There have always been challenges facing the hospitality industry. Long hours, low pay and a lack of prestige have often deterred people from considering a career in the profession, and with upcoming political changes on the horizon, these issues could potentially worsen in the coming years. That’s why it’s vital that we begin to paint the hospitality industry as a valuable, worthwhile and rewarding career option.
Enter The Springboard Charity. Springboard is the hospitality industry’s charity, which helps young people and those with barriers to employment to gain the skills, qualifications and confidence they need to enter the hospitality industry. The charity also helps businesses within the industry – such as bars, hotels, and restaurants – by providing talented, qualified candidates that go on to become valuable parts of the these businesses.
Springboard does this in a variety of ways. For beneficiaries, it offers high-quality employment programmes (Hospitality Futures, KickStart), that equip them with both practical and soft employment skills, and then finds them relevant work placements for them to gain experience – and potentially, a new job. For businesses, it offers the chance to recruit well-trained, keen and enthusiastic people from all walks of life, who are desperate to build a meaningful career. This two-pronged approach helps tackle the skills and staffing shortages that are currently permeating the industry from both sides.
In addition, Springboard decided that encouraging school children into the industry during their formative school years was vital to their cause, and so they offer year round educational programmes. FutureChef, Gems and FAB help those in education to discover the wide range of exciting careers that the industry holds, ensuring they see hospitality as a desirable career option when they come of age.
In order to carry out their charitable work, they rely on the support of generous sponsors, business partners and fundraising activities throughout the year. When it comes to business partners, Springboard works closely with the companies to provide them with holistic solution to fit their people strategy – by engaging with the charity on a number of activities, designed to complement their recruitment, retention and staff progression requirements.
If The Springboard Charity’s work could be beneficial to your business, then visit their website www.springboard.uk.net, or email [email protected] to find out more about becoming one of their business partners.
