The 60-hour pre-employment training programme, launched as a joint collaboration between sector skills council People 1st and Jobcentre Plus, leads its students to a nationally recognised qualification, the Level 1 Awards in Introduction to Employment in the Hospitality Industry.
Named Employment 1st, the programme covers 13 job roles, including bar staff, barista, catering supervisor, chef, conference/exhibition manager, crew member, customer service staff (reception), hotel porter, leisure and theme part attendant, travel agent, and waiter/waitress.
Training for the future
Gerry Brown, pre-employment manager for People 1st, said the course had been designed to help hospitality operators access a pool of fresh talent at a time of severe skills shortages.
“As the creation of new jobs in the sector require an additional one million employees up to 2017, businesses need all the help they can get,” he said.
“Employment 1st is something that employers have been crying out for – a programme that provides a standardised approach to pre-employment training across the nation, and produces work-ready individuals with the skills required to undertake entry-level jobs.
“It reflects the skills, knowledge and behaviours that employers expect from their staff, and includes a strong emphasis on customer service, the legal minimum food safety (where relevant) and health and safety requirements.”
So far over 1,000 people have piloted the programme, which is now available at colleges throughout the UK.