Foundation apprenticeships to include hospitality

The sectors in which employers can utilise foundation apprenticeships will now include hospitality, following an update to the scheme from government. 

Westminster says that the £725m package of reforms to the apprenticeship system will help to tackle youth unemployment and drive economic growth, with thousands more young people expected to benefit over the next three years.

As part of the package, the government will cover the full cost of apprenticeships for eligible young people under 25 at small and medium-sized businesses.

A welcome addition

Trade body UKHospitality (UKH) has welcomed the sector’s inclusion in the expansion of foundation apprenticeships.

Previously, hospitality had been left out of the proposals, but UKH says its work with government to make the case for hospitality’s inclusion has ensured the sector is now included.

As a key employer of young people, hospitality businesses will now be able to benefit from the scheme, which is aimed at boosting the number of 16- to 24-year-olds taking up apprenticeships.

The expansion will include new foundation-level apprenticeships in hospitality and the removal of the 5% levy on apprentices for under-25s, saving businesses money. The Hospitality Skills Passport, created by UKHospitality to enable new employees to demonstrate completion of a universal entry standard recognised across the sector, will also be integrated into the new apprenticeships.

Graduates of the hospitality Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), launched earlier this year, will also be able to benefit. On completion of a SWAP, those of an eligible age will be able to enrol in a foundation apprenticeship and would be the recommended route into long-term employment, offering the most structure and support.

"This is clear recognition within the government’s skills policy that hospitality is a vital employer of young people and key to getting people of all ages into employment, offering rewarding work, vital core skills and swift career progression," says UKHospitality chair Kate Nicholls.

"Being included alongside the Industrial Strategy sectors is proof that the government must go beyond those sectors to achieve its goals. However, we continue to find our ability to deliver on these goals stymied by soaring costs, chief among them the recent hike in business rates, which our analysis shows will hit hospitality businesses disproportionately with eye-watering increases.

"We need the government to recognise this and to act to avoid this looming catastrophe. Only then hospitality operators will be able to invest and drive job creation in every corner of the UK."

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