Mayor of London Hospitality Hub at Lewisham College

London has some of the best hotels and restaurants in the world and is home to many international events every year thanks to a skilled and dedicated hospitality industry.

This industry is important to the capital as it provides almost 600,000 jobs and adds nearly £17 billion gross value to the economy. It has also been hard hit by the pandemic and the recovery has created large staff and skills shortages throughout the sector.

The Mayor’s Skills Academies have been created to help the hospitality industry as well as those Londoners hardest hit by the pandemic, supporting them into good work, such as direct employment, apprenticeships, traineeships, or self-employment/freelance work, and to aid the recovery and the long-term economic growth of hospitality and London.

Lewisham College is launching a Hospitality Hub as part of the Mayor of London’s Skills Academies, working with employers in the industry to provide skills and work-based training programmes, and helping to recruit Londoners into a career in hospitality. Lewisham College will also offer a wide range of training and support to help people get into work.

The Mayor’s Skills Academies has been created to help overcome barriers into employment and raise the awareness of the great opportunities and careers in the hospitality industry.

The Hospitality Hub will be a centre of information about the industry and a place for employers to come together to tackle the real barriers faced by recent events. It will partner with organisations representing the industry and work with them on short-term and long-term plans to raise the profile of the industry, promote it as a great career choice and make the hospitality sector more inclusive.

Read more about the Mayor’s Skills Academies here.