Hospitality Academy – the hospitality industry faces an ongoing issue of recruiting the right calibre of professional people to support what is one of the most important sectors in the UK economy. To help with this objective, the Academy has launched an innovative programme to provide young people and industry workers with the opportunity to gain level 3 (A level equivalent) qualifications at the same time as gathering experience in the industry.

Supporters of the Academy come from a wide range of hotels and restaurants in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The board is chaired by Calcot Manor and members include The Pear Tree at Purton, Hatton Court Hotel and Le Spa, in Cirencester. They have shaped the programme, where students come into college twice a week to study a level 3 (A level equivalent) programme in Hospitality and spend the rest of the week working in the industry. This gives the students a fantastic opportunity to gain work experience and a good wage.

The Academy has also secured funding from the European Union to upskill hospitality workers in Gloucestershire. The funding helps to subsidise a range of courses, including the BII industry sector courses, ESOL (English for students of other languages) and hospitality NVQs.

This funding is available until summer 2008 – for further details, contact Sarah Lane on 01285 653961.