to serve ?, Sylvie Monchatre reviews from two qualitative surveys separate conducted between 2002 and 2005 in the hospitality conditions of employees of hotel service. The first survey focused on the modes of conciliation between family and professional life of the sector’s assets, while the second was to follow a cohort of young people, who graduated from the school without having exceeded the level of the tray have started their professional life in this sector. This is to compile a table of the status of wage of these low-skilled workers.
The first chapter explores the conditions of access to the hotel sector, a sector that welcomes the largest number of young first entrants on the labour market. In 2004-2005, the author has met with 17 young people out of college twelve years earlier (in 1992), in which the level of training does not exceed the level Tray and which in 1997 were all employed in this sector.1. The paths of these young people are marked by a tuition short with professional guidance early. 64% have an education BEP-CAP, or have no diploma. Heavily from the fields of popular and little graduates, they make all account a schooling difficult. Sylvie Monchatre reviews the terms of the orientation of young people from poor backgrounds to jobs in this sector.
In a second time, she questions the conditions for the orientation differential in the job of service and food, and wondered why and how the girls are crowded out of the kitchens ? Result of the symbolic violence of the education and training system, the author shows that the girls are from the professional training given to the kitchen, for the benefit of the room. If the female education qualifies a priori with the women for all the jobs in the hotel, catering, the kitchen is a stake of struggles sexed. If the destination is between the living room and the kitchen is placed by individuals under the seal of the chance, the challenge of the author is to demonstrate that it is the result of dynamic sexed.
In a second part of its analysis, Sylvie Monchatre is interested in the service relationship, such as it is practiced on a daily basis and compares it to the conditions of the employees of service depending on the restaurant in which they serve (food chain or hospitality traditional). Finally, in a third and last part, she points to the difficult conciliation between professional life and personal life.