Hospitality charity Springboard is celebrating having supported more than 10,000 people into employment through its Springboard to 2022 initiative, which launched in October 2020.
The scheme saw the leading hospitality charity support thousands back into work, from all walks of life including Ukrainian refugees, care leavers, those with mental and physical health conditions, and various other barriers to employment.
Launched to help the industry rebuild from the ongoing impacts of the covid pandemic, ‘Springboard to 2022’ sought to tackle the hospitality, leisure, and tourism industry’s long-term staffing crisis by ensuring an engaged, skilled talent pipeline to fill vacancies.
The charity is now celebrating having surpassed its initial target, helping more than 10,000 people nationwide secure jobs in hospitality. The 10,000 trainees of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life, have fallen in love with hospitality and secured work within renowned businesses, including IHG, Compass, Hilton, Jury’s Inn, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and Nando’s.
Of the 10,000 people securing jobs in hospitality, 56% were male and 46% were female, with 85% aged under 30. 40% went into front-of-house roles, 25% into the kitchen, 15% into reception jobs, 8% into cleaning, and 12% into support roles, including marketing, finance, or maintenance.
Among the trainees, Maryna Tonka, a single mother who fled the war in Ukraine to find shelter for herself and her daughter in Scotland, has secured work as an F&B Assistant at the IBIS South Bridge in Edinburgh. Maryna signed up for the training hoping to learn new skills to help her overcome the language barrier faced in Scotland and enable her to find employment.
Discussing her experience, Maryna said: “As a refugee from Ukraine, I wanted to be useful to the country sheltering us. As part of my training, I learned valuable skills such as how to work in a team and how client relationships differ between Ukraine and Scotland. The training was hugely valuable and has helped me find a job I truly enjoy.”
