Burgeoning interest in the baking sector has prompted specialist food, tourism and hospitality training organisation William Angliss Institute to bring on board additional courses.

The institutes’s Centre for Food Trades and Culinary Arts manager Mark Agius said a surge in applications for the Pâtisserie, Cookery and Bakery streams resulted in maximum enrolments for programs starting in February – the most popular commencement time for students.

“We had an overwhelming response in application for these three programs in particular this year, so offering more programs is our way of ensuring we keep potential students passionate about futures in the food industry,” he said.

“Pâtisserie and Bakery have experienced steady growth in the past few years and we’ve been developing our programs and offerings in this space to meet both the needs of industry and the enthusiasm of students.”

In 2013, the institute offered a successful pilot program for Certificate IV in Advanced Baking, which has continued in 2014 with strong interest from students completing the prerequisite Certificate III in Retail Baking.

The institute offers a variety of courses across pâtisserie, bakery and cookery disciplines, with the April intakes specifically for Certificate III in Pâtisserie, Certificate III in Retail Baking and Certificate III in Commercial Cookery. Apprenticeship intakes are accepted year-round.