Food Service Helper

In Canada, the federal government groups and organizes occupations based on a National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. This alis occupation may not reflect the entire NOC group it is part of. Data for the NOC group can apply across multiple occupations.

The NOC system is updated every 5 years to reflect changes in the labour market. Government forms and labour market data may group and refer to an occupation differently, depending on the system used. Here is how this occupation has been classified over time:

• 2006 NOC: Food Service Helpers (6641.3) 
• 2006 NOC-S: Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Occupations (G961) 
• 2011 NOC: Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations (6711) 
• 2016 NOC: Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations (6711) 

Dining room assistants help food and beverage servers in restaurants and formal dining establishments. In general, they:

• Clear and reset tables
• Wipe tables or remove and replace soiled table linens
• Carry dirty dishes to the dishwashing area
• Serve water or bread products to customers
• Ensure that each table has supplies (for example, sugar, cream, butter)
• Bring out trays of food
• Serve coffee
• Clean up spilled food and broken dishes

Dining room assistants must be quick to help food and beverage servers whenever their assistance is needed. During less busy periods between mealtimes, they may:

• Stock cabinets
• Spot-clean walls
• Dust
• Vacuum
• Perform other tasks, such as moving tables or scraping and stacking dishes in the kitchen

Food and beverage service runners or assistants assist servers in delivering food orders from the kitchen to the appropriate tables and responding to customer requests. Runners also may perform duties similar to those of dining room attendants.

Caterer helpers assist caterers with presenting or serving food and refreshments at social functions and banquets. In general, they:

• Arrange tables and decorations according to instructions
• Prepare simple foods and beverages
• Distribute food to servers
• Collect and return dirty dishes to the kitchen
• Either scrape and wash dishes or pack for transporting and washing at the caterer's establishment
• Collect and pack tablecloths and accessories for transport

Food service helpers usually work lunch or dinner shifts, sometimes in split shifts. They often work weekends and holidays. At busy mealtimes they are constantly on their feet and under pressure to work quickly. They may be required to lift items weighing up to 20 kilograms.

Food service helpers are employed in restaurants, formal dining rooms and other retail eating and drinking establishments. Most food service helpers are students employed in part-time positions.

When dining room attendants have learned food and beverage service skills by observing experienced food and beverage servers and obtaining appropriate training (for example, food safety courses), they may advance to food and beverage server positions. For more information, see the Food and Beverage Server occupational profile.

Kitchen helpers and food assemblers are part of the larger 2011 National Occupational Classification 6711: Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations. In Alberta, 78% of people employed in this classification work in the Accommodation and Food Services [pdf] industry.

The employment outlook [pdf] in this occupation will be influenced by a wide variety of factors including:

• Trends and events affecting overall employment (especially in the Accommodation and Food Services industry)
• Location in Alberta
• Employment turnover (when people leave existing positions)
• Occupational growth (when new positions are created)
• Size of the occupation

In Alberta, the 6711: Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations occupational group is expected to have an above-average annual growth of 2.3% from 2019 to 2023. In addition to job openings created by employment turnover, 1070 new positions are forecasted to be created within this occupational group each year.

Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.

Canadian Association of Foodservice Professionals website: cafp.ca

emerit website: emerit.ca

National Restaurant Association [United States]website: www.restaurant.org

Restaurants Canada website: www.restaurantscanada.org

Tourism HR Canada website: tourismhr.ca

Get information and referrals about career, education, and employment options from Alberta Supports.