Franchise boss calls on British hoteliers to take on more apprentices
The boss of Best Western GB is urging the industry to take on more apprentices to fill the skills deficit.
With National Apprentices Week starting today (Monday), the franchise group’s CEO, Rob Payne, said apprenticeships could help to solve a ‘serious shortage’ of employees in the hospitality sector.
"It’s an issue that is only going to be compounded in future years," he added.
"With more governmental support and industry buy-in, we believe that we can address the skills deficit within the hospitality industry, as well as attract and support quality employees."
According to a report which looks at how the hospitality industry is developing, almost 524,000 more staff will be required by the year 2020.
According to workforce development charity People 1st, as the UK economy continues to recover hospitality employers have found recruitment increasingly tough, with 18% of employers reported having a vacancy, a rise of 2% since 2011.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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