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Premier Inn owner Whitbread has announced its latest national further education college partnership, which aims to help young people with additional needs learn new skills and get into work.
The group is partnering with the Liverpool City Region and Lincolnshire County County Council as part of its Thrive programme.
Thrive is an acceleration of Whitbread’s longstanding work with Derwen and Hereward specialist colleges.
The new partnerships will help scores of young learners nation-wide and puts Whitbread firmly on the path to achieving its ambition to get 100 supported interns into paid employment from special needs educational establishments every year.
In the Liverpool City Region, the partnership will eventually support six local authorities, including The Wirral, City of Liverpool, St Helens, Knowsley, Sefton and Halton. Liverpool City College and Wirral MET College will be the initial educational partners.
In Lincolnshire the partnership will support the council’s Young People’s Learning Provision, which works with schools across the county.
The partnerships will see students learning about all areas of hospitality through work experience and supported internships under the guidance of their job coaches with the chance to move into paid employment with Premier Inn.
Simon Ewins, MD of UK hotels and restaurants at Premier Inn, said: “Our longstanding partnerships with Derwen and Hereward Colleges – and the young people we’ve come to know through them – are an enormous source of pride for all at Whitbread.
“Thanks to their success, we are absolutely thrilled to reveal new partnerships with colleges and local authorities that will support young learners with additional needs from all over the country.”
Cllr Lila Bennett, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for education, added: “Having a diverse workforce with people of all backgrounds and disabilities enriches the culture of an organisation and can be life changing for all involved.
“I hope Whitbread will inspire other organisations to take part. The scheme is a key part of our ambition to tackle inequality and maximise the life chances for residents in our city.”
