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BREXIT
OPENINGS
EU nationals continue to be drawn
to UK hospitality jobs
Non-British EU nationals continue to
register for hospitality jobs in London
despite the outcome of last year’s EU
referendum.
Hospitality recruiter, The Change
Group, found the number of non-
British EU nationals coming to work
in London’s hospitality scene in the
six months following the referendum
had stayed stable at just over 50% of
all applicants.
Meanwhile, Britons make up around
a third of applicants for work in
London’s top restaurants and hotels,
while around one in eight applicants
comes from non-EU countries -
particularly Asia, Africa and the
Commonwealth countries.
The number of job seekers registering
with The Change Group has also
increased by 7.5% in the six months
after Brexit.
Craig Allen, founder and director
of The Change Group, said: “Despite
the slight rise in the number of
people looking for work, there is
still a recruitment crisis in London
hospitality. It is excellent to see that
there are more people registering to
work in hospitality, and also that the
number of EU nationals wanting to
work in London has not yet been
affected by Brexit.”
Until clarification on EU citizens
in the UK is made, “much more
work” needs to be done to encourage
Britons to work in the hospitality
industry, he added.
DEVELOPMENTS
Planning permission submitted
for Scotland’s first luxury
floating hotel
Plans for Scotland’s first luxury static
floating hotel were lodged last month
with the City of Edinburgh Council.
It is hoped that the the former
Northern Lighthouse Bo ard (NLB) ship,
MV Fingal, will be converted into a
23-bedroom hotel, which will be berthed
permanently at the Prince of Wales Dock
in Edinburgh’s port of Leith.
The £3.5m investment by the Royal
Yacht Britannia’s trading company,
Royal Yacht Enterprises, will see this
classically designed ship transformed
to feature bedroom suites, cabins with
private balconies, duplex apartments,
and a presidential suite.
MV Fingal was acquired by the
Royal Yacht Britannia Trust in 2014,
the owner of Britannia - the Queen’s
former floating residence, which is now
used as a visitor attraction.
April 2017
It is hoped the floating hotel will
create an additional income stream
to secure the long-term future of
Britannia.
Bob Downie, Britannia’s chief
executive, said: “Having excelled in
the visitor attraction market for nearly
20 years, we are very much looking
forward to the challenges of operating
in the luxury hotel market and the
benefits it will generate for Britannia
over the years to come.”
The ‘boatique’ hotel is expected to
open in Easter 2018 and create at least
30 new jobs.
Staff with
learning
difficulties
trained at
The Vault
The UK’s first hotel for young people
with autism and learning difficulties
has given its first group of trainees a
permanent job.
The Vault - the former River’s Edge
Hotel in Gateshead - is an innovative
£2m scheme that aims to provide
respite care for young people with a
range of learning difficulties as well
as training them to work within the
hospitality industry. It was granted
planning permission in August last year.
The current group of trainees have
been learning a variety of skills, from
manning the reception to preparing food
and serving in the hotel’s American-style
diner. Some 13 members of the group
have been told they have a permanent
job with The Vault owners, the St
Camillus Care Group.
A statement said 10 of the trainees
will be working at the hotel in jobs
which include bar staff, kitchen,
reception and as general assistants,
while a further three have earnt posts
with Key Developments, the company
urrently carrying out the refurbishment
on the property.
Holly Kelleher, centre manager at
The Vault, said: “This is exactly what we
are here to do. The trainees are getting
valuable training and experience to
ensure that they are eventually able to
get paid employment in the hospitality
industry and to prove they are a real
asset to any workforce.
“We are delighted that we have been
able to offer so many of them a proper
job which will give them even more
experience which can only help them
going forward.” The hotel is currently
undergoing a major refurbishment and
is expected to open in May.
www.hotelowner.co.uk
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