The charity said locally owned hospitality businesses were helping to create accessible routes into work at a time when the interim Milburn review has warned the UK risks a “lost generation” of young people detached from education, employment and training.
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The review, published yesterday (27 May) and led by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn, found nearly 1 million 16- to 24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training, with the figure forecast to rise to more than 1.25m within five years without action.
Bridging the gap
Plunkett UK said community owned hospitality businesses were already helping to bridge the gap by providing first jobs, volunteering opportunities, training and flexible paid roles in areas where traditional employment routes are limited.
Chief executive James Alcock said: “Hospitality has traditionally provided that crucial first step into work, but in many communities those opportunities are disappearing.
“Community owned pubs and cafés are stepping in to fill that gap, creating accessible, local jobs where they are needed most.”
Plunkett’s research shows more than half of community businesses employ 16- to 25-year-olds, underlining their role as a source of early work experience and skills development.
Benefit rural areas
The charity said the model was particularly important in rural areas, where limited transport links and fewer local employers can make it harder for young people to access work.
It pointed to the Auctioneer’s Arms in Caverswall, Staffordshire, where a young employee joined as a teenager, completed an apprenticeship and progressed into a deputy manager role. At The White Horse in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, another young worker said the pub had helped provide connection and purpose after returning home from university.
“When I graduated university and came back to the village, I wasn’t 100% sure what to do, both job wise and just in general. Loneliness and isolation were big things,” she said.
“But working at the pub gives you a sense of being part of something. You’re involved with your co workers, with the community, with those visiting. You feel like you’re important and you make a difference for other people.”
However, Plunkett warned community owned hospitality businesses were facing mounting pressure from rising costs across the wider sector.
Alcock said: “Without the right support, we risk losing one of the few remaining accessible routes into employment for young people, particularly in rural areas.”
The charity is calling for greater recognition and targeted support for community owned hospitality through its Save Rural Hospitality campaign.
“If we are serious about tackling youth unemployment and strengthening rural economies, we must back the models already delivering results,” Alcock added.
“Community ownership works, but without support, its potential will remain underused.”
