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Leeds

Pledges made at The Big Hospitality
Conversation Leeds:
• 22 work experience programmes
• 111 apprenticeships
• 30 jobs across the hospitality sector

The Big Hospitality
Conversation
The Queens Hotel, Leeds, was the focus in September
as the hospitality industry rallied to provide job opportunities
he first Leeds Big Hospitality
Conversation attracted 200 young
people and 100 employers on 26
September, at The Queens Hotel,
Leeds.
The event, organised by The British
Hospitality Association and Leeds Hotels and
Venues Association, saw hotels and
restaurants come together to pledge over 160
opportunities; a mix of work experience,
apprenticeships and full-time job roles for
16-24 year olds.
The event, supported by LeedsBID, provided a
platform for young people to talk with key
industry contacts about potential careers in
hospitality and ask employers directly about
opportunities in their businesses.
The aim was also to showcase hospitality and
tourism as an exciting career path by bringing
brands such as Hilton, Gather & Gather,
Twisted Bars and Radisson Blu, together to
take part in the ‘Big Hospitality Conversation’

with young people and help reach
the national target of 60,000
hospitality career starts for young
people by the end of 2016.
The British Hospitality
Association’s chief executive Ufi
Ibrahim commented: “We are so
glad that Leeds’ Big Hospitality
Conversation achieved its aims of
alerting young people to the
opportunities that exist in the
tourism and hospitality industry.
The hospitality business keeps the
country working and happy and
people who work in it are
ambassadors for their town to
locals and visitors alike. Getting
young people to understand the
part they can play in this is vital.”
Steven Hall, GM of Hilton Leeds
City said: “What’s clear is that
there is an abundance of

enthusiastic and hard-working young people in
Leeds who are focused on their goals but have
perhaps been a little disillusioned about the
opportunities available and how accessible
hospitality is as a career choice. The Big
Hospitality Conversation has allowed us, as
employers, to find out exactly what young
people think about the industry and also how
we can change our approaches when hiring
fresh talent. We hope that this event will inspire
more young people to learn about hospitality
and discover the wide range of prospects
available.”
Wayne Topley, GM of The Queens Hotel said:
“Events such as this provide a platform to let
everyone know what great businesses we have
here. We as a hotel pledged five job places at
the event. At the very start of this year QHotels
pledged 100 apprenticeships across the hotel
group and we now have 75 positions taken up.
In 2017 we will be doubling this to 200
apprenticeships across the group in order to
take on more young people, so now really is the
time to get a ‘foot in the (hotel) door’.”
The Big Hospitality Conversation is a
nationwide campaign led by the British
Hospitality Association in partnership with
Springboard, National Apprenticeship Service
and the Department for Work and Pensions.

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18/10/2016 15:49