UK not-for-profit business, Hospitality Connect has received £200k from Savoy Educational Trust to help expand their reach across the UK. The funding will be used to boost awareness to the next generation of the diverse, exciting and rewarding opportunities in the hospitality industry.
Founded and developed in 2021, by Hotelier of the Year (2022-2023), Adrian Ellis MI, Hospitality Connect inspires school students and informs their teachers and parents about the breadth of career opportunities in the hospitality industry to help bolster the pipeline of talent coming into the sector.
Hospitality Connect directly partners secondary schools with local hotels and hospitality businesses as well as collaborating with further education colleges to promote career and post GCSE pathways into the sector. Through the programme, students have the ability to learn from industry professionals at school as well as being able to experience the world of hospitality first hand in hotels themselves.
The programme has grown from an initial 30 partnerships in Manchester to now reaching over 4000 students through 155 partnerships across 16 cities/regions in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Hospitality Connect has set a target to extend the number of school partnerships to 400 and engage 10,000 students per annum by 2028 through doubling the number of regions they operate in.
Ellis said: “We would like to thank Savoy Educational Trust for their generous contribution and continued support of our mission. Their support fuels our passion to shine a light on one of the UK’s most dynamic and diverse sectors – hospitality, the country’s third largest employer. At Hospitality Connect, we are not just opening doors, we’re transforming mindsets. We want young people, their teachers, and their families to see the vast potential, creativity and opportunity this industry holds. We believe our project has the potential to grow significantly over the next few years and beyond as we encourage more young people to consider careers in the industry.”
Angela Maher, Chief Executive at Savoy Educational Trust, said:
‘Our trustees are delighted to continue their support for Hospitality Connect having seen the impact the project is having in encouraging more young people to consider a career or further study in hospitality. We are looking forward to seeing the programme expand over the coming three years, enabling many more school pupils learn about the wonderful opportunities available in our industry and creating a much needed talent pipeline for the sector.’
