Hospitality industry must attract school-leavers

The Academy of Food & Wine (AFW) is urging the hospitality industry to work harder to attract this year’s school-leavers and graduates in order to persuade them to choose a career in the sector.

To make this a success, the Academy has launched Licence to Work (L2W), a training course designed to improve the quality of newcomers into the industry.

The programme covers topics such as food service, wine service, customer care, health and safety, basic food hygiene and interpersonal skills. The Academy is looking to make this programme a recognised qualification.

Nick Scade, the Academy's director and chief executive, explained: "We all know there is a massive skills shortage in our industry and that as a service sector, hospitality has suffered from a poor reputation in the past.

"But now the importance of attracting and retaining good quality staff is understood, and the quality of training is starting to improve, it's important that we communicate what the sector really does have to offer."

Nick added: "This is a young industry – it's a common place to find people in their 20s and 30s running a front-of-house operation, becoming head chefs, running divisions for contact caterers or even working as hotel managers. There's a bright future to be had for well-trained, motivated recruits."

The hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industry employs over 1.8 million people and generates an estimated turnover on the UK of over £100 million.

Words: Maria Bracken

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