Double win for Springboard at the Movement to Work Awards
Springboard picked up two awards at the 2023 Movement to Work Youth Employability Awards in London this week.
Manchester-based programme delivery manager Tom Stephenson was crowned Mentor of the Year for his work supporting more than 220 beneficiaries through employability training courses in the past 12 months. The judges highlighted one particular course in which Tom helped 100% of trainees secure jobs.
Meanwhile Springboard won Partner of the Year for our innovative approach to delivering employability training and tackling youth unemployment with Movement to Work member Diageo.
Springboard has delivered Diageo’s Learning for Life programme in the UK since 2014, supporting more than 5,500 people through training courses and giving them the skills and knowledge to secure work in the hospitality industry.
Springboard CEO Chris Gamm said: “I’m delighted for Tom and all the Springboard team. They work so hard changing the lives of young people, and to get the recognition of these prestigious awards is richly deserved. A huge thanks to Diageo for your partnership in delivering Learning for Life and giving young people the skills and opportunities to launch their hospitality careers.”
Fit for Hospitality
‘Fit for Hospitality’ is a new hospitality initiative, aiming to provide practical support for those in the industry on how to work on their physical and mental wellbeing, as well as free to enter challenges and events across the UK.
Inspired by his own personal industry experiences, founder Simon Maguire is on a mission to support fitness and wellbeing within hospitality; with exercise and challenges providing not only a goal to work towards, but a sense of achievement.
To kick start the initiative, Fit for Hospitality will be staging its first UK challenge this year, with a 5k or 10k fundraising run on Thursday 21st September. The race will take place along Bournemouth beach promenade and is open to anyone who works in hospitality. There are 600 free places on a first-come basis, with participants encouraged to sign-up and raise funds towards three great causes.
Recognising the positive link between health and performance, as well as improved mental health, Simon Maguire says: “This initiative is about supporting the wellbeing of our teams across the industry, encouraging and supporting people to get the best out of themselves.
With a squeeze on people and companies’ budgets, Fit for Hospitality couldn’t come at a better time. I’m incredibly excited about the prospect of 600 people crossing the line in September and believe this is only the start of the Fit for Hospitality journey”.
Raising funds for three of the industries most recognised and important charities, all funds will go towards Room to Reward, Hospitality Action, and Springboard. Maguire adds: “Each of these charities are crucial in supporting not only those working within hospitality, but also the unsung heroes within our communities.”
Mark Lewis, Chief Executive of Hospitality Action says: “At Hospitality Action, we strongly believe that a healthy and happy workforce is a key ingredient in a successful hospitality business, and we’re excited to be involved in the Fit for Hospitality Challenge. Not only will the event promote workplace wellbeing, but the money raised will help hospitality families in crisis during these difficult times.”
Chris Gamm, CEO of The Springboard Charity says: “The Fit for Hospitality challenge is an exciting and fun way to keep your people fit and healthy and take part in a team challenge. Springboard is delighted to be one of the chosen charities and all money raised will go towards helping young, unemployed and underprivileged people into great jobs in hospitality.”
Adam Terpening, Room to Reward says: “Fit for Hospitality is a fantastic way of looking after physical and mental health and developing a strong team spirit, whilst exploring the stunning Bournemouth coastline. Every penny raised enables us to help charities, community groups and the inspirational volunteers who do so much for them.”
Providing the fundamental sponsorship for the event to take place, Fit for Hospitality is delighted to announce Umbrella Training Limited, Harri, Thissaway and WPA WPA Health Insurance as partners for its first event – which is being powered by West Peak.
Maguire says: “We are hugely indebted to our sponsors, as we would have not been able to run this event without their generosity. I’d also like to thank Steve Lewis (Lainston House), Lindsay Southward (Village Hotels) an Simon Farrow (TAO Hospitality) who have kindly offered their support in the planning of this event.”
For details on how to enter, please visit: https://challenging.events/e/fit-for-hospitality-9255
Springboard welcome new business partner the PM Trust
The PM Trust has formed a partnership with Springboard to offer training to former trainees, that have now secured work in the hospitality industry.
The PM Trust is a charity that provides bursaries and grants to young people who are starting a career in hospitality. The charity was founded in 1949 and started as a meeting place based in the crypt of St Martin in the Fields. In later years the charity was able to provide accommodation to hospitality workers in Earls Court which was known as The PM Club. The Club helped launch the careers of many young people at the time, including Jason Atherton, Marcus Wareing and Gary Rhodes. Unfortunately, The PM Club closed in 2002, however the aims and objectives live on in The PM Trust.
Ruston Toms, Chairman of the PM Trust, said “We are a relatively small charity however the new partnership with Springboard will allow us to extend our sphere of support within the hospitality industry. The bursaries and grants are provided to help young people further their training and development and importantly improve their prospects in the industry. The support we can provide has never been more important given the difficulties the industry has experienced of late.
We look forward to working with Chris and his magnificent team at Springboard to promote hospitality as career of choice for young people.”
Chris Gamm, CEO of Springboard, added “We are delighted to be partnering with the PM Trust to support a group of Springboard trainees with their development within the hospitality industry. Our employability programmes give young people the skills to launch their careers, and the PM Trust bursaries will help them access further training opportunities and gain new skills to take that allow them to develop their career even further.”
The Ivy Collection add associated brands to support Springboard
The Ivy Collection has recently agreed to add their associated brands to the Springboard Charity Showcase Employer Programme for 2023. This brings on board Bill’s Restaurants, Birley Clubs, Caprice Holdings . These additional restaurants and clubs will offer Springboard trainees a wider scope of location and work placements as part of their employability courses, which incorporate mock interviews and site industry visits.
Johanna Wimmer, People Engagement Manager for all four brands, said “It has been a pleasure partnering with Springboard, to be able to make a difference in people’s lives and to give them a taste of this exciting industry we work in. Adding our additional brands enables us to showcase the variety of roles and experiences hospitality has to offer – there is something for everyone.”
Chris Gamm, CEO at Springboard, said: “It is a delight to have the full suite of brands associated with the Ivy Collection on board as Springboard Showcase Employers. It is very aspirational for our trainees to visit and experience some of the UK’s best hospitality businesses.”
Most recently, Granary Square Brasserie, London hosted a site visit for eight candidates from the Springboard Skill Up, Step Up course. The visiting trainees were delighted with the warm and generous welcome from Matt Crook and the team and the next step is to discuss work placements.
Matt Crook, Back of House (BOH) Training and Development Manager at The Ivy Collection, added “Working together with Springboard and their candidates is important to me as I can pass on my passion and share my 25year hospitality experience with them. Springboard gives people fantastic opportunities and can make a huge difference to their lives, it gives them a taster of what hospitality has to offer, and hopefully they will be driving the industry for a further 25 years.”
IHIC supports two Ukrainian refugees to secure hospitality jobs
The International Hotel Investment Council (IHIC) has helped two women who fled the war in Ukraine to find jobs working for Starbucks after taking part in a Springboard training course.
A donation from IHIC funded the places of Anzhelina Kuchmenko and Natalia Avramenko on the four-week destination hospitality course in Edinburgh, which included soft skills development, hospitality training, CV and interview skills, industry visits and a week’s work experience.
Both women are among the Ukrainians living on a cruise ship docked in Leith and said the course helped them build their confidence, make friends in the area and see hospitality as a great career choice.
“The most surprising thing I’ve learned is that all the experience I have, all the skills I gained just by living my life can be exploited and turned into something personal and meaningful for the customers,” said Anzhelina.
“Just after learning this I understood that hospitality is a great match for me. I became a part of the Starbucks team who are the embodiment of what friendly and meaningful customer service is. I was supposed to be a barista, but within a few days of working, my manager offered me a higher position as a shift supervisor.
“This course has also helped me to overcome my language barrier and find new friends. In three weeks, our group became a great team, and I actually miss the atmosphere we had when we were doing the course. Some of my new friends are now my colleagues at Starbucks, while others now work at hotels and bars.
“Thank you to Springboard and IHIC for this great opportunity. You’ve built my new life here in Edinburgh! I can’t describe how grateful I am.
Natalia added: “I am really happy about having attended the course because I learned a lot about customer service, food safety, the legal responsibilities around the sale of alcohol, making drinks, job search and well-being. There were a lot of useful workshops and fantastic presentations.”
Commenting on the Springboard programme, IHIC director, Tim Helliwell, emphasised the hope that IHIC’s assistance will have a lasting impact on both their lives and careers.
“The members of IHIC are delighted to have been able to support this initiative and to help provide meaningful employment opportunities within the hospitality sector. We wish Natalia and Anzhelina every success in the future,“ he said.
Springboard FutureChef 2023 winner is announced!
© Jane Henderson Photography
The winner of Springboard FutureChef – a national competition to find the country’s next culinary superstar – has been revealed as Kristen Nugent, 15, from Killeeshil, in County Tyrone, following a tense final at Westminster Kingsway College in London.
Taking place at Westminster Kingsway College in London yesterday (13 March), the final saw 12 up-and-coming young chefs from across the UK battle it out to be crowned champion in the annual competition hosted by hospitality charity, Springboard.
During the final stage of the competition, the competitors had 2 hours and 45 minutes to prepare a main course and dessert for a panel of industry-leading judges, including Adam Handling, Nieves Barragan Mohacho and 2023 National Chef of the Year Ben Murphy.
Since winning her regional heat in Northern Ireland, Kristen has worked with award winning Dungannon-based mentor chef James Devine, to hone her skills and create dishes that wowed the judges in every round, including smoked and poached rainbow trout, citrus cured rillette, hens’ egg, chive mash, soused vegetables and herb butter sauce along with her rhubarb, vanilla panna cotta, granola crunch crumble and maple dessert.
Taking the crown, Kristen will now receive ongoing support, development, and apprenticeship opportunities from Springboard, including the chance to have her recipes published.
Discussing her win, Kristen said, “It was absolutely amazing and so unexpected. The first hour went slightly sideways but I stepped back, took deep breathes and after a 30 second break I got myself back together and it went really well after that!
“It has been a whirlwind experience competing in the FutureChef competition – and it is amazing to see the hard work finally pay off. The support and guidance I have received from my mentor James, has been instrumental in my success. I am more passionate than ever about pursuing a career in hospitality and I cannot wait to see what the future holds and the opportunities this will unlock.”
FutureChef Judge, Chef and TikTok star, Poppy O’Toole, said: “I’m so excited to be judging the national finals of FutureChef. It was winning my school’s FutureChef competition back in 2009 which made me realise I was good at cooking. From the days of being a culinary student, to working in Michelin starred restaurants to now cooking to 4 million followers online with two cookbooks and being a TV judge, I hope I can inspire the next generation how amazing it can be to work in food!”
Discussing the importance of the competition, Chris Gamm, CEO of Springboard, said: “Our FutureChef competition is always a big moment in our calendar and we always love witnessing the talented young individuals entering the industry and exploring their passion and love for the sector and all it has to offer.
“The sector is still very much recovering from the impact of the past 3-years and the ongoing economic strain is only placing more pressure on an already struggling industry. The FutureChef competition plays a vital part in introducing new talent to the world of hospitality. Many well-known industry heavyweights have supported FutureChef, from Monica Galetti to Michel Roux Jr, Angela Hartnett, and Clare Smyth. It is simply a great steppingstone into the industry.”
Aiming to find the UK and Ireland’s next generation of culinary talent, Springboard FutureChef is a school-based programme that supports the development of life skills while inspiring young people to pursue an exciting career within the world of hospitality. The schools-based competition, which is now in its 24th year and has seen more than 214,000 young people aged 12-16 take part, supports the development of culinary and life skills while inspiring young people to pursue an exciting career in hospitality.
The competition called on budding chefs to compete and develop their culinary skills, with different rounds introducing participants to important themes around sustainability, plant-based, and zero-waste cooking.
Outside of FutureChef, Springboard has recently celebrated hitting its Springboard to 2022 target, helping 10,000 young people into jobs in hospitality last year.
We held a Hospitality Takeover Day in London!
This month we held a Hospitality Takeover Day at the London Hilton Metropole. The day was a huge success, with 132 students from 6 different schools attending, who were all enabled to opportunity to learn about the hospitality industry, promoting it as a viable career choice.
The day started with a welcome talk from the Hilton’s General Manager, Bill Fisher and Summer School participant Lucy Gilbert spoke about her journey with and after Springboard. Since taking part in our Summer School programme last year, Lucy has gone on to start an apprenticeship at Sodexo Live! Academy with iconic chef, Raymond Blanc.
After setting them up for the day, the students rotated around 6 different workshops. A hotel tour, towel origami, cupcake decorating, mocktail creation, hospitality quiz and a team building activity lead by Springboard.
Take a look at our photos from the day…
Each workshop host identified a ‘rising star’ student from their workshop sessions, and they received a prize. At the end of the day one overall winner was identified, and she received an Amazon voucher of £100!
91% of students said that as a result of the event they now had a better understanding of the wide range of worthwhile career opportunities in the hospitality sector. With 63% saying they would now be more interested in considering a career in hospitality. One student told us “The day was really fun and inspirational” and another shared, “It was an amazing and engaging day.”
A huge thank you to Hilton for hosting the event and to Caterer.com and HIT Training, for coming down to support on the day.
The Wolseley Hospitality Group help futureproof talent pipeline with Springboard
The Wolseley Hospitality Group is delighted to be working with industry charity Springboard on its mission to futureproof the hospitality talent pipeline.
As a sponsor of Springboard FutureChef, the group is helping promote hospitality careers and cooking to more than 13,000 young people this year.
Group Executive Chef, David Stevens. helped judge the Springboard FutureChef London regional final held at Lewisham College this month, in which young budding chef Ellen was crowned regional winner and will go on to compete in the national final at Westminster Kingsway College in March.
“The whole judging panel were impressed by all the competing students, their level of skill and time management was to be applauded. The Springboard FutureChef programme is teaching a life skill and opening the eyes of young school students to what an incredible and diverse industry we work in. A special thanks should go out to all the mentors who encourage and support the students through the competition.”
David Stevens, Group Executive Chef
The Wolseley Hospitality Group have also helped support Springboard’s employability training programmes. Earlier this month, a group of Springboard trainees visited the group’s Brasserie Zédel site in London, where they met the team, had a tour of the restaurant, and also completed a skills based training module.
In the past 12 months, seven Springboard trainees secured jobs at the Wolseley Hospitality Group, while the team also supported with mock interviews, industry visits and hosting Springboard training programmes on site.
“Giving young, unemployed people a chance to learn the skills and gain the confidence to equip them for a career in hospitality is something we wholeheartedly support. As a company we invest in our people to encourage and nurture growth and progression, so Springboard could be providing candidates that hopefully become some of our future managers.”
Daniel Jeffries, Head of Recruitment
Springboard’s Kristina worked closely with the Wolseley Hospitality Group while running a number of training programmes and said: “I enjoyed working with Rory and Dan because they really understand our organisation and are always willing to support us with whatever they can.”
Choose Hospitality Pledge issues industry call to promote hospitality to secondary school children
An industry alliance spearheaded by Nestlé Professional today asked hospitality ambassadors to step forward to promote the industry to young people. The ‘Choose Hospitality Pledge’ includes Choose Hospitality, CareerScope, Springboard, and a growing number of hospitality and industry leaders. Partners were brought together by Nestlé Professional following its research revealing that young people have negative perceptions of the sector. To address this, the alliance is mobilising a team of hospitality ambassadors, tasked with visiting secondary schools across the UK to give young people an inspiring and comprehensive picture of the hospitality sector.
More than 40% of hospitality businesses now face skilled worker shortages, over the next 5 years, the situation is expected to get worse, with experts forecasting a 13-14 million talent gap for positions suitable for hospitality graduates. To understand why the hospitality sector is finding it particularly hard to recruit talent, Nestlé Professional commissioned MMR Research to speak to young jobseekers, young hospitality professionals and industry influencers from across the UK.
The research revealed that, although some young job seekers are interested in the industry, many view it as a ‘back-up career’, with long hours and hard work. These negative perceptions are fuelled by insufficient information and a lack of ambassadors they can relate to. When it comes to advice, more than 1 in 4 young people ask people already working in the industry, valuing their advice over that of their teacher or careers advisers. Fortunately, 62% of the young people working in hospitality say they love their role, indicating an untapped pool of potential ambassadors.
To address this, Nestlé Professional has convened the ‘Choose Hospitality Pledge’, encouraging hospitality businesses and rising industry stars to put themselves forward as industry ambassadors. Hospitality leaders including Whitbread, Compass, Sodexo, Elior and PACE have already pledged support, plus industry organisations such as Bridging the Skills Gap and the Institute of Hospitality. These will be promoting the scheme and providing ambassadors to send out to schools in each region. Ambassadors will be given specially developed materials, speaking aids and opportunities at their local schools to help them engage youngsters and promote a career in the industry.
Katya Simmons, managing director Nestlé Professional UK&I says:
“Hospitality businesses are more than twice as likely as other industries to experience challenges filling vacancies. We were keen to understand why, so we could highlight ways in which our industry could come together to deal with these issues.”
“We learned that a lack of clear information and advice from key influencers has led to a serious image problem for the industry. Yet at the same time we have an untapped resource of bright, young individuals who could be inspiring and educating young people on hospitality careers.
“Given the severity of current recruitment challenges, it’s important that we act now. The Choose Hospitality Pledge is all about galvanising up-and-coming hospitality superstars. Helping us to get young people excited about our industry again, and showcasing hospitality as a stimulating, flexible and incredibly rewarding career.”
Amanda McDade, CareerScope says:
“Forging industry and education links is one of the most effective ways to highlight the vibrant and diverse job roles in hospitality. There are plenty of inspiring industry ambassadors out there who are passionate about their job and the industry and keen to showcase these.
“Springboard’s Ambassador programme is already doing an amazing job, connecting industry ambassadors with young people. We’re looking forward to sending even more ambassadors out into schools through the Choose Hospitality Pledge. Because only through giving schoolchildren a solid understanding of hospitality at an early age can we start to nurture and inspire future industry talent.”
Claire Bosi, Choose Hospitality says:
“The UK’s hospitality sector is incredibly diverse and varied, making it one of the most exciting sectors to work in world-wide. Despite this, there’s still very low awareness around the roles available to young people, and the potential for them to progress fast. Our hard-hitting team of ambassadors at Choose Hospitality do a fantastic job, inspiring young jobseekers to consider a career in the sector. We’re looking forward to working with others in the alliance, taking inspiring ambassador out to schools, so they can start working their magic even earlier!
Gemma Raby, Whitbread says:
“Young people have joined Whitbread, and no doubt countless other hospitality businesses, with no academic qualifications, and have gone on to have fantastic, fulfilling careers at a senior level. It’s a well-kept secret, but it shouldn’t be.
“Hospitality isn’t about entry level, no skill or experience required roles, it’s a place where young people can start in these roles and quickly progress to senior level, be that running their own business, developing menus and food offerings or in finance, digital and tech or learning and development roles.
“At Whitbread, we’re committed to being a Force for Good in the communities in which we operate. We were already taking action, promoting hospitality to local secondary schools before we heard about the Choose Hospitality Pledge. Now we’re excited about expanding and supporting the reach of this activity, working alongside other members in the alliance.”
Shortlist announced for Springboard Awards for Excellence 2023
The 48 shortlisted hospitality businesses competing to win a coveted Springboard Award for Excellence on 20th April has been announced.
We were were delighted to receive more than 200 entries and nominations this year, a record number for our prestigious annual awards. This made the judging process tougher than ever for our panels of hospitality professionals, compiled of external supporters and Ambassadors.
The Awards ceremony itself will take place aboard Oceandiva, Smart Group’s impressive 600 capacity, 86 metre long vessel, a revolutionary, Co2 neutral event space, on the River Thames.
Broadcaster and journalist Gordon Smart, presenter on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, will be the host for this year’s Awards. Gordon is predominantly known for having hosted afternoon shows on talkSPORT, BBC Radio Scotland, the evening show on Radio X and Weekend Breakfast on BBC Radio 5 Live.
The Awards will recognise and celebrate the UK and Ireland’s hospitality superstars. This includes those who have inspired us over the last year with their resourcefulness, creativity, innovative ideas, those who have supported the growth of their organisation, developed their co-workers and been leaders within their communities.
Looking forward to the event, which takes place on 20th April, Springboard’s CEO, Chris Gamm said: “The Awards for Excellence is a great opportunity for the industry to come together and commend our top businesses, showcasing their successes and hugely talented workforce. Each year, the Award ceremony grows and becomes more exquisite; This year is no different and we are excited to be holding the Awards for Excellence on this exclusive new venue on the River Thames.”
Tables and tickets are now available to purchase to attend the event here.
THE SPRINGBOARD AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE 2023 SHORTLIST:
Fiona Colley Trainee of the Year Award – supported by Braehead Foods
Safiyyah Fletcher
Jacqueline Haney
Jordan Harrison
Scott Heeps
Toby Markham
Best Training Programme
Brewhouse and Kitchen
Eden Hotel Collection
Elior UK
Tattu
Umbel Restaurant Group
Best Apprenticeship Strategy Award – sponsored by HIT Training
Brewhouse and Kitchen
Compass Group UK & Ireland
Greene King
Mitchells & Butlers
Sodexo
Best Education & Industry Partnership – sponsored by Valor Hospitality
Aurora Foxes & Hilton
IHG Hotels & Resorts
Manchester Hotel Association
Millennium & Copthorne Hotel at Chelsea FC
Sodexo
Best Recruitment Initiative – sponsored by Caterer.com
Accor Hotel Services
Axiom Hospitality
BM Caterers
Brewhouse and Kitchen
Gails Bakery
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Award – sponsored by CH&CO
Compass Group UK & Ireland
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels at Chelsea FC
Rare Restaurants
Sodexo
The Crumbs Project
Disability Confidence Award – sponsored by Sodexo
Brewhouse and Kitchen
Hotel Brooklyn
The Crumbs Project
Best Talent Onboarding – sponsored by Mapal
Compass Group UK & Ireland
Dishoom
Gleneagles
Hand Picked Hotels
Rare Restaurants
Career Development Initiative – sponsored by Diageo
Dakota Hotels
Leonardo Hotels
Philema Hospitality Management
The Athenaeum Hotel
Z Hotels
Employee Health & Wellbeing – sponsored by Blue Badge Access
Eden Hotel Collection
RBH Hospitality Management
The Hari
Valor Hospitality
Best Retention Initiative – sponsored by Hand Picked Hotels
Dishoom
Philema Hospitality Management
Searcys
The Belfry Hotel & Resort
Business Innovation Award – sponsored by Harri
BM Caterers
Dorchester Collection
Marsham Court Hotel
Sodexo
Sustainable Business Award – sponsored by Franke Coffee Systems
Apex Hotels
Hilton
Lamington Group
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
Lexington Catering
Rare Restaurants
Community Engagement – sponsored by 5 Hertford Street and Oswald’s Clubs
Mum Recruitment
Rare Restaurants
RBH Management
Steel Hospitality
Wagamama
Best Employer- sponsored by American Express
Brewhouse and Kitchen
Eden Hotel Collection
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
The Belfry Hotel & Resort
The Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Springboard Ambassador of the Year
Geoff Baird, Henderson Group
Parris Beckford, Turtle Bay
Christopher Fox, Apex Hotels
Michael Taylor, Sodexo
Jill Whittaker, HIT Training