The hospitality industry still needs to do a lot more to ensure that work experience is up to scratch in order to improve perceptions and attract the right people, warns the Springboard chief executive Anne Pierce
I have a bee in my bonnet about work experience. It’s a persistent one and it’s buzzing away loudly at the moment – because work experience is the critical factor in influencing career decisions and our industry has so much to offer. We could and should be doing it so much better than anyone else. If you think about it, there can’t be many industries that offer the breadth of experience and diversity that hospitality can. And I am not just talking about chefs.
You need only to see the enthusiasm that emanates from the likes of Fred Sirieix at Galvin at Windows when he starts talking about front-of-house skills and careers; or Anne Britton when she enthuses about the housekeeping profession, to see that this is a wide, varied industry that has something for everyone. It’s great to see the opportunities outside the trendy kitchen are now being celebrated by the industry, with the recent introduction of the Gold Service Scholarship, National Waiters Day and the National Housekeeping Careers Festival as three great examples of this.
So, the opportunities are many in number and variety, but our previous research shows that we still have some work to do when it comes to executing work experience to the right standard. We also need to understand the importance of getting it right and its relationship to improving perceptions, attracting talent and integrating smart work experience with future resourcing strategies.
To this end, we’ve been working with the British Hospitality Association (BHA) to bring many industry leaders together with young people under the ‘Big Conversation’ banner – an amazing project that has seen more than 30,000 pledges made from operators to provide young people with an opportunity to start a career, and progress via work experience, apprenticeships and employment.
Retaining talent
In planning National Waiters Day, we posed the question: how many of the ‘captains of industry’ have worked in the hospitality sector at some stage in their career? I’d guess a really large percentage, typically as a part-time job while at university, college or in the school holidays. In fact, I was talking to one recently who said she still uses the interpersonal skills she’d learned as a waiter in her role today. I am convinced that if we get work experience in our industry right, we have the power to not only retain talent, but even if people do decide to pursue other careers, we can positively change the way the industry is viewed by those that have great influence on the business landscape now, and in years to come.
At Springboard, we are committed to driving quality work experience in industry through our accredited Quality Standard and support programme INSPIRE – it’s this quality standard that we want the industry to unite behind and deliver truly great
work experience.
The INSPIRE standard ensures all work experience delivered by hotels, restaurants, pubs, bars and private members’ clubs is of a high standard, relevant, challenging and part of a long-term resourcing strategy. It aims to inspire not only the young, but adult jobseekers, career changers, returners to work, the long-term unemployed – and also people who face multiple disadvantages to work – into fruitful careers and sustainable employment
within hospitality.
It also raises the industry’s profile by showcasing the benefits of working within the trade through the means of high-quality work experience.
Shout about our industry
Ongoing Springboard research into the influences on career choice shows that there are many factors that contribute to the decision-making process – and we need to make sure that our industry is well portrayed in all of them – online; social media; careers magazines; consumer press; speakers in schools; and TV and radio, but work experience remains the biggest influence on career decisions – it is the deal-breaker. But it can work both ways – people can be turned off by poor work experience forever – and what’s more they will tell everyone.
Whereas, a challenging, quality work experience creates aspiration and ambition, opens people’s eyes to the exciting opportunities they didn’t know existed and is a critical tool in helping change stereotypes of working within hospitality by showcasing the opportunities and progression that are available within the sector.
Why is work experience key?
It opens people’s eyes to the breadth of opportunities that exist.
Motivates people to think about the industry and your company as their positive career choice.
Offers opportunities for talent spotting.
Builds and develops new and existing skills for you and the student.
Challenges industry stereotypes.
Influences career decisions/choices.
Helps to widen the talent pool.
Enhances the students’ employability.
Provides a realistic perspective of your business and the sector.
Inspires work-based learning.
Allows your organisation to review best practice and make better decisions.
Builds innovation in the organisation.
Raises the industry profile.
Is a cost-effective recruitment tool.
There’s a great deal of noise coming from our industry relating to apprenticeships and work experience and, while that’s great, we need to be mindful of the quality of the opportunities on offer, making sure that any work experience is handled professionally and is enriching for those involved.
We can’t expect everyone that touches our industry to stay within it, but we can, and should, expect them to leave with a positive perception of it.
Moreover, we shouldn’t rely on cast-offs from the wider retail sector, the hospitality sector should be attracting the very best and brightest talent, hand-in-hand with offering opportunities to those less qualified where employers can enjoy greater loyalty, having given employees a chance to be the best they can be.
Anne Pierce is chief executive of the Springboard charity, which helps young people achieve their potential in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry
