Chamber Work Inspiration Group announces fourth success story in series
Solihull Chamber 's Work Inspiration Group (WIG) set up an ambitious project in the autumn of 2022 with the over-arching objective to identify opportunities for businesses to work with education as well as highlight inspirational examples of employers engaging with 'hard to reach ' individuals seeking employment and career opportunities.
The WIG, led by Amanda Holden, a Partner at The Wilkes Partnership, is made-up of members from the Solihull Chamber Executive Committee. The Group was put together by former Solihull Chamber President, Tony Elvin and led by Amanda Holden (Wilkes Partnership).
Group members include:
Amanda Holden (Wilkes Partnership)
Susie Ankrett (Plum Executive)
Namrita Sharma (Pink Spaghetti PA Services)
Emma-Louise Hewitt (Sydney Mitchell)
Lee.Jamieson (Solihull and Stratford Colleges and University)
Bronia Hennessy (Digital Innovators)
There are many inspirational and positive examples of local employers seeking to recruit that have engaged with the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) Employment and Skills Team.
Together with the support of Lee Jamison, vice-principal at the Solihull and Stratford College and the expertise of media 'boot camp ' students a series of videos has been produced which highlight these success stories.
In the fourth video in the series we hear from Roy Nash (pictured), general manager at the Arden Hotel and Leisure Club, who discusses the recruitment challenges many in the hospitality industry are experiencing.
Roy teamed up with the SMBC Employment and Skills Team and has been able to engage with people in the local community and particularly those struggling to re-enter the workforce - a pool of potential employees the Hotel had not previously tapped into.
Recent research shows that nearly 7 out of 10 employers are experiencing recruitment difficulties and there is a compelling need for them to 're-imagine ' recruitment and think differently.
The SMBC Employment and Skills team helped Roy identify suitable candidates for roles at the Hotel and together with his team arranged trial shifts. This gave individuals an insight into the roles available and Roy the opportunity to understand which roles would be suit individuals.
Those selected and offered jobs further benefitted from Roy and his team making adjustments to the in-house training scheme.
Roy explained: “It's all about creating a diverse and inclusive team of people with different characteristics. We felt we were the right employer to help these people back into work and that we could support them on that journey - and literally help change their life. We 're particularly pleased we 've been able to support those who have had their confidence knocked and have been able to tailor our in-house training to meet their needs.
Involvement with the scheme has allowed the Arden Hotel to not only build a strong and more diverse workforce, it has also enabled individuals to find meaningful employment and give and receive support from each other during their shifts.
Roy added: “My advice for other employees would be to be more open-minded about the way they recruit. It 's definitely been a success for us. ”
View Roy 's success story here.
If you are one of the 68 per cent of employers facing recruitment difficulties, you can find out more by contacting the SMBC Employment and Skills team on 0121 704 6869 or [email protected]