Drinks group Diageo has signed a three-year partnership to help address chronic skills shortages across the UK hospitality industry.
The Springboard and Prince’s Trust charities have agreed to run Diageo’s Learning for Life programme for the next three years in a bid to support more than 3,000 young people into work. Springboard will be the lead partner, with The Prince’s Trust supporting delivery of early-stage training.
“Hospitality organisations up and down the country will be as delighted as we are to hear that our incredible partnership with Diageo is continuing for a further three years,” Springboard chief executive Chris Gamm said.
“Learning for Life plays such an important role in turning out skilled and qualified professionals into the industry, future-proofing the talent pipeline for hospitality.”
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Since launching in the UK in 2012, 5,374 people have participated in the Learning for Life programme on more than 360 courses. The renewed partnership will extend the bartending and hospitality course to include three new delivery models.
According to industry group UKHospitality there are currently 400,000 vacancies across the sector. Together with an average of 100,000 staff absences, the industry is missing more than 20 per cent of its workforce a day-to-day basis.
“We know the hospitality industry continues to face unprecedented challenges and many communities are struggling when it comes to recruitment,” said Kate Moore, society manager at Diageo.
Ben Marson, director of partnerships at The Prince's Trust, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Springboard for the Diageo Learning for Life programme and believe that during this challenging time for the hospitality sector, we can bring together our collective strengths to support young people into meaningful work in the hospitality sector, and ultimately to build a better future for themselves.”
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