The businesses will pledge career opportunities, apprenticeships and work placements on Monday, May 11th at the Park Plaza Riverbank.
Covering one of the largest geographical areas of any inner London borough, Lambeth has several distinctive neigbourhoods including Waterloo, Brixton, Clapham, Streatham and Norwood and is one of the most densely populated areas in the country, with 100+ people living in each hectare.
The borough also has a relatively young profile with a median age of 31, and is traditionally a destination for young working age people. Trends indicate Lambeth’s population will grow by just 1% in the next five years with working age people 20-44.
Lambeth’s employment base consists primarily of individuals working in the service sector, and the location of St Thomas’s and Kings hospitals in the borough means a higher than average number of public sector employees.
This, combined with a high proportion of Administration and Arts employees, accounts for a high proportion of the Lambeth workforce. However, growing sectors for the borough include food and accommodation, and information and communications.
Ufi Ibrahim, CEO of the British Hospitality Association said: “Lambeth’s hospitality and tourism economy is thriving and there is a wealth of opportunity for young job seekers in the area to embrace this and find a satisfying and rewarding career in this sector.
“For the young people living here, a career in hospitality can open doors to a new world of opportunities, offering the chance to get involved in a dynamic, growing and competitive industry with great prospects for growth. The breadth of job roles and the training available means that new entrants can succeed very quickly, climbing the career ladder towards even greater opportunities in the industry.”
Principal of Lambeth College, Mark Silverman, said: ‘Hospitality is a growth industry. It has job opportunities and skills shortages. That’s why we are proud of the opportunities we give to our learners to work in a real restaurant SW4 at our Clapham site.
‘At Lambeth College, we work closely with employers so we know our learners are trained with the skills that the industry needs and that’s why they are getting jobs. I hope everyone who comes will leave feeling empowered and confident that hospitality will open up a range of career opportunities for them.’
The Big Hospitality Conversation, a nationwide campaign led by the BHA united more than 1,500 business to provide hospitality and tourism careers. Over 40,000 job opportunities have so far been created at events like the one at Park Plaza Riverbank and the aim is for the hospitality industry to create up to 60,000 jobs for young people by 2016.
This is the 27th Big Conversation to date and part of a 2015 programme which will seek to generate job opportunities across the UK at venues including Newcastle, Derby, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, London Charlton, Hackney, Swansea, Llandudno, Maidstone, Leeds, Lancashire, LegoLand, Milton Keynes and the Isle of Wight.