Out of sight, kept in mind

Phew! Well, that's it, then - the Springboard UK Careers Festival is over for another year or 18 months. How do you feel about that? Are you relieved or disappointed?

Full evaluation of the festival has yet to be considered, but the first impressions are that it was bigger and better than before - more companies got involved, more events were staged and more publicity was delivered. The national press gave the cause a higher profile, top names and top companies rose to the occasion and, probably for the first time, there was a real sense of the industry pulling together to crack the problem of the skills shortage.

Despite gnawing doubts about the economy and the reality of war in Iraq, companies made a commitment to the festival and they stuck to it; they communicated that commitment to their employees and they built that commitment into their business strategies.

If you're relieved that it's over, it's likely to be because you work for Springboard and you're exhausted, or you were responsible for staging a company event and it was a success. The rest of us should feel disappointed - disappointed that the party is over.

Except that the party isn't over - or, at least, it shouldn't be. The skills shortage continues and is likely to plague the industry for at least another decade. The image and opportunities that the Careers Festival presented must continue.

Hospitality is a vocational industry, competing against the nursing profession, teaching and the armed services for young entrants. If it is to stand any chance of attracting school leavers and college leavers in anything like the numbers required, then the unity demonstrated by operators last week needs to be sustained year-round - and on into the foreseeable future.

As a dog is not just for Christmas, or politics not just for an election, so Springboard is not just for Careers Week. Skilled hospitality workers will be needed for ever.

Forbes Mutch, Editor, Caterer & Hotelkeeper