Last week, it was announced Government-backed hospitality Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) were set to be rolled out across 26 areas in England, including in Norwich, Coventry, Exeter and Liverpool.
The new programme sees jobseekers trained with hospitality skills in a working environment to provide them with both work experience and a guaranteed interview with a choice of employers.
Successful participants will also receive a Hospitality Skills Passport, which is a digital transferable award demonstrating competence and qualifications that has been certified by OCN London.
Trade body UKH has been at the vanguard of the expansion, in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and working with Jobcentres across the country to implement the programme.
In a news briefing held on Thursday 22 May, UKH deputy chief executive Allen Simpson said there had been a “clear market failure” in getting people into work that “needs solving”, at a time when vacancies across the industry remain persistent.
Significant advancement
The new scheme marked the “start of a process to support the hospitality sector” and pull stakeholders together to solve the problem, Simpson added.
He continued: “This is a significant advancement for the sector and for people looking for work up and down the country.”
Meanwhile, UKH skills director Sandra Kelly said the new skills passport was a really “valuable” element of the programme, adding it creates an open dialogue between employers and potential employees.
Kelly further explained SWAPs could help solve recruitment issues for hospitality firms as they ensure staff are “work ready” with the “right attitude and great potential”.
Not only this, but the programme also offers huge savings for businesses, an estimated £6m per year according to UKH, as the training is paid for by the Government.
Mirroring training in other sectors, such as construction, candidates undergo three weeks of hands-on tutelage, consisting of classroom and virtual learning, meeting with employers and working in commercial kitchens within colleges that are open to the public.
Clear benefits
This means they gain practical skills and experience and build confidence ,“creating a new sustainable recruitment model for the future”, Kelly added.
She continued: “The benefits are really clear.
“[SWAPs] change the culture of how we are recruiting, pivoting away from online recruitment and back to face to face, back to recruiting from your community.
“They help to streamline onboarding for employer’s and avoids duplicative training. It means the recruits coming to employers for work experience and jobs having completed essential training.
“It is important people have real life experience in a hospitality environment.”
Operators interested in taking part in the scheme can register on the UKH website.
