Time to give young people their chance
A couple of weeks ago, a group of judges met to decide the winner of the inaugural Acorn Scholarship. The judges, a mixed bunch, were in the middle stages of their working lives, mostly in the 40-plus age group. They were judging a group of young people who were, in some cases, half their age. Before the judging took place - and during the preliminary trawling through the CVs - there were, consequently, a few predictable comments. "Oh look, she was only born in 1982." Or: " I was already at college when he was starting school."
It boiled down to the fact that the judges were anticipating a young field - and an inexperienced one.
Self-assurance
How wrong these preconceptions turned out to be. The finalists for the Acorn Scholarship were indeed young and at an early stage in their careers. But their level of self-assurance and confidence was indisputable. These young people had dreams and aspirations that, if gathered in bucketfuls, could shape the face of hospitality for years to come. Long hours, poor pay and all the other negatives generally associated with the industry had registered with them, but these factors had little bearing on their outlook. They saw the good side of their jobs because they had the passion and the will to succeed, no matter what they would have to give up.
The judges' cries of: "He/she was still in nappies when I was a young general manager," soon faded into: "Wow, I wish I had been like that when I was his/her age." Or: "I don't think I had thought half these things through when I was in my early twenties."
The winner, John Price, epitomised these feelings. Ginger John, as he calls himself, spoke from the heart with a refreshing and impassioned attitude that left the judges begging for more. Most wanted to offer him a job on the spot! Here was a young man with big ideas who wanted to make changes on a macro level and was already starting to practise what he preached through smaller differences in his own workplace. We will follow his progress throughout his year as Acorn Scholar.
John Price may be a familiar name to some. He is an ambassador for Springboard UK and has already been recognised for his views and attitudes by winning the Richmond Events Young Guns Award for most promising placement student through his employer, Marriott, in 2001. The fact that John stuck by Marriott when he finished his course and is now giving back through his achievements speaks volumes for the merit of treating placement students well.
Next year's Young Guns competition will soon be launched through the pages of this magazine, so be sure to enter your most promising placement student - you never know when there will a John out there, waiting to take the industry by storm.
The future of this industry lies with people like John and the other finalists for the Acorn Scholarship. They are the talent and the managers of the future, and should not be underestimated.
by Jenny Webster, Deputy Editor, Caterer & Hotelkeeper
(and one of the Acorn Scholarship judges)
