HBAA chair Louise Goalen says the hospitality and meetings industry is disappointed in the lack of specific measures to encourage talent in the sector in chancellor Philip Hammond’s autumn budget.
The hospitality sector receives no specific mention in Hammond’s statement, but he did announce a £20 million investment in the new T level scheme. The new technical qualifications were announced in the spring budget and aim to encourage 16 to 19 year olds to study in 15 sectors.
Goalen says: “While £20 million for further education colleges for T levels is good news, we need more investment in hospitality sector training.
“Financial incentives or assistance for young people to train and to encourage talent in the hospitality and events sector are needed to help reduce youth unemployment and prepare for the declining number of EU workers coming here – a massive and vital resource for this sector. HBAA hoped that the chancellor would address this in his autumn budget statement.
“We need to attract more young people to see the sector as a good career opportunity. Raising personal allowances, and with it the tax threshold, is a step forward, but providing funds to encourage 16 to 19 year olds to train in the sector would have been a helpful initiative.”