Leiths launches £750k grant fund
The Leiths Hospitality Recovery Grant will provide 100 free places and a further 1000 part-funded places on Leiths online courses ‘with professional intent’.
The courses are pitched at those working within the industry at a low to unskilled level and those without experience seeking to work in hospitality.
The training can be done full-time or part time and is designed to give students the confidence and knowledge to work in a professional kitchen .
Each student is allocated a Leiths teacher as a mentor to guide and to learn from, receiving feedback all the way through.
The 100 free full-time places will be awarded on a first come basis and 70/30 in favour of independent restaurants under the threshold of the apprenticeship levy, the same applies to the 1000 part-funded places.
The grant is aimed at both restaurants and individuals looking to skill up – either those inside the sector in an unskilled role and candidates looking to enter into the sector - where they have a prospective employer.
Students will be given the opportunity to attain Leiths qualifications with an assessment weekend at a discounted rate on completion of the online course.
“The restaurant sector is again under fire, hard on the heels of the pandemic is the crippling skills shortage seeing many restaurants unable to open seven days a week," says Leith School of Food and Wine.
"The recovery grant, offering immediate online training to people outside of the sector and those within currently in unskilled roles, is set to make a difference and I am very proud the school I set up can respond at this time of this skills crisis”
“The hospitality staff shortage is a complex social and political issue, affecting thousands of operators. As an industry we need to find multiple solutions to attract, train and overcome this burden," says JKS Restaurants head of recruitment Chris Todd.
"What Leiths have proposed heads a great deal in the right direction, providing much needed training support to operators and attracting new employees into the sector by supplying them with the skills needed to be successful within the industry.”
Businesses and individuals, via their employer, can apply here.
