Caterers prepare and serve food and drink at parties and other events. The staff catering business can specialize in particular types of food or particular types of functions and work in private homes, reception halls and other venues where parties are held. All staff catering business evolves working well with clients, working under pressure, crisis management and multi-tasking. Currently, a preferred education varies from a HS diploma to a bachelor's degree, but, certainly, more prestigious staff catering companies require an appropriate education plus a work experience. However, less prestigious staff catering companies are also becoming more discernable with personnel hiring and educating as to correspond to the demands and requirements of the growing and developing staff catering industry.

Undeniably, staff catering companies help make an event special and their role in bringing comfort and enjoyment into the celebration of each particular client cannot be overestimated. One of the major reasons for a company to suffer a failure and a little influx of clients is an unprofessional and unqualified staff. Hence, the staff catering education, the skill's improvement and motivation are important for each company that aims at growth and development. Staff catering educational programs are developed and offered for managers of each range, comprising supervisors and operators. Even a catering business owner can benefit much from taking educational programs, as they specially deal with a leadership and motivation, financial control and sales and marketing. Our fast-paced world has brought many changes to the catering industry: it has changed the ways of marketing and sales from passive to interactive and on-line communication; it has changed a quality and a value for a customer, since he becomes more discernable with services and offers.

A supervisory management staff may need some extra training in food and beverage operations, accommodation and front of house operations, human resources, financial control, sales and marketing, and customer care and quality. Operational management skills may need enhancing in such areas as food and beverage management, accommodation and facilities management, operational management and other important sectors of staff catering work. Staff catering educational programs are aimed to develop new skills and enhance the existing ones, to create a reliable business profile and improve the quality of services, to work out strategies for the future development, success and increase of productivity.

The leaders of European catering business resort to the support of the ECA International (European Catering Association), founded on June 22, 1966 in Copenhagen with its principal office in London since 1994. Along with numerous activities, aimed at supporting, promoting and developing the European catering industry, ECA has developed a number of comprehensive educational programs. One of these is an on-line training and development program for supervisors and managers in the catering sector, called ECARUS. The program is designed to help build the skills, necessary for the future success of catering operations, using significant and up-to-date distance learning materials. ECARUS can largely increase the potential of managers or those, who wish to apply to managerial positions. It can help enhance a staff motivation and cooperation as well as form a well-informed and educated team of managers and supervisors.