Matthew Hancock, Minister for Skills and Enterprise, officially opened Hospitality House, the hospitality industry’s state-of-the-art training and meeting venue in London, and new home of the Hospitality Guild. The Guild was established in 2012 as a unifying voice to simplify professional development within hospitality, with funding from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
Access to the very best training
Hospitality House allows businesses of all levels to access the very best training, either in the innovative facilities themselves or via groundbreaking interactive technology which can stream live demonstrations, conferences and events around the world.
The building features a reception, bar, cellar and café training areas, flexible meeting space and a stunning demonstration and training kitchen with individual cooking pods.
Major funding
With public investment, industry sponsorship and in-kind support for Hospitality House totalling over £3 million, major funding was received from the Skills Funding Agency and the Guild’s founding partners – Compass Group, People 1st, City and Guilds and Hilton.
McDonald’s played a pivotal role in bringing the project to fruition by donating the building housing Hospitality House rent-free for seven years. Jill McDonald, President and CEO of McDonald’s UK, also spoke at the launch: “As a major employer in the hospitality industry, we know how important customer service is to the more than 3 million people who visit McDonald’s every day. We are delighted to support Hospitality House in helping to drive up service standards across the entire sector”.
Cutting-edge equipment
Leading suppliers including Matthew Clark, Gram, Heineken, Sky, Rational, Claremont Group, Zonal, and Electrolux have installed cutting-edge technology and equipment at Hospitality House, under a sponsorship agreement whereby they will refresh their products each time an upgrade becomes available.
Game changer for training delivery
Simon Vincent, Chair of the Hospitality Guild and President, EMEA for Hilton Worldwide, commented, “We are indebted to the incredible support we have received from our founders and sponsors to be able to launch this amazing facility. We strongly believe that Hospitality House will be a game changer for training delivery and sets a template for collaborative project development that could help to significantly improve perceptions of hospitality as a career of choice, and the value employers place in training their teams.”
Partnership with Barnet and Southgate College
The management of the building’s facilities is being done through an innovative partnership with Barnet and Southgate College, giving students first-hand experience of the daily running of a commercial venue, while 100s of students will undertake part of their training within the building.
David Byrne, Principal of Barnet and Southgate College, said, “Hospitality House is undoubtedly one of the best catering and hospitality training facilities in London, allowing our students to be taught in an environment using the latest interactive technology within a state of the art kitchen, fully working café, bar and cellar.
“Barnet and Southgate College is proud to be working in partnership with the Hospitality Guild and the initiative is integral to one of our key aims as a college, which is to improve our students’ employability. The cutting edge facilities will give our students the opportunity to train in a real life environment, whether that’s to become a chef, barista or embark on any career in hospitality.”
For more information visit Hospitality House or Hospitality Guild