Find out more Top hoteliers to urge students to keep faith in hospitality as first career choice

The hour and a half long, live webinar has been organised by the industry’s professional body, the Institute of Hospitality (IoH), as part of its Passion 4 Hospitality (P4H) programme designed to inspire students to pursue management and leadership careers in hospitality.

The webinar will feature Scott Harper FIH, Chief Operating Officer of Malmaison & Hotel du Vin, as keynote speaker. He will be joined by a panel including Stuart Bowery FIH MI, General Manager of the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, Sally Beck FIH MI, General Manager of the Royal Lancaster Hotel, Matt Brierly, Director of UK Openings at Locke Hotels, Adrian Ellis FIH MI, General Manager of the Lowry Hotel, and Alison Lees, Area Director of Human Resources at Marriott UK.

This is the latest in a series of ‘Keep the Faith’ webinars hosted and moderated by the IoH. Since the series was launched last year – to counter the negative impact of the pandemic on young people hoping to join an industry marked by large-scale furloughs and redundancies – over 300 students have tuned into the webinars. The format allows ample opportunity for students to pose questions to the panel.

Peter Ducker FIH, CEO of the IoH, said, ‘Any student who attends our “Keep the Faith in Hospitality – Student Forum” will come away not just with nuggets of up-to-date information on the state of hospitality, straight from the mouths of those who operate and run our multibillion-pound industry, but with the experience of being in the room with powerful people who make things happen. It’s an inspiring proposition.

“Our keynote speakers and panellists are the very people responsible for making sure our industry is open for business after lockdown; they will be the people hiring and recruiting, and they are the types of leaders who will be influencing the policies that will see our industry revert to the fastest growing sector in the UK. I can’t emphasise strongly enough how important the lessons students take away from these webinars will be in helping to shape the decisions they make on their future careers."

Scott Harper FIH said, ‘It’s been an unprecedented and difficult year for everyone in the hospitality industry, but I can imagine even more daunting for those at the very start of their careers. The “Keep the Faith in Hospitality – Student Forum” is a great opportunity for us to persuade the talent of tomorrow that hospitality is still an amazing industry with a host of opportunities which will once again open up as we come out of the pandemic, and that graduates will be in pole position to support and influence change as the industry adapts to a very different future!’

Adrian Ellis FIH MI said, ‘The “Keep the Faith in Hospitality” forums have grown in numbers and presence recently, with the key aim to connect hospitality students with industry.

‘It’s a great platform and channel for industry not only to discuss the current challenges, but to share some of the amazing opportunities that will come for students once we reopen our doors over the months ahead. We want our hospitality students to keep the faith in our incredible industry, as we all want to welcome and attract new talent. It’s such an amazing time to join an industry and profession that offers an abundance of opportunity and potential for future careers.’

‘Keep the Faith in Hospitality – Student Forum’ is organised by the IoH Professional Development Team. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, 21 April 2021 from 2pm – 3.30pm. Attendance is free of charge to IoH members and non-members but attendees are asked to register to attend.