Umbrella Training to attract students into hospitality at Skills London

Umbrella Training hopes to attract young people into the hospitality sector with a dome packed with video games at careers fair Skills London.

The training and apprenticeship provider has booked the largest space available to promote hospitality careers at the show, the UK’s largest jobs event for 14- to 24-year-olds, which will take place on 25-26 November at Excel London.

The event offers organisations the opportunity to engage with future talent, with the possibility of reaching 30,000 young people across two days.

The Hospitality Zone will house the inflatable dome and will offer augmented reality experiences and games, such as ‘Level up with hospitality’, which will give attendees an insight into roles in hotels, contract catering, pubs and restaurants. Other games include ‘Hotel hijinks’, ‘Caterer chaos’, ‘Pub panic’, and ‘Waiter waltz’. There will also be a selfie booth and competitions.

Partners signed up to attend alongside Umbrella include the Goring hotel, the Royal Air Force Club, Caterer.com, the Strand Palace hotel and Red Carnations Hotels.

Skills London 2019 saw Umbrella joined by 10 industry partners and attracted more than 500 potential recruits to its talent bank, where young people can register their interest for roles.

Adele Oxberry, founder and chief executive of Umbrella Training, said: “We’re so excited to finally be back in-person to showcase the wonderful world of hospitality careers at Skills London, and have pulled out all the stops to make sure hospitality stands out. This year, schools are only allowed in for two hours at a time so we must stand taller and be louder.

"There is still time for employers to take part and reach out to young people to show them how they can level up with hospitality, and we’d encourage any employer looking for staff to get involved.”

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, added: “We are delighted to be supporting Umbrella Training on its stand at Skills London. As an organisation representing the vast and diverse array of hospitality businesses, we know only too well the importance of communicating with young people at what is a crucial time in their development. Hospitality can drive national post-pandemic recovery, but only if it has access to enough staff, with the right skills.

“Umbrella’s novel approach to engaging the younger end of our workforce is invaluable in terms of ensuring that we spread the word about the fantastic job opportunities, development paths and rewarding careers available in hospitality.”