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Hospitality industry to create 30,000 jobs for young people by 2015

11th Jun 2013 - 11:40
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The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has today announced that the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries will create over 30,000 new job opportunities for young people by 2015. The BHA told Mark Hoban MP, Minister of State for Employment of the pledge at its annual summit in London.

The job opportunities are 14,832 permanent roles, 11,103 apprenticeships, and 5,157 paid university work placements.

These are in addition to the jobs already outlined by contributing companies.

The Hospitality industry employs 10% of the national workforce and the BHA has coordinated the industry’s biggest job creation drive which aims to offer opportunities to unemployed young people in the UK.

The pledges from employers have been made at a series of nine Big Hospitality Conversation events that have taken place over the last 12 months across the UK from Scotland to the south west.

Over 1,200 industry representatives have attended these events and made job opportunity pledges including major hospitality organisations in the UK such as Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, Accor, Hilton, Compass UK, Sodexo, Marriot, Bartlett Mitchell, BaxterStorey, SSP UK; small hotels, restaurants and catering organisations as well as the most prestigious names such as The Ritz, The Goring, Le Manoir aux Quait' Saisons, The Savoy, and Belfry Hotel.

Mark Hoban, Employment Minister said: “The collaboration between Jobcentre Plus and the British Hospitality Association has been extremely successful, and it's fantastic to see the industry come together today with a further pledge to create 30,000 opportunities for young people.

“The hospitality industry provides a diverse range of career prospects for people of all ages, but particularly for young people who are starting out and still exploring what career path they would like to take.

"I'd encourage young people to seize these opportunities."

Patrick Dempsey OBE, managing director of Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants and a significant supporter of the campaign, said: “The industry has very many job vacancies for young people and the unemployed. The hospitality industry can give you a rewarding and meaningful career; if only more young people realised this.”

Led by the BHA, together with Business in the Community (one of the Prince of Wales’ charities) and the charity Springboard, the campaign involves a series of discussion-based events where industry leaders meet young people to find out what they have to say and to learn about the challenges they face in finding work, apprenticeships and work placements.

Alongside these events, the BHA is challenging every tourism and hospitality business in the UK to pledge to employ more people aged between 18 and 24 or to offer apprenticeships and paid university student work placements. The campaign will continue in the autumn.

Ufi Ibrahim, BHA chief executive, said: "The BHA is galvanising the industry to invest in our best resource - our young people - and from the response we have received so far this is happening. It’s a powerful message to take to government.”

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PSC Team