Hotel School guides socially disadvantaged into fulfilling jobs

The school was established by Jeremy Goring, chief executive of the Goring hotel in Belgravia, and Mick Clarke, chief executive of homelessness charity the Passage, which has its headquarters a stone's throw from the five-red-AA-star property.

They recognised that hospitality could not only offer a myriad of employment opportunities but also a supportive environment, that would allow people to flourish.

Goring says: "Hospitality is an incredible career path and I think for people in the situations that some of our students are in, it's particularly poignant and powerful because it's absolutely true that hospitality is like a family. That team environment where everybody wants everybody else to succeed is very good for people in these kind of situations.

"We start [each group] with a taster week and when we get to the end of that people can figure out whether they like hospitality or not. It's really all about telling them what the world of hospitality is like. We do give it warts and all – we want to tell people how wonderful hospitality is but not that it's joy and pleasure every day."

The school accepted its first cohort in April 2017, since when Goring says "an awful lot has been learned". It is now working with its sixteenth group of students and has had only one drop out from the past four cohorts, with 85%-90% of students enrolled securing employment in the industry.

The organisation receives referrals from about 15 homelessness charities, including St Mungo's, Crisis and the Refugee Council, and accepts between 12 and 15 students to join a 12-week course, which delivers basic training as a route to employment alongside holistic support to prepare students for the workplace.

Those joining courses span generations and have come from all over the world. Goring says: "Every single cohort is so different from the previous one, you literally never have any idea who is going to walk through the door. That's what I love about it. You get to meet people that you just wouldn't have the opportunity to meet."

In October 2020 the charity moved from its first home at the Passage to Westminster Kingsway College, allowing it to increase hands-on experience. Over the years it has also built-up strong industry ties, with around half of training now delivered by leading figures from the industry.

Highlights from the courses include a barista masterclass from Extract Coffee, hands-on cooking demos with Hotel School's chef Michael Davies, tips on wellbeing delivered by rugby legend Will Greenwood, a lesson in preparing a hotel room from the Goring's executive housekeeper Fernanda Lewis, and visits from former graduates who share their own inspiring journeys. Zoe Minihan, programme manager, says: "That's the first point, to be able to provide a positive learning experience. In my previous job I also helped people into education, training and employment, but to have an industry that is so willing to give people a chance, that to me is what has been so unique [about this project].

"Someone might not have one thing to put on a CV, but the generosity of the industry and the willingness to give people a chance [helps overcome that]."

Hotel School matches students to sustainable employment opportunities

As well as teaching hospitality skills Hotel School matches students to sustainable employment opportunities, supports them to secure a position and guides them through their first steps into work. It has formed partnerships with more than 50 hospitality businesses to provide work experience opportunities allowing students to find a role that suits them in the industry and often a permanent position.

Goring says: "I'm pretty sure there is a niche for everybody in our sector, but work experience also lets employers get sight of some of the candidates. We often find that by the time we've got two-thirds of the way through a course, quite a few of our students have got job offers, which is amazing.

"By the time they've finished the programme, they're incredibly work ready and if they're not we'll work with them offline. With one of our first students, it took us two years after graduation to get him a job because he had all kinds of issues that affected his work readiness, including his physical wellbeing after 30 years on the streets, but there's a wide range of support that we call on or deploy to get people into that place where they've got the confidence to make a good start.

"That student, when he'd been [in the new role for] a week, he came back and said ‘it's like, I've joined a new family'."

The biggest change for the charity in the past six years has been supporting the ever-increasing number of graduates who have moved into employment. Minihan says: "We realised quite early on that you can get someone into work, but actually it's about sustaining that job, making sure the person is settled and that the employer is happy.

"It's about helping the graduates to develop and progress. You might want to work in another hotel and we want to be able to support people with that. It was never just about giving people training, securing them a job and never seeing them again."

To help with this, in 2019 Hotel School appointed Dana Sandrock as employment and progression manager. She works with students to help them navigate challenges such as benefits, housing and transport costs as well ensuring they are mentally and physically ready for the workplace, including organising wellbeing sessions to help cope with stressful situations.

Sandrock also supports employment partners and remains on call if graduates want to discuss problems they encounter, their progression in the industry or just need someone to talk to after a busy shift.

The graduates that have been through the course are now working in a myriad of different roles and making strides through the industry (see panels). Goring says: "We've had some people that hadn't worked for 20 or 30 years, who have now been in employment for several years in the same place.

"I think it's certainly made people more open-minded about what sort of candidate they would look at. We've had people who went through Hotel School that are now working in hotels and have hired students themselves, who they now supervise to follow the same route. I think that's pretty magical."