ONE of the world’s largest hotel groups, Intercontinental, is to create 4,000 jobs in the UK in a ‘war for talent’.
The huge recruitment drive will focus mainly on workforce, with one quarter of the overall number constituting managerial positions.
IHG’s Executive vice president of global human resources, Tracy Robbins said: “We are facing a ‘war for talent’ to find skilled, experienced hotel staff. We need to attract and inspire the very best people at all levels to support our company growth plans.
“Recruiting in catering can be particularly difficult. People coming out of catering college want to be the next Jamie Oliver, so it’s important to highlight the career progression opportunities in the hotel industry.”
Fast tracking will also be made available for promising existing employees to get NVQ’s and progress into management positions.
Robbins explained: “We’re asking general mangers to star-spot talent among front-line staff. Our focus is not just on bringing in new people, but on engaging and motivating existing staff and encouraging career progression within the company to create our own talent pool.”
Intercontinental Hotels Groups (IHG), who operate the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn chains, plans on filling the vacancies over the next three to five years, with many of the new employees taking up positions across the 44 properties currently in development.
The plans form only a small part of the group’s global search, currently around 130,000 people are needed for the some 1,600 IHG new hotels around the world.
In China, IHG’s workforce is expected to grow by over 100 per cent as 107 new hotels are to open in the country within the next five years.
The 12th ‘IHG Academy’ has just launched in Shenzhen, China, to train and engage talent from local areas.
"A sustainable and qualified talent pool is a crucial factor of IHG`s future success and the development of the entire hospitality industry," said Peter Gowers, IHG Asia’s chief executive.
“At IHG, we think the most valuable asset we have in our hotels is the people. The rapid growth of the hotel industry in China is challenged by a war for talent.
"With the ongoing expansion of the IHG Academy, we are doing our part to address the demand for trained talent across China."