Enthusiastically received by Government and supported by the biggest names in the hospitality industry, Hotel Future, to open in Oldham in 2015, will be the first Luxury Hotel in the world to double as a recognised training centre. Students in the hotel, drawn from all over the UK, will seek a range of qualifications from apprenticeships and BTEC to University Degree and Business School Qualifications.Hotel Future Oldham, is the first of what it is hoped will become a chain of luxury hotels across the UK where ‘learning by doing’ in providing excellent hospitality is at the heart and core of the business.
The apprentices, management trainees, interns and managers, who will be the staff of the hotel as well as the ‘learners’ will enhance and develop their careers as the future generation of leaders of the industry. Top international universities are expected to badge degree and business school level qualifications.
Hotel Future will have 120 bedrooms and will operate as an upscale hotel. Guests will not be expected to make any compromises because of the hotel’s unique focus of bringing training and education into the ‘real world’ of a luxury commercial hotel.
Hospitality industry backers include Hilton, Marriott, Malmaison, Carlson Rezidor and the Radisson Blu Edwardian Group. The project will create thousands of jobs in construction, hospitality and education. When open, 100apprenticeships will commence each year with many also benefitting from scholarships. Other learners will be on block or day release alongside others following full time specially developed training and educational programmes. The learners will be working with, and learning from, professional permanent staff.
It is planned for four levels of learners in Hotel Future. The entry level, -apprenticeships; Team Leaders – those seeking to move up the industry career ladder; Middle Management on short management courses – and an Executive Management Leadership Programme. All of these routes will lead to appropriate vocational, professional or academic qualifications.
“Today we are launching a genuine World First initiative,” commented Stephen Miles from the Manchester Hoteliers Association. “Hotel Future will change lives. It will also be a catalyst for re-developing Oldham City Centre as it will link with the re-furbished Queen Elizabeth Hall to create a conference and meeting centre of national importance. It is often over-looked that hospitality, as David Cameron recently reminded us, is the country’s fourth largest industry. Hospitality employs 2 million people or 6% of the working population and generates over £60 billion for the UK economy.
“Hotel Future as a concept sprung from the Manchester Hoteliers Association’s desire to attract and retain talent in our industry and we believe this is a shining example of what the public and private sectors can do when they work towards a common goal.”
