Whitbread Teams Up With The Prince’s Trust To Combat Youth Unemployment

Whitbread has joined forces with youth charity, The Prince’s Trust, to pilot the ‘Get into Hospitality’ programme in the West Midlands – which is set to provide local disadvantaged young people the skills and confidence to find a job.

Twelve unemployed young people aged between 16-25 years will be given the opportunity to join a free, two week training programme, to learn all aspects of the hospitality sector.

Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, which includes the UK’s biggest budget hotel brand, Premier Inn and pub restaurants Beefeater Grill, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns, will launch the programme on Monday 10th October. More than three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, training or education.

The first ‘Get into Hospitality’ programme will run in Barn and Hockley Heath, and consists of 10 days of support and training at Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants ‘Skills Academy’ in areas such as self-confidence and interpersonal skills, as well as site placements which will provide a firsthand experience of the hospitality industry and practice their new found skills.

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Individuals will not only gain a qualification in Foundation Food safety, but will also receive a six month mentoring support from The Prince’s Trust following the completion of the programme. Whitbread is hoping to be able to offer positions to many of the participants and the successful participants will be given the opportunity to complete a Whitbread apprenticeship, including an NVQ level 2.

Whitbread Hotels and Restaurant spokesman, Malcolm Redmond comments: “It is worrying to hear that around one in five young people in the UK are not in work, education or training, costing the UK economy £155 million a week in Jobseeker’s Allowance and lost productivity. We are delighted to be working with The Prince’s Trust to provide an opportunity to get these young adults back into the world of work and on their way to building a future within the hospitality sector.”

A Prince’s Trust spokesperson comments: “The Prince’s Trust Get into Hospitality course provides a great opportunity for young people to gain valuable work experience to help them find a job. We are thrilled to be working with Whitbread to ensure that we are doing all we can for disadvantaged young people here in the West Midlands.”