'Look at employing ex-offenders' – HTF
Demographic changes will compel the hospitality industry to look seriously at employing ex-offenders and older workers over the next 20 years, according to the Hospitality Training Foundation's (HTF) annual skills and employment forecast, released last week.
By 2020, the balance in ages will have changed and there will be a million fewer people in their 20s and 30s. Life expectancy is also projected to increase, to 80 or even 85. These changes in age distribution and life expectancy will have a major effect on society and business.
The report says that hospitality employers will have to look at other sources of recruitment because there will be even fewer school leavers than now.
Carl Stratton, the instructional catering officer at HM Prison Stocken in Leicestershire, has trained about 300 inmates in cooking, food preparation and hygiene (NVQ levels 1 and 2) over the past eight years.
He said that because there was no support for ex-offenders to capitalise on their training when released, his efforts had had little positive outcome.
"I've had no feedback," he said. "It's a waste of talent. I don't expect all of them to become future chefs, but I cannot see the logic of expecting them to go out there and just get on with it."
Following the HTF's report, Stratton hopes to see more support for his campaign for a collaboration between contract caterers, large hotel chains, and the probation and prison services to help ex-offenders continue training and get into jobs.
He said: "If they get on to a decent salary fairly quickly, they are much more likely to stick with it than school leavers."
by Ben Walker
