As Hospitality Apprenticeships Week 2021 begins, trade association UKHospitality has urged the sector to use the event as a platform to champion the diverse and exciting careers on offer.
This year’s event will seek to challenge misconceptions around roles in the industry and how working in hospitality is #MoreThanAJob. Throughout the week, UKHospitality, the voice of the sector, will join the campaign and support it across three main pillars:
- Educate – show what hospitality apprenticeships look like and highlight the diverse career pathways available (with the intention of more 16-24-year olds recognising hospitality as a career choice)
- Engage – help showcase to younger jobseekers the exciting career opportunities open to them, resulting in more 16-24-year olds seeing hospitality as a fruitful career choice
- Employ – share job opportunities and encourage more people to start apprenticeships in the sector, either direct from further or higher education, or moving from a part-time role and making the decision to join full-time as an apprentice.
Pre-Covid, the hospitality sector was the UK’s third highest employer - if the sector and wider economy is to fully recover addressing the acute skills and staffing shortage it currently faces will be crucial.
Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality Chief Executive, said: “Hospitality Apprenticeship Week is a fantastic way for people to learn about the wide range of roles in the sector, at a time when there are many opportunities to join our post-Covid renaissance. Hospitality has embraced apprenticeships as a gateway into roles as well as for upskilling its existing workforce. Anyone looking for a new job or a change of career would do well to take a look at what the sector has to offer.
“After the past 18 months, building and training our workforce will be key to the recovery. We are committed to future-proofing the sector by supporting campaigns such as this and working closely with Government to deliver the jobs recovery the economy needs.”
Hospitality Minister Paul Scully MP added: “Through our Hospitality Strategy, the Government is working hand-in-hand with the sector to help it make the most of its creative and innovative spirit as it builds back better from the pandemic.
“A hospitality apprenticeship can be the golden ticket to a great career. Hospitality Apprenticeships Week is the perfect time for both new and existing workers to explore all the opportunities the sector has to offer, and for businesses to explore all that an apprenticeship programme can do for them.”