Why we must unite behind HTF plan

We must create an environment for learning and career opportunities that will make hospitality more attractive, says Paul Dermody.

Today (20 September), the Hospitality Training Foundation (HTF) launches its Workforce Development Plan to the Learning and Skills Council, the main funding and quality assurance body for post-16 learning in England, and to key stakeholders, at the Skillsforce Summit, at the Marriott hotel, London.

It will be chaired by Stuart May, the Government's tourism adviser, and guest speaker will be Tessa Jowell, secretary of state for culture, media and sport, which gives an idea of the importance placed on the event by all the interested parties.

The Workforce Development Plan has five key points:

• To improve the image of the industry as an employer.
• To increase employers' involvement in training.
• To ensure greater take-up of industry-recognised qualifications.
• To promote career opportunities in the industry.
• To make sure we have up-to-date skills and market intelligence, so we know what is happening in the sector and can measure our success.

This summit represents a vital next step in communicating these activities and uniting the industry behind them.

Building on the industry's education and training strategy, led by the HTF, the Workforce Development Plan aims to create an environment for learning and career opportunities that will make hospitality more attractive to potential new recruits than other industry sectors.

For this to happen, we need the support and financial backing of the Learning and Skills Council. It's a lobbying issue. The council will give us its support only if it believes the Workforce Development Plan can be successful. Its success depends on all employers in the industry getting behind it.

As a member of the Strategic Hospitality Advisory Panel of Executives (SHAPE), the Modern Apprenticeship Advisory Committee and chairman of the North West Tourism Skills and Employment Network, I have been fortunate to be on the inside track. I know what the HTF has set out to achieve and it has my wholehearted endorsement.

There are other employers who have not been as closely involved, but I urge them now to take the initiative and make contact with the HTF. The HTF needs our input to ensure that the plan presented today can be translated into training and resources that are of real benefit to the industry over the next five years.

It is not only big businesses that are involved in the process. The HTF wants to hear from small companies that recognise the benefits of training at a level they can afford. Training doesn't have to mean a full-time college course which takes people away from the business. There are plenty of work-based programmes available that result in industry-recognised qualifications.

The more employers who talk to the HTF, the better the picture it will have of the industry's real needs. Employers will also contribute to the central data bank that will provide a benchmark against which the HTF can measure improvements.

I firmly believe that training is essential if the UK hospitality industry is to be seen as world class. Closer to home, we need the Workforce Development Plan to succeed if we are to recruit the right people and help them develop the right skills to support our future expansion.

The industry can boast some astonishing properties around the UK. For example, we have just bought our first London hotel, the De Vere Cavendish, and we will be spending in the region of £10m over the next 18 months on refurbishing it. However beautiful the surroundings, though, the building is just a shell. It is the quality of the staff that brings it to life.

I will be continuing to talk to the HTF and support its activities. If you haven't already done so, I hope you will join me.

The HTF

The Hospitality Training Foundation is the national training organisation for the hospitality industry. It is owned and led by employers and is recognised by the Government as the voice of the hospitality industry on all issues relating to skills-learning and qualifications.

Points to remember

• Today's Skillsforce Summit is another important step forward.
• The HTF needs the support of employers to gain the resources it is requesting from the Learning and Skills Council.
• If you haven't been involved, make your views known to the HTF.
• It is only by hearing from you that the HTF can gear its resources to meeting your needs.

Paul Dermody is chief executive, De Vere Group