Travelodge offers 50 work placements to London's unemployed
Under the scheme, participants will be given experience across all areas of the business, including housekeeping and customer service while being paid National Minimum Wage.
Announcing the scheme at the opening of its 60th London hotel opening last week, Travelodge chief executive Grant Hearn, said the scheme ran hand-in-hand with the company's plans for growth and its need, like much of the industry, to find suitable staff.
He said: "In today’s economic climate, we have to ensure that all young people get the skills that they need to succeed and I truly believe that work experience can be the key that opens the door to a successful career.
“The opening of our 60th hotel in London is just the beginning for us, as we looking to open a further 145 hotels across the capital. This growth strategy will certainly generate hundreds of vital work experience placements to help 18 to 24-year-olds into employment.”
Out of work
The extension of the work experience scheme, which was trialled over a six month period in the latter half of 2012, supports London Mayor Boris Johnson's pledge to help young Londoners into employment. Latest employment figures from the Office of National Statistics show that more than 50 per cent of people aged between 16 and 24 are out of work.
To take part in the Travelodge work experience scheme, which is being processed through Job Centre Plus, candidates must be aged between 18 and 24 and have been out of work for more than nine months.
While a permanent role is not guaranteed at the end of the eight week programme, the company hopes to recruit the majority into the business full time if possible. Last year's trial led to the appointment of 11 new members of staff in hotels in Central London.
One of the participants of last year's scheme, 19 year-old Jazelle Pownall, is now a permanent member at the company's Bethnal Green hotel. She said the scheme was a welcome way for school-leavers to find employment.
"One of the hardest things I experienced when I left school was that I had no real work experience and at interviews I could not adequately demonstrate my skill set as a result of this," she said. "The reality is, employers want staff who have work experience.
“On the Travelodge work experience scheme I got real experience of working in a busy hotel and I loved it. It was great fun interacting with customers and working within a team. I was delighted when my placement turned into a permanent job. Now that I have a career in place, my next task is to become a hotel manager.”
