Accor, the leading global hospitality group, has created 300 initial roles across the UK following the May reopening of indoor hospitality, with hundreds more hotel positions expected later this summer.
The roles range across the hotels from kitchen brigades and bar staff to front of house and management, in all types of hotels across the group’s diverse brand portfolio from economy to luxury hotels.
The positions are mostly centred on major cities and tourist destinations such as central and greater London, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Liverpool, Windsor, Bath, Cambridge, Cheltenham and Sheffield.
Sophie Kilic, who heads up Talent & Culture for Accor hotels in Northern Europe, said, “The hospitality industry has been damaged by Covid but it is recovering, reopening and creating jobs and opportunities as it has always done.
“Hospitality embodies everything that people have missed the most in the last year – travel, bars, restaurants, wellness, exploration and people. It is a sector that is much loved, as the last year without it has proved, and now there are opportunities to be part of the industry as it rebuilds.”
To drive talent acquisition and spotlight the opportunities and value of the hospitality sector, Accor has launched a series of bi-monthly Recruitment Days, the first of which was held at The Savoy hotel at the end of May with a focus on roles across 22 London hotels.
More than 60 jobs were filled, had trials or second interviews offered during the event, demonstrating the desire for employment in this incredibly resilient and important sector. The recruitment days were hosted by hotel teams and general managers from across London speaking passionately about the sector and careers in hospitality.
“There are fantastic job opportunities in hospitality today and opportunities to be part of a sector that plays an enormous role in the economic recovery of the UK,” said Kilic.
She added, “People join hospitality because they need a job, or they want a career and sometimes because this is their calling. Whatever their motivation, what they experience and learn in hospitality is invaluable.
'We learn to be always ready for the unexpected, to understand different cultures, to work in a fast pace environment, to have always a can-do attitude, to be business savvy and most importantly to connect heart to heart.”
Hospitality accounts for more than 3 million jobs in the UK and is the third largest private sector employer, representing 10% of UK employment.
The emphasis on jobs, skills and training in The Queen’s Speech was a timely recognition of the importance of these issues as hospitality reopens to domestic and international guests. In a video released earlier this year, HRH Prince Charles praised the “resourcefulness and resilience” of the hospitality sector.
Kilic continued, “During this crisis our industry has done what it does best; taken care of people. Together we have looked around our businesses and have seen opportunities to make a difference, to help people and to bestow hospitality at a time when it was needed most.
'The way our sector responded to the crisis has proved its importance and demonstrates why it will come back stronger than ever. People are the heart and soul of hospitality and the key to the success of the industry.
'As we have played our part during this crisis, we remain committed to playing our part in the recovery both in terms of our economic impact and our role as an employer.'
In 2019 the hospitality sector contributed £59.3bn in Gross Value Added to the UK economy, around 3.0% of total UK economic output. Hospitality employs more than 3 million people and produces £130bn of economic activity.