University College Birmingham spearheads new hospitality taskforce

Around 100 guests including hospitality industry leaders and top Birmingham chefs are set to take part in an open forum to launch a newly created taskforce to encourage people of all ages to a career in hospitality.

Chaired by acclaimed Birmingham chef Glynn Purnell (Pictured) and spearheaded by University College Birmingham, the collaboration has already made significant inroads into finding exciting ways to attract new talent, retaining staff, upskill people to learn new skills and provide better support locally and regionally.

Key members on the taskforce include Dishoom in Centenary Square, Malmaison Hotels, Warner/Bourne Leisure and Aston Villa Football Club.

Other major players include representatives from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), National Careers Service (Prospects), Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, BID and Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP and PET-XI.

The taskforce is set to be officially unveiled tomorrow, at an event attended by mayor Andy Street at the Birmingham College of Food. The event will be facilitated by former BBC business and transport correspondent Peter Plisner.

Also under discussion will be the challenges of moving to net zero while fostering innovation to drive faster growth and a quicker move to decarbonisation.

Attendees are set to include representatives from local restaurants, hotels and hospitality venues and organisations including UK Hospitality, Institute of Hospitality, Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and key sector ambassadors.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Hospitality is a real strong suit for us here in the West Midlands. The sector has the potential to be a major growth area and job creator in our region in the coming months and years - despite the many pressures and challenges we 're facing.

“That 's why I 'm pleased to be a part of this taskforce - convening leading lights of hospitality across our region to give advice, share ideas, and help hospitality thrive.

“As we bounce back from Covid-19, I want to see us linking up our local talent with the opportunities on offer in hospitality - supporting the 100k jobs plan which is a key part of our mayoral mission. ”

Glynn Purnell said: “Through our new taskforce, we have already been working with training providers and businesses across the region to formulate the Hospitality Training Plan, bring new training providers on board with a collective goal and expand opportunity for residents to get involved.

“We 've funded over £500,000 worth of training through our AEB on a range of programmes, including SWAPs and Sector Gateway and, to date, we have seen nearly 1,000 enrolments on training specific to hospitality and over 10% of those who have undertaken training move into work in the sector.

“But we all know the challenges the sector faces with recruitment and retaining staff, which is why the work being done by this taskforce is so vitally important, to showcase how great the sector is, the opportunities on offer and the really rewarding careers that people can have in the sector. ”

If you are an employer and would like to join the Hospitality Taskforce, which will hold quarterly meetings, or learn more about skills and training opportunities available, contact [email protected].