A platform created to help people kickstart careers in hospitality is celebrating hitting the milestone of having reached 100,000 users since its launch.

Responding to industry-wide concerns regarding the detrimental impacts of COVID-19 on the future careers of a whole generation of hospitality workers, CareerScope was launched in September 2020, supported by leading names in the industry including Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux Jr, and Clare Smyth. 18 months on, the platform has been used by 100,319 people looking to kickstart a hospitality career.

An industry first, CareerScope is a partnership between five organisations: Springboard, Hospitality Action, UK Hospitality, the Institute of Hospitality, and the Savoy Educational Trust. Its objectives are to promote careers in hospitality, attract talent to the industry and support those whose jobs were affected during the Covid pandemic.

Discussing the platform and how it helps its users, Clare Smyth said: “CareerScope is a great initiative to help those who’ve lost their jobs get back on their feet and give them the skills and support to relaunch their career.”

The free service promotes careers in hospitality to new potential workers, supports those within the industry, and has brought the hospitality community together to provide careers advice and resources on developing skills. The platform also provides financial and wellbeing support, ultimately helping people get back into work and progress in their careers.

18 months since its launch, the impact the platform has had on those looking for support and information has been revealed. To date, there have been 100,319 users of CareerScope, with 21,990 new users in February 2022 alone – the most in a month since its launch. 2,713 users have actively created profiles to access Springboard’s training programmes, and the platform is believed to be the second-largest pool of hospitality jobs behind Indeed, with 29,369 live jobs and apprenticeships available.

CareerScope provides numerous initiatives within its platform, including a recently-launched teachers & careers adviser hub. Targeted at school leavers and careers advisers, the hub is designed to give educational facilities the tools to run a hospitality careers session in their school, college, or university. It includes sample lesson plans, inspirational videos, information on the industry, webinars, careers resources, and information for parents.

Further boosting the profile of CareerScope, a major campaign has launched in Northern Ireland to dispel myths and improve perceptions of careers in hospitality and tourism, helping to attract new talent and tackle staffing challenges.

The campaign is running until the end of March this year, with employers currently being invited to advertise their vacancies for free on the CareerScope campaign jobs portal.

Chris Gamm, CEO of Springboard, said: “The hospitality industry has faced one of its biggest ever challenges over the past 18 months and we have a lot of work to do to promote the great opportunities that a career in hospitality provides. The next generation will be hugely important in helping us to recover from the pandemic and in shaping the future of our industry, therefore it’s essential we show them what a brilliant career hospitality can offer and support them in getting great jobs.

“CareerScope is a one-stop hub, keeping people engaged, motivated, skilled, and getting them ready for work. The easy-to-access platform offers everything from free training, CV writing, and career webinars to financial support, health and wellbeing resources -plus listings to thousands of live jobs and available apprenticeships.”

For more information, or to create a profile, visit https://careerscope.uk.net/.