Nestlé Professional Sustainability Symposium
Sustainability Symposium is a series of podcasts featuring panel discussions between industry experts that focus on some of the key sustainability issues and topics that confront the out of home food and drink sector today.
Never before has it been as much of a challenge to attract talent into the hospitality industry. Not only operationally back of house and front of house, but also up and down the supply and value chains. It is one of the biggest challenges the sector faces.
The objective of the podcast is to encourage broader debate on this subject and for this episode’s discussion, Springboard’s National Head of Careers & Education, Amanda McDade, joined the conversation with the following industry experts:
- John Holden – Chair & Founder Member of Bridging The Skills Gap; Food & Beverage Lecturer, Cheshire South and West College
- Julia Jones – Head of B2B Marketing, Nestlé Professional
- Sophie Taylor – Chef de Partie at the Gleneagles Townhouse and 2021 Toque d’Or Front of House Student Winner, 2022 Toque d’Or Front of House Judge
- Nick Hughes – Associate Editor, Footprint (Chair)
Link to original article: https://www.foodservicefootprint.com/nestle-professional-sustainability-symposium-episode-2-the-future-of-talent/
Springboard’s first face to face Ambassador Networking Event
On Monday 1st August, we held our first face to face Ambassador Networking event at The Jurys Inn on Board Street, Birmingham.
After the relaunch of our Ambassador Programme in September 2021, we knew that we wanted to hold an event specifically for our Ambassadors, so as the restrictions imposed by Covid began to ease up, we got to work planning the event. We set the date and sent out invitations to our current Ambassadors, as well as encouraging those in the Midlands area who wanted to learn more about Springboard and what it takes to become an Ambassador, to also attend.
Chris Gamm, CEO of Springboard kicked off the events agenda, with a brief introduction on Springboard, who we are and why support from our Ambassadors is vital.
Chris said, “Springboard Ambassadors play a vital role in supporting our work, showcasing the industry to our trainees and championing hospitality to the next generation. It was great to meet some of our engaged Ambassadors in the Midlands and hear how they are getting involved in supporting Springboard’s work.”
Lucy Bradley, Ambassador Project Lead at Springboard, took to the stage to give an overview on the Ambassador role, detailing how to get involved and sharing the new Ambassador Portal.
Guest speakers at the event included Kris Hall, Founder and Director from The Burnt Chef Project, and Conrad Brunton from Tonic Talent. Kris gave an insightful talk on the history of The Burnt Chef Project, and about their plans towards tackling mental health in the Hospitality industry – he even brought Ellie the Elephant along for the day, to quite literally, squash the elephant in the room! Conrad said, “It was an absolute pleasure to attend and talk, meet new faces, as well as discuss recruitment and staff retainment issues within the industry.”
The event was a great success with over 30 Ambassadors attending, who left feeling engaged and enthusiastic about offering further support to Springboard.
We hope to hold future face to face events across various regions in the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled for your invite!
Not already an Ambassador? Become one today!
Have a question? Contact Lucy Bradley, Ambassador Project Lead on: lucyb@springboarduk.org.uk
HotStats provides full time roles for young people under the Kickstart Scheme
As a Kickstart Gateway Employer, Springboard supported more than 800 young people into work placements in the hospitality industry across more than 50 employers.
One of these employers was Springboard’s corporate patron partner HotStats, who took on two young people through the Kickstart scheme and recently offered them full-time positions.
Meet Meg and Conner, and listen to them give an insight into what their new roles involve and how Kickstart made a difference to their lives.
Springboard celebrate milestone moment with 7,000 young people supported into work through Springboard to 2022 initiative
- 7,063 young people have been supported into work in the hospitality industry, reaching 70% of their target to help 10,000 people into work by the end of the year
- £5m has been raised by the industry to fund the project and support its talent pipeline
- Lead partner Savoy Educational Trust has surpassed its target and has directly supported 1,077 young people into work in hospitality through the courses it has funded
UK hospitality charity Springboard is celebrating the impressive milestone of supporting more than 7,000 individuals to find employment in the hospitality industry through their initiative Springboard to 2022. The project aims to help 10,000 unemployed young people in finding work in the industry by the end of the year.
Launched to help the industry rebuild from the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, ‘Springboard to 2022’ is the industry solution to tackling hospitality, leisure, and tourism’s long-term staffing crisis. The team supports leading industry businesses by ensuring they have access to a skilled and engaged talent pipeline ready for the industry.
19-year-old Nizor Lok Noshock from Stirling used a Springboard training course to help her secure her role working in the Garden Restaurant at Kimpton Charlotte Square in Edinburgh. Nizor was the 7,000th individual to find work in the hospitality industry with the help of Springboard to 2022.
Commenting on her experience, Nizor said: “I heard about Springboard through the Job Centre and it was the best decision I ever made. After getting an interview with the Kimpton hotel, I was able to put my training into practice, and I was delighted to be offered a place in the Garden Restaurant.
“I absolutely love it because everyone is open, friendly, helpful and patient. I’m learning and progressing every day and I think my life can only get better now that I found a job I love.”
Chris Gamm, CEO of Springboard, said: “This is a significant milestone for our employment initiative, Springboard to 2022, and it has been fantastic to see the great progress we have been making with the help of our project partners; Savoy Educational Trust, Barclays, BaxterStorey, Diageo and Trusthouse Charitable Foundation.
“It is incredibly positive to see business picking up, but staffing remains the biggest challenge. It is something I see every day and is impacting growth for many hospitality businesses.”
Springboard to 2022 also celebrated two other major milestones this month. The project’s lead partner Savoy Educational Trust supported 1,077 young people into hospitality roles through courses it had funded. Meanwhile, Springboard also hit the fundraising target of £5m required to deliver the two-year goal of helping 10,000 young people secure hospitality jobs.
Springboard supports young people into jobs in the hospitality industry via its employability training programmes that includes one-to-one mentoring, soft skills and employability development (confidence, work attitude, CV building, interview practice, time management), practical industry and hard skills training including food safety and customer service, as well as access to work experience placements.
For more information on Springboard to 2022, visit https://springboard.uk.net/support-us/springboard-to-2022/
The Springboard Charity supporting the community thanks to National Lottery funding
Destination Hospitality Wales: Changing lives through transferable life throughout Wales are helping their community to adapt, recover and thrive, thanks to National Lottery players, by funding this three-year project, which will directly help communities throughout Wales to thrive by giving unemployed people the training, advice and support they need to get them into sustainable jobs within the Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism industries.
The Springboard Charity successfully applied for £369,190 from The National Lottery Community Fund.
Chris Gamm, CEO at The Springboard Charity said: “We are delighted to be supporting communities throughout Wales into sustainable employment in the hospitality industry. This project will be a blend of both digital and face to face support to enable us to reach those hardest to reach and across Wales”
To find out more about applying for a grant from The National Lottery Community Fund to support your community, visit www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/wales
Further Information:
Gemma Edmonds
07825776819
Coopers’ Hall, Devonshire Square, London, EC2M 4TH
For more details about Destination Hospitality Wales visit: https://springboard.uk.net/
The Springboard Charity yn parhau i gefnogi’r gymuned, diolch i arian y Loteri Genedlaethol
Mae Cyrchfan Lletygarwch Cymru: Newid bywydau trwy sgiliau bywyd trosglwyddadwy ledled Cymrum yn helpu eu cymuned i addasu, adfer a ffynnu, diolch i chwaraewyr y Loteri Genedlaethol, trwy Bydd y prosiect tair blynedd hwn yn helpu cymunedau’n uniongyrchol ledled Cymru i ffynnu trwy roi i bobl ddi-waith yr hyfforddiant, cyngor a chefnogaeth mae eu hangen arnynt i sicrhau swyddi cynaliadwy yn y diwydiannau Lletygarwch, Hamdden a Thwristiaeth.
Derbyniodd The Springboard Charity £369,190 gan Gronfa Gymunedol y Loteri Genedlaethol.
Dywedodd Chris Gam, CEO yn The Springboard Charity : “Mae’n bleser gennym gefnogi pobl mewn cymunedau ledled Cymru i gael cyflogaeth gynaliadwy yn y diwydiant lletygarwch. Bydd y prosiect hwn yn gyfuniad o gefnogaeth ddigidol ac wyneb yn wyneb i’n galluogi i gyrraedd y rhai anoddaf eu cyrraedd a ledled Cymru”
I ddarganfod mwy am ymgeisio am grant gan Gronfa Gymunedol y Loteri Genedlaethol i gefnogi eich cymuned, ewch i www.cronfagymunedolylg.org.uk/cymru
Gwybodaeth bellach:
Gemma Edmonds
07825776819
Coopers’ Hall, Devonshire Square, London, EC2M 4TH
Am fwy o fanylion am Destination Hospitality Wales ewch i: https://springboard.uk.net/
Springboard sits down with one of first Springboard FutureChef competitors – Michelin star chef, Graeme Cheevers!
Springboard Programme: FutureChef National Final
Region: Glasgow, Scotland
Year: 2003
We sat down with one of the first ever Springboard FutureChef competitors, Michelin star chef, Graeme Cheevers; Graeme is the first FutureChef Alumni to receive a Michelin Star at his exquisite Glasgow restaurant UNALOME, which has been open for less than a year and he earned the prestigious accolade within just 8 months.
Back in 2003, 14-year-old Graeme Cheevers made it as far as the regional finals of the Springboard FutureChef competition for Central and South Scotland. Graeme was inspired to pursue a career as a chef and was encouraged by his dad recognised his passion for cooking.
Graeme left school at 16, going on to study Food Technology at City of Glasgow College. His life as a student was short-lived, as he chose to embark on, what would become a very exciting culinary career, before graduating. Working in various kitchens in Glasgow and then New York, Graeme worked his way up the ranks over the years. He overcame the challenges of the pandemic, which proved to be a catalyst for him to open his own restaurant.
Quietly confident of his ability to earn a Michelin star, following his success in contributing to them in previous establishments, Graeme admits that a long-term goal of his, was to earn Glasgow’s first Michelin star. Having been just pipped to the post, Graeme is delighted to be one of the only two housed in Glasgow.
Graeme has commended the Springboard FutureChef programme for getting students into the kitchen at an early age, saying that it is vital for young people, not only as a life skill, but also to establish cooking as an early career option. Graeme added that “FutureChef is more important than ever these days, educating young individuals and giving them a chance to learn nutrition, creativity, and good food”. He believes that this will create a “better, healthier future for hospitality”. As FutureChef Alumni himself, Graeme shows his ongoing support for the programme as a FutureChef Champion, joining the esteemed ranks alongside Tom Kerridge, Monica Galetti and Michel Roux Jr.
If you have previously taken part in FutureChef and would like to be featured as Alumni, please get in touch with Caitlin at caitlinc@springboarduk.org.uk
Busy Bees Nurseries partners with Springboard to help disadvantaged young people get back to work
Busy Bees, the UK’s leading provider of early years childcare, has joined forces with hospitality charity, Springboard, to provide a platform for disadvantaged young people to gain employment.
The nursery group is the first childcare provider to partner with Springboard which aims to support young, disadvantaged and unemployed people gain employment in the hospitality, leisure, and tourism industry.
After undertaking Springboard’s six-week employability training programme, which helps disadvantaged people gain skills, industry insight and work placement opportunities, successful applicants are then shortlisted to Busy Bees Nurseries for a fast-track recruitment where they can apply for a catering role available across Busy Bees’ 350+ centres in the UK.
With over 200 roles available, candidates will have the chance to apply for the role of Assistant Nursery Chef and Nursery Chef. Applicants can also apply for a Production Chef Level 2 apprenticeship and will have the chance to progress to Senior Production Chef Level 3, whilst also gaining in-house training, the opportunity to gain further qualifications, and access to virtual learning.
Charlotte Hutchings, Chief People Officer at Busy Bees, said: “We are delighted to be working with Springboard and offering opportunities to disadvantaged young people, helping them to gain industry experience and get back into the sector.
“We take huge pride in our NHS accredited food credentials, ensuring we provide healthy nutritious meals to children on a daily basis through our on-site kitchens. This is a great opportunity for young people who are looking for a rewarding career in the sector, and for those who share a passion for food safety, quality, and service, ensuring our children receive the best start in life.”
Chris Gamm, CEO at Springboard, added: “We’re delighted to have Busy Bees on board as a partner and highlighting how important and ingrained hospitality work is across many sectors and the richness of the hospitality landscape. We look forward to supporting their recruitment of both kitchen and front of house roles across their nurseries.
“Hospitality skills are necessary in so many areas of our society and are renowned for being highly transferrable. We look forward to a long partnership with Busy Bees.”
To find out more about Busy Bees Nurseries, please visit www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk
1,000 Springboard Ambassadors on board! Can you help us to reach 2,000?
We’ve set ourselves the ambitious target of getting 2,000 hospitality industry professionals on board as Springboard Ambassadors to help support us in our mission to futureproof the talent pipeline for hospitality. Springboard Ambassadors champion and promote the whole industry to the next generation of the hospitality workforce and help our trainees to reach their full potential.
Our industry suffered a huge loss in terms of workforce numbers and new talent coming in during the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns/restrictions; as a result, we also saw a huge loss of our own Ambassadors, dropping from around 1,400 members to just under 200!
We have taken our time to evaluate and improve the Springboard Ambassador programme and have now invested in and reinvigorated the offer. We have Lucy Bradley in place to manage the programme, which is now completely free to join. We have built a brand new Springboard Ambassador portal, a one-stop hub with all of the resources and tools our Ambassadors will need. The Ambassador training has switched to digital and the the whole sign-up process is simple and streamlined.
We’re delighted to announce that we’re at the halfway mark with 1,000 active Springboard Ambassadors! Word is spreading about this great opportunity, with many well-known names collaborating with us to maximise its potential.
The role of an Ambassador
As a Springboard Ambassador, you can support our work and the industry by giving an inspiring career talk in your local school, encouraging the next generation to consider a career in the industry, you can review CVs for our trainees or facilitate a mock interview with them in order to give feedback and help them to improve, or maybe you’ll assist us within one of takeover days or career hubs. The options are endless and we welcome ideas and suggestions. There are no rules on how much time you give, so whether you have a spare hour once a month or a couple of free hours each week, we are completely flexible & adaptable. We just want you to be championing the industry!
Competition time…
To celebrate this fantastic milestone, we have very kindly been donated a one-night hotel stay in London with the exquisite St. Pancras Hotel Group. To be in with a chance of winning this overnight stay, simply recommend a friend or colleague who works or has worked in the hospitality industry to become an Ambassador.
Help us reach our target today!
More than £100k raised at the Springboard Awards for Excellence as Champions of the UK’s Hospitality Industry crowned
More than £100,000 was raised at the Springboard Awards for Excellence 2022, in partnership with Smart Group, this week as the hospitality charity crowned its hospitality heroes of the past 12 months.
The awards ceremony highlighted the great lengths our hospitality businesses have been to in order to attract talent and look after, develop and retain their workforce, through being innovative, inclusive and collaborative.
The evening was a spectacular event with the backdrop of stunning city views from the 4th and 5th floors of The Science Museum in the exclusive ‘Illuminate’ venue.
Julia Sibley, chief executive of the Savoy Educational Trust, collected the Chris Beaumont Outstanding Contribution award, while Mitchells & Butlers and Bartlett Mitchell each picked up two awards and Rare Restaurants, Luxury Family Hotels and Sodexo were also among the winners.
Hosted by TV Presenter and Paralympian champion Ade Adepitan, who shared a personal and evocative story with the room, giving appreciation of charities like Springboard, who support those in a disadvantaged position to reach their potential. The great and the good of the hospitality industry dug deep to raise more than 100k for the charity across donations, sponsorship and ticket sales.
Springboard CEO, Chris Gamm, kicked off the ceremony by commending those nominated and shortlisted for doing an outstanding job, championing the industry and aligning with Springboard’s mission to futureproof the talent pipeline for hospitality.
The awards fell on the same week that Springboard hit the milestone of supporting 5,000 young, unemployed people into work as part of its ‘Springboard to 2022’ initiative. Chris also gave a mention to Springboard FutureChef’s recent winner, Phoebe Lawson, who took the crown at the national final last month.
The full list of the Springboard Awards for Excellence winners:
Ambassador of the Year, sponsored by BaxterStorey – Catrina Pengelley, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
Best Kickstart Employer, sponsored by Harri – Sodexo
Best Apprenticeship Strategy, sponsored by Hit Training – Mitchells & Butlers
Best Education and Industry Partnership Award, sponsored by Sodexo – The Grand, Brighton
Disability Confident Award – Hotel Brooklyn
Career Development Initiative, sponsored by Diageo – Philema Hospitality Management
Best Employer, sponsored by American Express – Luxury Family Hotels
Best Practice Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Integration – Rare Restaurants
Best Recruitment Initiative, sponsored by Handpicked Hotels – Mitchells & Butlers
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Award, sponsored by CH&Co – Bartlett Mitchell
Best Talent Onboarding, sponsored by Mapal – Royal Lancaster London
Employee Health and Wellbeing Award, sponsored by Pladis – Bartlett Mitchell
Business Innovation, sponsored by 5 Hertford Street – Balmer Lawn Hotel
Community Engagement Award – Sea Containers, London
Fiona Colley Trainee of the Year Award – Kevin McGowan
Chris Beaumont Outstanding Contribution Award, sponsored by Bidfood – Julia Sibley, Savoy Educational Trust
We were joined by Showtime Photo Booth, the go to company for photo booth hire in London with their GIF Photo Booth
Thank you