Choose Hospitality Pledge

We developed the pledge following research we conducted into perceptions of young people on the hospitality industry. The research, available in our insight report, Opening Doors: Improving hospitality career perceptions among young people, revealed that although some young job seekers are interested in the industry, many are unaware of the breadth of roles and progression opportunities available. With exposure limited to less ‘skilled’ roles in hospitality, this could explain why many young people view it as a ‘back-up career’, with long hours and hard work.

Yet right now the number of skilled worker vacancies in hospitality is approximately 132,000**, providing significant opportunities for a fantastic career in the industry.

To address this, the pledge encourages hospitality businesses and rising industry stars to put themselves forward as industry ambassadors. Hospitality leaders involved including Sodexo, Compass, Whitbread, Elior and PACE, plus industry organisations such as Bridging the Skills Gap and the Institute of Hospitality have all been involved to date. Ambassadors work with secondary schools to provide activities, presentations and materials to students, helping youngsters understand the industry's varied jobs and progression opportunities.

Since launching the Choose Hospitality Pledge, we’ve engaged with approximately 42 schools across the UK and met with over 2,000 students.