People 1st launches campaign to prepare industry for new wave of apprenticeships

With the biggest shake-up of apprenticeships in recent memory set to take place in Spring 2016, workforce development charity People 1st is launching a campaign to help hospitality businesses understand and prepare for the new employer-driven standards, while reaping the staff retention and profitability benefits. 

With the hospitality and tourism industries requiring a combined 229,000 skilled and managerial staff by 2022, People 1st is hailing the seven new hospitality apprenticeship standards- created by trailblazer employers and led by Hilton Worldwide, to be more robust, clearly defined and fit for purpose – as being truly transformative for those businesses that choose to use them.

Simon Tarr, chief executive of People 1st, says the new standards offer a range of benefits and People 1st is providing support to help businesses understand how they can meet their specific needs.

He said: “Research indicates that 80% of companies that invest in apprentices report an increase in staff retention, but that’s just the beginning – there is also compelling evidence that progressing your brightest and best talent can significantly boost the bottom line;  typically an apprentice working in hospitality contributes up to an impressive £5,200.

“Across the industry we are faced with a number of challenges, not least a £274m annual retention bill and a dearth of managerial staff. Apprenticeships provide an excellent solution to this challenge and we encourage organisations to utilise the new standards to help them tackle retention.”

Whitbread has seen the benefits of apprenticeships and the contributions they can make to the bottom line. The company’s head of education, Sandra Kelly, said: “We’ve found that upon completion of training, a third of our level 2 apprentices move into a management role within two years and turnover of these apprentices is 45% less than the average in our business.

“It is clear from these figures that apprenticeships provide real benefits to both the business and the individual employees. We’re excited to be a part of the new standards, which will help boost retention even further.”

The new apprenticeships can work just as well for small and medium-sized businesses as they can for larger enterprises.  Bristol tapas restaurant Bravas, a small family-run business keen to safeguard staff retention, recently took on two apprentices, a decision that the companies owner Imogen Waite says she’ll never regret.

She said: “We first heard about the apprenticeship scheme through our local college and spoke to People 1st to see which scheme was right for us. The opportunity sounded like one we couldn’t pass up so we decided to give it a go. It’s one of the smartest business decisions we’ve made. The experience has been overwhelmingly positive and we would definitely recommend apprenticeships to other small businesses.”

People 1st is working in partnership with employers in showing how businesses large and small can access apprenticeships to drive themselves forward. The charity can help them choose the right apprenticeship for their size and type and also provide concise and relevant information for those that choose to offer the new standards. In addition People 1st can also recommend accredited training providers and share best practice from across the industry while helping employers to understand the government’s plans for apprenticeships and how they might impact a business.

Over the next six months, People 1st will be regularly updating an apprenticeship portal with all the relevant tools and information needed to start accessing the new apprenticeships. The charity is encouraging businesses to visit today and register to receive the latest updates and practical advice ahead of new standards launch in the spring.