Government must act on apprenticeships, says leading hotel director
Jon-Paul Davies, director of Nottinghamshire-based Heritage Estates, has echoed the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in urging those in power to prioritise new apprenticeship schemes to tackle both unemployment and industry skills shortages.
Despite both Nick Clegg and David Cameron being supportive of apprenticeships, Davies believes there needs to be a more direct focus on tackling the issue.
He said: “The recession had a nationwide impact on apprenticeships and training schemes across the whole industry. As businesses were forced to cut back, it was these areas which were first to suffer. As a result, many venues went under and there was a distinct lack of focus on bringing fresh talent into hospitality.
“Smaller businesses had no choice but to tighten the purse-strings and this has now resulted in an inevitable skills shortage within the industry.
“I believe we need to give opportunities to apprentices to become the leading hospitality figures of tomorrow. With around 1.9m people still unemployed in the UK, the hospitality industry is in a great position to help more people into work. A widespread creation of apprenticeship schemes would be perfect for this and also help nurture hospitality talent from a young age.”
Davies cited the apprenticeship scheme at Heritage Estates, which owns Cockliffe Country House Hotel in Nottinghamshire and Kelham House Country Manor near Newark-on-Trent, as being a success with apprentices going on to be offered full-time, permanent positions.
Skills shortages could damage the economy
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the UK tourism industry has the potential to contribute 5m jobs and 11.2 per cent of GDP to the British economy by 2025.
However, failure to tackle the industry skills shortage could result in the sector employing 352,000 fewer people and contributing £17bn less to the UK economy over the next ten years, compared to current forecasts.
