Hospitality Training with Imperial Hotels

As part of our ongoing ESG commitment to supporting better employment outcomes for young Londoners, we were proud to collaborate with our partners Imperial London Hotels, the Mayor’s Skills Academy, the Mayor’s Fund for London, and The King’s Trust to deliver a focused Hospitality Skills Programme.

The programme was designed to create meaningful pathways into employment for young people aged 16–30 in Camden and Islington. By offering real-world hospitality experience, the initiative not only helped young people build practical, transferable skills but also enabled businesses within our BID footprint to connect with homegrown talent and improve access to opportunity for priority groups.

The initiative officially launched on the 25th November, when participants took part in interviews for live Food & Beverage and Front of House vacancies with Imperial London Hotels. For many of the young people involved, this was a valuable opportunity to experience a formal interview setting, build confidence and showcase their potential to employers.

Those selected onto the programme progressed into two weeks of structured work experience and key skills training. During this time, participants gained hands-on experience in a live hospitality environment, developing essential customer service skills, workplace communication, time management and teamwork. Importantly, the programme provided tangible experience that participants could add to their CVs, strengthening their employability beyond the duration of the placement.

Throughout the programme, each young person was supported by a workplace buddy. Feedback from both participants and their buddies highlighted the positive impact of this support, with many noting how confidence grew rapidly as the weeks progressed. Participants spoke about feeling more comfortable engaging with customers, asking questions and taking initiative, while buddies shared how rewarding it was to support participants as they developed their skills and self-belief.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Kevin, Head of Delivery Partnership Development, reflected on the importance of collaboration in creating these opportunities: “A lot of young people get turned away all the time in the selection process for jobs, so having businesses that are part of the BID working in collaboration with us means we can bring opportunities for young people to showcase and build their confidence and give them experience that they are lacking.”

On the 12th December, the programme concluded with 11 young people successfully completing the course. A graduation ceremony was held to celebrate their hard work, commitment and achievements. The event provided an opportunity to recognise not only the progress made by the participants, but also the collective effort of partners, mentors and employers who made the programme possible.

Jay James, Resourcing Manager at Imperial London Hotels, also shared his perspective on the value of the programme, describing it as an exciting “opportunity to refine how we do work experience. A lot of the cohort were very strong. They received good feedback from the buddies that they worked alongside over the last two weeks, and we’re looking forward to seeing if there’s space for them within the business going forward.”

This Hospitality Skills Programme is a strong example of how collaboration between businesses, local partners and skills organisations can create meaningful employment opportunities.

We are incredibly proud of everyone involved and look forward to building on this success as we continue to support young people into sustainable and rewarding careers.