Springboard to 2022 is the industry solution to tackling hospitality, leisure and tourism’s long-term staffing crisis. We want to give the industry space to focus on the current challenge of rebuilding from the Coronavirus pandemic, while Springboard ensures there is a skilled and engaged talent pipeline ready for when the industry needs it. Our goal is to have 10,000 young people trained and ready for work, in line with industry’s recovery, by 2022.
The industry challenge
Prior to Covid-19, the hospitality, leisure and tourism industries faced significant skills deficits. The impact of lockdowns and social distancing measures have been particularly catastrophic to these sectors, and many businesses are focusing on survival, recovery and the protection of as many jobs as possible.
Covid-19 is causing unemployment levels to soar and the 30,000 young people leaving full time education who would ordinarily have launched their career in a hospitality career each year are struggling to find work without guidance. Concurrently, the confidence in and perception of hospitality, leisure and tourism as a career choice has been damaged.
Post Covid-19 and post-Brexit, there is a real threat that the staffing crisis and skills problem will return, and at far worse levels than we have ever seen.
The majority of the Government support in Plan for Jobs addresses immediate needs, but hospitality, leisure and tourism’s needs are longer term, if we are to avoid the pre Covid-19 employment challenges re-emerging. We need a solution to fill the 12-18 month gap while the industry concentrates on survival and rebuilding
Our solution
Springboard is perfectly positioned to lead an industry response to this challenge of getting 10,000 young people ready for work by 2022; Seeking out, securing, training and nurturing the future talent pipeline, ready for when the industry is once again thriving and needs it.
Springboard will be the central hub managing this process, from outreach and engagement, assessing young people’s needs and signposting them to the most relevant programmes and interventions, through to supporting them into employment.
This is the typical journey we would expect to take young people on into work:
Springboard will use its established relationships with referral partners, training providers and industry employers, plus its award-winning employability programmes, to deliver the 18-month project.
Funding requirements
The Government has already committed funding to support many strands of the Springboard to 2022 programme through its Plan for Jobs scheme, including: Youth hubs; Traineeships; Apprenticeships; Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP) and Kickstart work placements. Springboard will help hospitality employers access and utilise this funding in the most effective way.
Additionally, Springboard is seeking to secure partnerships with funders to coordinate this 18-month programme. This includes funders and corporate partners seeking to invest in a programme to safeguard the hospitality workforce and get young people into sustainable jobs in the industry, plus employers looking to gain access to the pipeline of talent available through the plan to support their recruitment strategies in 2021 and 2022.
Benefits
The four main benefits of Springboard to 2022 are:
- Maximise the impact and participation in the Government’s Plan for Jobs strategy
- Relieve unemployment among the 30,000 young people leaving education who would otherwise have begun a career working in hospitality each year
- Give hospitality employers the time to focus on saving and rebuilding their businesses while Springboard protects the future talent pipeline
- Provide a source of labour that is engaged, trained to a high standard and ready to start work when the hospitality industry is back to full speed and needs it throughought 2021 and 2022
- Champion the hospitality, leisure and tourism industries as a great place to work, promote them to the next generation and build positivity around them as career choices
Project partners
Springboard to 2022 has already been backed by lead partner Savoy Educational Trust, official partners BaxterStorey and Diageo and a number of major industry employers including Sodexo, CH&Co, Compass Group, Hilton, IHG and Bidfood. Other project partners include the Department for Work & Pensions, UK Hospitality, Skills Development Scotland and Scottish Tourism Alliance.
How to get involved in Springboard to 2022
Industry employers
We are looking to work with hospitality, leisure and tourism employers who are willing to provide quality work placements for candidates on the programme and to invest in the programme, in return for getting direct access to fully trained and engaged members of staff at the right time. To find out more, please contact Agnieszka Ferrel on agnieszkaf@springboarduk.org.uk
Those interested in Kickstart work placements
If you are interested in finding out more about the government’s Kickstart scheme or working with Springboard as an intermediary employer, please contact Bhavna Patel on kickstart@springboarduk.org.uk
Training partners
To secure referrals from Springboard to 2022, access the hospitality, leisure and tourism employer network for job outcomes or work in partnership with Springboard to leverage additional funding, please contact Inga McVicar on ingam@springboarduk.org.uk
Trusts, foundations & other funding bodies
If you are a grant giving charitable trust, foundation or other funding body and are interested in supporting this initiative to train young people and get them in to work in hospitality, leisure and tourism, please contact James Isaac on jamesi@springboarduk.org.uk