Recruitment & training
With an estimated 236,000 extra jobs expected to be created in hospitality by 2015 there has never been a greater need to find the right people to fill them. Recruiting the right staff, developing their skills and retaining them is essential for a successful business, so it is important to know how to do it. Read about the latest trends in recruitment, top tips from experts and more here.
Boris Johnson gets behind new BII Apprenticeship scheme
London’s re-elected Mayor Boris Johnson is challenging the licensed hospitality sector to get 5,000 apprentices working in the pub industry within the next 12 months, as part of a joint initiative with the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII).
Nestle Toque d’Or 2012 catering competition final gets underway
The grand final of the Nestlé Toque d’Or student catering competition is underway, with eight of the UK’s catering colleges being put through their paces in the most varied range of exciting catering scenarios in the competition’s 24-year history.
Master Innholders annual scholarship programme open for entries
The Master Innholders has announced the opening of its annual scholarship programme, offering hospitality managers and senior department heads the chance to earn a coveted place on an intensive management development course.
Punch Taverns first pubco to back BII apprenticeship summit
The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has announced Punch Taverns has become the first pub company to back its National Licensed Hospitality Industry Apprenticeship Summit in June to promote employing apprentices in the pub industry.
Recruiting and retaining staff: How to develop employees and cut turnover rates
Advertising in all the right places and whittling down prospective candidates for a job can seem wasted if you are forced to dig out the job description again after only a few months. So how can you ensure staff development supports the recruitment process in the hospitality sector with noted low levels of staff retention?
Recruiting and retaining staff: A guide to CVs and interviews
So you’ve advertised a role in your business and the applications are beginning to pour in. But how do you effectively search through stacks of CVs and what questions should you be asking in the interview stage to make sure you’re picking the best person for the job?
Recruiting and retaining staff: How and where to advertise hospitality jobs
What do Gumtree, Twitter, viral web videos and local newspapers have in common? The answer is they have all served as promotional mechanisms for advertisements for hospitality jobs recently.
The Edge Hotel School: Essex hotel to be run by students
The Edge Hotel School - the UK’s first hotel school to provide degree-level studies entirely within a fully operational commercial hotel - is set to enrol its first set of students to the newly refurbished Wivenhoe House hotel and restaurant in Essex later this year.
Hilton UK launches week-long recruitment drive to fill 700 jobs
Hotel group Hilton is running a week of promotional activity around recruitment to help fill 700 jobs across its properties in the UK and promote hospitality as a valid career option.
Survey suggests business growth needed to help create jobs in hospitality
More than three quarters of hospitality business owners believe they need to grow their companies first before they can look to hire new staff, a survey has shown.
People on the Move in Hospitality: March 2012
BigHospitality rounds up the latest appointments in the hospitality industry. This month sees key appointments at hotels, restaurants and pubs including Hilton, Blueprint Café and Spirit Pub Company.
National Minimum Wage: Springboard expresses disappointment at freeze for under-21s
The Government has announced the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will rise for adults and apprentices but will be frozen for 16-20 year-olds in a move that the hospitality careers charity Springboard described as disappointing.
BII announces first National Licenced Hospitality Apprenticeships Summit
The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) is to launch the first National Licenced Hospitality Apprenticeships Summit to demonstrate how apprenticeships can provide a motivated workforce in the hospitality industry.
Work experience: Vital or exploitative? Industry leaders give their views
Work experience has hit the headlines as Government talks with businesses concerned about the scheme to get unemployed youngsters on placements continue; BigHospitality asked hospitality industry leaders at Hotelympia, including Raymond Blanc, for their views on restaurant, hotel or pub and bar work experience.
Oldham council considers plans for hospitality training academy
Oldham council is planning to build a hotel and hospitality training academy in the town which it believes could become a blueprint for more academies across the UK in the future.
People on the Move in Hospitality: February 2012
BigHospitality rounds up the latest appointments in the hospitality industry. This month sees key appointments at hotels, restaurants and pubs including The Doyle Collection, Eighty-Six and Fuller's.
Three top chefs to educate and inspire delegates at 2012 PACE Conference & Exhibition
The Professional Association for Catering Education (PACE) has enlisted the help of three top chefs – Cyrus Todiwala OBE, Gareth Johns and John Feeney – to inspire and educate delegates at the 2012 PACE Conference and Exhibition.
National Apprenticeship Week: How to get your hospitality business involved
With the fifth annual National Apprenticeship Week kicking off today, businesses from across the UK have told BigHospitality what they’re doing to take on more apprentices and increase the number of vocational opportunities in the industry.
Chef’s Forum launched to bridge gap between catering industry, education and suppliers
A new forum has been launched in Bristol for chefs whose professional expertise has been recognised with the likes of Michelin stars and AA Rossettes.
BII launches Licensed Hospitality Apprenticeship
The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has teamed up with Kensington and Chelsea College (KCC) to offer local employers access to a new business-boosting apprenticeship in licensed hospitality.
US restaurateur Danny Meyer's top tips for successful hospitality recruitment
US restaurateur Danny Meyer, has unveiled his top tips for finding the right people to work in hospitality, citing kindness and empathy as key qualities he looks for when recruiting.
Hospitality employers urged to do more to attract responsibility-hungry university graduates
Employers within the hospitality industry are being urged to do more to recruit young people at both graduate and non-graduate level after a survey of recent university graduates found that more than a third are disappointed with the levels of responsibility given to them in their first job.
People 1st receive funding boost to spark economic growth for hospitality businesses
Hospitality businesses have been boosted by the news that People 1st has secured £6.8m from the Employer Investment Fund in a bid to reduce youth unemployment, increase professionalism and ultimately achieve economic growth for the industry.
£1bn youth jobs fund: The hospitality industry’s reaction
Following the recent revelations that the Government is to inject £1bn of new funding into a new scheme to tackle youth unemployment, leading hospitality industry bodies have given BigHospitality their thoughts on how it could affect the sector.
Pickles planning “curry college” to train British nationals
Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles is planning a UK “curry college”, in an effort to plug the skills gap caused by the Home Office immigration cap on chefs from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Marco Pierre White launches Greene King’s new apprentice programme
Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has teamed up with Greene King to back the pub group’s new Discovery Apprenticeship programme.
Hotels spending more on recruitment
Hotel operators throughout the UK are increasingly using professional recruitment companies to head-hunt management staff in an effort to avoid making costly recruitment mistakes.
Almost a quarter of hospitality job seekers suited to management, test finds
A personality test taken by more than 1,000 people seeking jobs in hospitality has revealed that almost a quarter are suited to jobs in management.
National media blamed for 'talking down' jobs in hospitality
The national media should stop 'talking down' jobs in hospitality and start promoting the industry as a worthwhile career choice for job seekers to enable restaurants, hotels and pubs to fill vacant positions and retain staff.
Red Hot World Buffet & Bar to recruit 200 apprentices
Red Hot World Buffet & Bar, a chain about to open its seventh restaurant, is launching a scheme to recruit 200 young people over the next 12 months.
Gaucho’s secrets to successful recruitment and training
The key to hiring the right staff first time round is a strict recruitment process, thorough training, and giving staff room to grow.
Encourage all hospitality staff to improve wine knowledge, industry told
Restaurant and bar operators should encourage their British staff to take up sommelier as a career to balance the level of foreign sommeliers in the hospitality industry.