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| The Monthly Update From People 1st Working to transform skills in hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism |
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Featured in this month's issue: People 1st 'Outstanding' Says Best Companies Accreditation Reforming Sector Qualifications Travel and Tourism Diploma to Launch at Best Of Britain and Ireland People 1st Stresses Importance of Sector Apprentices Are More Productive Than New Staff Say Employers |
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Have your say... Don't forget, we really want your feedback and can't wait to hear your views. Make your opinions heard by getting in touch now. t: 01895 817000 |
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| People 1st 'Outstanding' Says Best Companies Accreditation | ||
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People 1st has achieved a 2 star rating in the Best Companies to Work For 2010 accreditation. Nearly 1,100 UK companies entered the Best Companies accreditation this year, representing more than 270,000 employees from the private and public sectors. Only 18 percent of organisations received the top 3 star (exemplary) and 2 star (outstanding) rankings. Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People 1st, commented: "This is the first time we have entered the Best Companies accreditation. It's a very comprehensive process and our result sets the seal on a successful 12 months for People 1st. Despite challenging times within the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector, we have remained focused on our strategy to transform skills within the industry and try very hard to ensure that, internally, we also strive for the highest standards and offer our staff the best opportunities and benefits that we can within a public funded framework." The Best Companies ranking follows on from People 1st being relicensed in 2009 and the achievement of three major awards, including a National Training Award, for the development of the Professional Cookery Diploma - a qualification that is now transforming catering education across the UK. Other milestones include the launch of Women 1st to support women in the sector fulfil their career ambitions, the launch of the Diploma in Hospitality – a new qualification for 14-19 year olds – and the recent submission of a bid to establish a National Skills Academy for Travel and Tourism. Best Companies, the name behind The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For lists, established the accreditation award scheme to acknowledge excellence in the workplace. Based on employee feedback, the comprehensive survey measures employee engagement across eight key factors including leadership, the organisation, personal growth, giving something back and wellbeing. Best Companies awards an elite 'Michelin style' star rating system based on survey results compared to a fixed standard, and benchmarked against other participating organisations of a similar size. |
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| Reforming Sector Qualifications | ||
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The biggest overhaul of hospitality, catering, travel and tourism qualifications in over two decades is being carried out by People 1st to meet the industry's need for a more simple, transparent and flexible system. This follows a detailed consultation with employers and other stakeholders throughout the UK to review existing skills needs and identify emerging or specialist requirements. It found that employers and employees did not understand the relevance of the 400 plus industry-related qualifications across the UK. Consequently, People 1st has streamlined its offering of vocational qualifications and removed duplicate qualifications. Thirty new qualifications are also being developed - a new apprenticeship framework for hospitality and catering will be available in August. The new suite of qualifications falls into three main categories:
The new portfolio of qualifications is designed to fit into the new Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and allows students to build a flexible qualification by banking the required number of credits for course units. Employers too should find it easier to measure the level of qualifications achieved by potential employees. "People 1st has taken a holistic and collaborative approach towards reforming its offering of qualifications, ensuring that they are aligned with each other and provide clear progression routes and career development," said Martin-Christian Kent, director of policy and research. "It is essential that the right qualifications are in place so that staff can develop the right skills and address any skills gaps they may have. We will continue working closely with sector employers so that funding is wisely invested in the qualifications that make the most difference to their business."
Detailed information on all the qualifications can be found on the Good Qualification Guide on uksp.co.uk, along with information on funding availability.
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| Travel And Tourism Diploma To Launch At Best Of Britain And Ireland |
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The Diploma in Travel and Tourism - one of 17 new "Diplomas" for 14-19 year-olds, which combine theory and practice to equip students with the skills, knowledge and experience they need for success at college, university and work - is to be officially launched at the Best of Britain and Ireland exhibition at Olympia, London, on 19 March 2010. The launch is part of a free 'practitioner development' day from People 1st and sector skills council for passenger transport, GoSkills, which includes four specially developed guided tours, each one linked to the Diploma curriculum, and developed by the Guild of Registered Tourist Guides. The Diploma in Travel and Tourism will be delivered in schools and colleges across England from September 2010, and has been developed by People 1st and GoSkills with input from leading employers and trade bodies, including Advantage Travel Centres, Merlin Entertainments, TUI, The Co-operative Travel, Shearings Holidays, Thomas Cook, ABTA The Travel Association and the Institute of Travel and Tourism. The qualification covers travel and tourism services, passenger transport, visitor attractions, conferences and events and accommodation services. Students will also be able to pick additional specialised learning modules. These include subjects like sustainable tourism development, customer service, business travel, flight operations, transport planning and the cruise market. Senior industry executives have pledged their support for the new Diploma in Travel and Tourism, and ten so far have committed themselves to becoming Diploma employer 'champions' with more in the pipeline. They have volunteered their time representing the Diploma and their industries at various events around the country including school career days, regional network meetings and industry events. Others are engaging in other ways with their local schools and colleges. Anyone interested in the Diploma launch event should send their details (name, company/college, address and telephone number) to diplomalaunch@people1st.co.uk. |
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| People 1st Stresses Importance Of Sector | ||
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The sector is a valuable contributor to the UK's economy and that of the devolved nations and needs additional support to upskill its workforce, People 1st highlights in five new reports recently submitted to UKCES for its National Strategic Skills Audit. The Audit - the first of its kind - will present to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), a 'bigger picture' of the current and future skills needs of the economy and the key drivers of change. People 1st's robust and authoritative reports for each nation should help BIS determine national and regional skills priorities. The reports consider the sector's:
The Audit also examines what is driving change within the sector (from the economy to sustainability) and the likelihood and impact of future trends and events. It concludes by reviewing the state of skills and training within the sector and prioritising the skills needed for future success. The reports conclude that there is likely to be increased demand for the following skills:
The downturn is likely to increase demand for staff who can multi-skill and take on more responsibilities, are entrepreneurial and can think of more innovative ways of attracting and retaining customers. Despite the UK emerging from recession, 2010 looks like continuing to be a challenging year for many businesses within the sector. However, most economists continue to predict growth for the sector in the medium to long term. For further information contact Caroline Perkins on 01895 817026 |
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| Apprentices Are More Productive Than New Staff Say Employers | ||
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Hospitality and travel and tourism employers believe that apprentices are head and shoulders above new staff when it comes to performance and productivity, a new industry survey from People 1st reveals. Four in ten employers surveyed (41 percent) claimed that apprentices were far more productive than hiring new staff, while 49 percent said they made their businesses more competitive. Employers were bowled over by their willingness to learn (90 percent) and enthusiasm (63 percent), as well as their flexibility and responsiveness to change (47 percent). The cost of hiring an apprentice seems to quickly pay for itself with a third of respondents recouping their costs within a year and a further 20 percent within 18 months. Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People 1st, said: "Apprenticeships are the lifeblood of the hospitality and travel and tourism sectors and give employers access to a rich and cost-effective source of raw and enthusiastic talent within a very short period of time which they can mould and shape into tomorrow's future leaders." Charles Prew, chief executive of Barcelo Hotels, commented: "We believe that our Barcelo Apprentice Chef Academy has enabled us to recruit young people with the most potential who are keen to pursue a career as chefs but until now have never had a chance. Our chefs currently taking part in the scheme are proving to be a real success. They are all motivated and ambitious with a passion to succeed. Following the training programme, we hope they will stay within Barcelo UK and be our head chefs of tomorrow." TUI UK and Ireland's accredited programmes manager, Andy Smyth, confirmed that their own internal research chimed with People 1st's findings. "TUI UK and Ireland continues to be committed to offering a range of Apprenticeship programmes which have seen over 3,500 apprentices trained in the last five years." People 1st will be launching new innovative hospitality and catering, as well as travel services, Apprenticeship frameworks in August 2010 which will feature a variety of specific units and progression routes. |
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| New Strategy For Ethnic Chefs | ||
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Asian and Oriental restaurants are set to benefit from a new range of qualifications specifically for chefs who wish to specialise in specific ethnic cuisines, following a recent review from People 1st. From August 2010, the new work based professional chef qualification will feature career development routes for Indian, Bangladeshi, Chinese and Thai cuisines, including units on dim sum, noodles, spices and herbs, and using a tandoor. People 1st intends to extend this to other ethnic cuisines to meet different employer needs and provide a greater choice for students. The new qualifications truly reflect the diverse nature of the UK's restaurant market and have been developed following an in-depth consultation and review with key employers on People 1st's Asian and Oriental industry advisory panel. They are part of People 1st's overall Ethnic Chef Strategy, launched at the second Ethnic Chef Summit at the Houses of Parliament at the end of January. People 1st representatives met with government ministers, influential employers from the Asian and Oriental restaurant sector and other key partners, including the National Skills Academy for Hospitality, the Learning and Skills Council and Jobcentre Plus, to discuss the actions within the strategy, and agree action points going forward. Creating specialist entry routes for different cuisines should enable Asian and Oriental restaurateurs to identify UK talent to fill future chef vacancies. For more information about the qualifications, please contact Dan Power: dan.power@people1st.co.uk |
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| The Last Word - Apprenticeships | ||
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The findings from People 1st's recent Apprenticeship survey show that more hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism employers than ever are opening their minds to Apprenticeships, and the business benefits that they offer. One in four sector employers took on an apprentice this year, and 37 percent of those currently offering the scheme said they were considering increasing their intake. A staggering 60 percent of employers who had not previously offered Apprenticeships also confirmed that they were seriously considering the option. As part of its activities for Apprenticeship Week, People 1st caught up with apprentices from Compass Group UK and Ireland's Compass Academy, who are now in the second year of their programme. They are a great example of the motivation and ambition demonstrated by apprentices, and speak not only passionately about the programme itself, but about Compass Group as a company. They clearly appreciate the investment that has been made in their development - as one apprentice commented: "I don't want to take what I've learnt over the past year and a half and go to a different company where I don't understand what they do." You can read all the Compass Academy case studies at people1st.co.uk/apprenticeshipweek to find out more about how they have benefited from the programme. However, despite their interest, People 1st's survey showed that almost half of employers (46 percent) are stumped by the Apprenticeship scheme process and how to go about taking on an apprentice. If you're considering it, but are not sure where to turn, there is a wealth of information and guidance available for employers on the National Apprenticeships website at apprenticeships.org.uk/employers.aspx, including a Q&A section. It also contains information on Apprenticeship vacancies - an online service whereby employers and learning providers can advertise and manage vacancies, and potential apprentices can search, apply and then manage their applications for Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships opportunities anywhere in England. Apprentices are worth the investment – with almost half of employers reporting that they make their business more competitive, it could be extremely rewarding. |
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