Building work commences on industry training venue

Builders have started work on the Hospitality Guild’s flagship training and development hub in north London, Hospitality House.

Donated rent-free by McDonald’s, the Hospitality Guild raised more than £1.1 million in industry and public funding and sponsorship to develop the venue. Industry suppliers and employers such as Gram Commercial, Electrolux, Heineken, Compass Group UK, Hilton and People 1st have all provided sponsorship and state-of-the-art equipment for the facility.

Executive director of the Hospitality Guild Suzy Jackson was in attendance for the commencement of building work on Hospitality House. She said: “This is such an exciting day. After all our hard work and the incredible generosity and support of the industry, we’re finally starting work. I just had to come here and help in my own special way!

“That we’ve managed to get from a dream of having a state of the art training facility to actually making it a reality in less than a year is mind blowing. It really illustrates how we unite the hospitality industry and the faith that the industry has in the Hospitality Guild to take professional development in our sector to a whole new level.

“Not only have we had incredible support from industry suppliers, we also received investment from the government through the Skills Funding Agency, so Hospitality House is well on its way to becoming a tangible symbol of the determination of a huge group of people to raise standards and make hospitality a brilliant career choice.”

Hospitality House is scheduled to open this summer. Facilities of the venue include a training and demonstration kitchen, a training bar, café, meeting rooms, space for events, and offices for the Hospitality Guild and other partner organisations to promote collaborative working.