The Hospitality Guild is looking to showcase career development opportunities through apprenticeships.
The Guild's recently-launched "Act NOW!" campaign is aimed at both employers and young people, with the objective of helping 20,000 gain paid employment in the industry.
The Guild's Executive Director, Suzy Jackson, says: “With more than 2.5 million people unemployed throughout the UK, the hospitality industry is in a fantastic position to be able to help move people into work, especially through apprenticeships – and at the same time address its current skills gaps.
“We want everyone to be able to take part, from small businesses that have never employed an apprentice before, through to large companies that are already employing hundreds of apprentices each year.
“We’ve developed a series of five simple steps that an employer can take, regardless of how big or small they are or whether they’ve employed an apprentice before.”
Those five steps are:
1 Using a pre-employment training programme specifically designed for the hospitality industry (or hiring somebody who's completed it)
2 Taking on an apprentice with the assistance of an apprenticeship training organisation
3 Delivering an apprenticeship using innovative tools and methods
4 Registering as a Good Employer on the hospitality industry's career guidance website
5 Progressing employees' careers by moving staff into new roles and creating opportunities for higher apprenticeships
"We've been doing a lot of work", says Jackson, "to promote pre-employment training and apprenticeships to a wide range of employers, especially through the Pub Perceptions Group. Organisations like Bartlett Mitchell are committed to interviewing people who have been through the pre-employment training programme, Employment 1st.
“The Institute of Hospitality has also played a major role in helping to promote the new Higher Apprenticeship in Hospitality Management, while the BII has specific apprenticeship programmes to attract new people into the pub industry. The Academy of Culinary Arts also offers a highly specialised chef programme, which illustrates that there are clear and exciting career development opportunities available in our industry.
“We want to see more businesses and industry organisations Act NOW! on apprenticeships and pre-employment training, as there are a huge number of benefits – both for the business and for the learner.”
