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Sofitel London Gatwick has launched a campaign to promote hospitality as a long-term career choice.
The hotel’s ‘general manager for a day’ scheme is open to current employees, and 12 have already shadowed current GM, Globy Ouseph, with more planned for 2018.
It is thought hospitality faces a recruitment gap of over a million jobs by 2029, according to a recent report by the British Hospitality Association and KPMG in 2018.
Ouseph said: “Recruitment and retention in the hospitality sector in general can be a challenge, but we felt that letting current employees who are fairly new to the industry experience where the job could potentially take them would encourage more people to pursue a long-term career in this exciting and varied sector.
“The young people who have taken part in our ‘GM for a day’ scheme have all been keen and eager to learn, and several of them have expressed an interest in hospitality as a long-term career. They do whatever I do for the day, go to the same meetings and help make decisions.”
The hotel group’s youngest ‘GM’ was Luke Holohan, an apprentice completing his Level 2 in Hospitality & Hotel Management at The Weald School.
Holohan said: “Spending the day with Globy has been fantastic. I spent the day doing every task that Globy was scheduled to do that day, including attending a budget meeting with the revenue manager. At the end of the day I also had some time to give my ideas and suggestions for the hotel.
“I’ve been given an invaluable insight into the career and it’s helped so much with my course. After completing my course, I plan to stay in the hotel and work my way up to become General Manager one day.”
