People 1st is helping employers from across the hospitality industry to access a new government fund worth £150 million.
The skills organisation is supporting employers from the industry it represents to develop a submission to the Employer Ownership Fund (EOF), which offers employers in England the funds they need to design and deliver their own training solutions.
The EOF has been developed with a view to transforming recruitment and training, particularly through apprenticeships – areas in which People 1st has strong experience and an excellent history of helping employers.
Brian Wisdom, chief executive officer at People 1st, said that his organisation will draw on its knowledge, experience and considerable success in gaining government funding to support practical solutions that address industry needs:
“We need to show that as a sector we play a significant role in supporting the economy as we will be competing with other sectors where the Government is promoting growth.
“We have a fantastic opportunity to compete successfully given our industries employ one in five people in the UK economy; however, we need to challenge the consistent perception that we offer low skilled and low paid work.”
The Government is encouraging strong collaborative bids from industries that can show they have a major impact when it comes to both filling vacancies and addressing skills gaps.
Delivering apprenticeships
People 1st believes that the Government’s desire to promote apprenticeships gives hospitality an ideal position to develop a strategy that will help industry employers submit a successful bid:
“Apprenticeships have a strong tradition within the hospitality industry and many employers continue in this convention. Employers large and small deliver strong apprenticeship programmes that offer a foundation for future career growth.”
The focus on promoting apprenticeships within the Employer Ownership Fund places People 1st in a unique position to help employers gain access to money directly and choose how apprenticeships are delivered in their organisation.
Employers are already coming together to take advantage of this opportunity to look at more innovative ways to train staff. People 1st has planned a series of events to brief industry leaders on possible approaches to accessing the funding and to agree a strategy to put forward a compelling bid.
Anyone interested in taking part can contact jenny.bech@people1st.co.uk