Compass Group gifts £500k to fund apprenticeships in West Midlands
The new funded apprenticeships to WMCA will help budding chefs, restaurant front of house staff or other supporting roles land jobs in the West Midlands hospitality sector
Compass Group has gifted £500,000 to West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to boost hospitality and professional services courses in the West Midlands region through the Apprenticeship Transfer Levy Fund.
The new funded apprenticeships to WMCA will help budding chefs, restaurant front of house staff or other supporting roles land jobs in the West Midlands hospitality sector.
It will also help people gain the “skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to enter and progress within the hospitality sector and give West Midlands businesses access to more emerging talent”.
The hospitality sector has been hit recently by skyrocketing energy costs, food inflation, high interest rates, a recruitment crisis and tepid customer demand on the back of the Covid pandemic.
Despite these challenges, data from the WMCA shows more than 3,880 job vacancies advertised last month in the metropolitan West Midlands hospitality sector and more than 9,000 across the wider region.
Set up in March 2019, the Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Fund allows large employers to transfer up to 25% of their levy funds each year to SME organisations, to pay for the Apprenticeship Standards to be delivered.
The region’s hospitality task force, which includes hospitality names like Dishoom, Purnell’s, Aston Villa FC, and Malmaison Hotels, is continuing to lobby the government for more targeted support and help to bring new people into the sector.
Jonathan Foot, head of Apprenticeships and Early Careers at Compass Group UK and Ireland stated that the company was “committed to investing in and developing talent”.
Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA Chair, said: “Hospitality is something of a strong suit for our region. Despite the challenging economic backdrop, there’s still plenty of scope to provide training to the next generation of talented chefs, mixologists, and restaurateurs.
“That’s why it’s great to see Compass Group UK and Ireland supporting this mission by kindly transferring half a million pounds towards our Apprenticeship Transfer Levy Fund. It’s vital that we support our night-time economy and one way we can do that is by helping local talent to connect with opportunities on offer in hospitality.”
He added: “I would encourage employers right across our region to continue to contribute to our Levy Fund and recruit apprentices in the months and years ahead. Together, we can work to ensure Birmingham and the wider West Midlands maintains its position as one of the UK’s most exciting food destinations.”
Cllr George Duggins, portfolio holder for skills and productivity, and leader of Coventry City Council, concluded: “This generous £500,000 donation from Compass Group marks a significant step in fortifying the culinary landscape of the West Midlands. By channelling support into apprenticeships and professional services courses, we’re empowering aspiring chefs and restaurateurs to refine their craft and in turn this will help to invigorate our hospitality sector.
“Having a job changes lives and an apprenticeship is a great way to learn new skills and enter the world of work. It’s also great that we can offer some of our businesses full funding to take on and train their future talent. It’s really tough for people at the moment. The cost of living is biting hard so I hope this support will go some way to help while we continue to lobby for more support for our region.”
