The Savoy Educational Trust has awarded a £1m grant to The Springboard Charity in support of the charity’s Springboard to 2022 – Futureproofing the Talent Pipeline for Hospitality project.

The £1m grant is the single largest award ever made by Trustees in its 60-year history and will directly help 1,000 young people into work across the hospitality industry over the next 18 months.

Springboard’s latest project – Springboard to 2022 – aims to train and support 10,000 young people into work in hospitality by December 2022, in line with the industry’s recovery post-COVID-19.

The forecasted cost to deliver the project is £5m with the Savoy Educational Trust coming on board as one of its biggest supporters.

The project will help turn around the ongoing skills shortage across the industry, which is expected to be impacted further by Brexit and the Coronavirus pandemic.

Although a significant grant, this is just one part of the ongoing commitment the Trust continues to make to the hospitality industry, with their current funding for education, associations, charities, training and recognising talent through industry competitions.

Julia Sibley, Chief Executive of The Savoy Educational Trust, said: “Since its inception, the Savoy Educational Trust has played a key role in providing funds to a wide array of educational projects within the hospitality industry. The Trustees are very concerned for the industry in light of the pandemic and are really keen to be able to give financial support to an initiative that will protect the future careers of the young people who make up such a large percentage of the hospitality workforce. They are proud to support Springboard to 2022 – Futureproofing Hospitality’s talent pipeline.”

Chris Gamm, chief executive of Springboard, said: “Springboard is delighted to be working with the Savoy Educational Trust as lead partner in Springboard to 2022. Young people are the future of the hospitality industry, and training and supporting 10,000 of them into jobs in hospitality will play a significant part in futureproofing the industry’s talent pipeline and addressing its long-term staffing crisis. The investment will enable Springboard to directly train and support 1,000 young people into traineeships, apprenticeships and direct employment by April 2022, as well as playing a key role in the delivery of the total target.”

The Trust has been a supporter of Springboard for more than 20 years and has awarded considerable funding for their FutureChef programme and the GEMS mentoring scheme.

For more information on Springboard to 2022, visit here.