There is a unanimous view amongst our members that the government – and all MPs – should recognize the hospitality industry for what it is: an industry that rewards employees who work hard, demonstrate flexibility and team work and deliver great service.

In other countries, for example the United States, students financing their way through colleges work in bars, restaurants and hotels with no-one viewing it as a second class job. We want to see the industry held out as a great vehicle for social mobility.

The hospitality economy is a huge engine for job creation throughout the country. As importantly, it is a huge engine for recruiting people with few or no qualifications and giving the chance to progress.

Hospitality and tourism’s job creation potential and their importance to the UK economy were underlined at the Government’s Jobs Summit (10 January 2011).  Britain’s business leaders including BHA members InterContinental Hotels Group and McDonald’s UK pledged to create thousands of jobs in 2011 and beyond.

InterContinental Hotels Group Chief Financial Officer, Richard Solomons said:

“We’re creating around 1,000 jobs in the UK in 2011 and 3,000 jobs over the next 3 to 4 years as we open the 37 hotels in our development pipeline.  Hotels offer a quick and flexible way to get people back into work.  These are jobs with real prospects for progression.”

Jill McDonald, CEO of McDonald’s UK said:

“At the start of 2010 we employed 80,000 people and by the end of the year we employed 85,000. This year I am delighted to announce that we expect to create a further 3,000 jobs.  These are good jobs with prospects – jobs which will allow people to develop and give them the opportunity to gain qualifications from NVQs to Apprenticeships to Foundation degrees and rise up the career ladder.“

The BHA’s Employment, Education and Skills Policy Network is working in partnership with organisations including the industry’s Sector Skills Agency, People1st to improve skills performance and develop talent and careers within hospitality, taking advantage of the Government’s £1.4bn drive to create an extra 100,000 apprenticeships by 2014.

People 1^st are focusing on three core areas (leadership and management, chef training and customer service). We support its idea of a Service Academy (actually included in the Conservative party’s manifesto). This imaginative idea to involve 25 employers to make available 50,000 training places for the long-term unemployed with a guarantee of making 10,000 positions permanently available is exactly the sort of active private sector involvement we want.

We welcome the comment by Dr Vince Cable, the Business Secretary that he wishes to reinforce ‘the message to business and young people that apprenticeships are a first-class way to start a career.’

The BHA will support People 1^st in persuading government departments to trust businesses to do the job of developing people. Some of the training bodies that the government has used are not well regarded or have been inconsistent in their performance level.

We want the government to concentrate its efforts whenever it can, on reducing the personal tax burden and providing the incentive for people to work (in an industry that works 24/7); more hours if they wish in order to earn more. For the industry that has such a key role to play in creating more jobs, increases in National Minimum Wage exert an upward pressure on payroll costs at a time of reduced consumer spend.

Read member case studies:
Domino’s Case Study