Accor announced yesterday a new people development strategy, strengthening its commitment to providing a true learning and development support to its future and existing employees across its network of 185 hotels in the UK. “Now more than ever, finding and developing talent is vital to achieving our ambitious growth strategy. This is why we are making this significant investment,” said Thomas Dubaere, Managing Director, Accor UK and Ireland. “Hospitality is a very promising career path. Indeed the vast majority of our senior managers started as trainees at one of our hotels.”
In that view, Accor is making four key announcements in the UK:
– Académie Accor unveils today its new campus in London – a first-of-its-kind UK professional training centre offering exceptional teaching facilities to ensure staff development and career progression. With an average 40 M€ invested in learning and development, over 435,000 days of training provided per year, Académie Accor is taking training into new heights in 72 countries today through its network of campuses.
– Accor announces a partnership with Babcock to further develop its successful apprenticeship scheme which has encompassed 250 people in the last eight years. This year, the Management Apprenticeship Programme will employ 100 young people (18-24 year olds) giving them on-the-job training and a national qualification: NVQ Level II or NVQ Level III which can be achieved over two years. The aim is to develop future managers required to support the ambitious growth of Accor hotels network in the UK.
– Accor formalises its Student Placement Internships scheme that will offer 100 placements each year to students on UK hospitality courses with a view to recruiting high potential candidates following the completion of their studies. The paid placements run for twelve months in partnership with five UK universities**. Students will be trained in a number of operational skills within the hotels.
– With the support of the Accor Foundation, Accor UK launches an ‘In to Work’ programme named “Hospitality Futures” with the charity Springboard. It will offer 25 young unemployed people aged 18-24 a starting job in the hospitality industry. Following a nine week initial course which includes five weeks of classroom training and on-the-job experience, Accor aims to find every participant a job.
Philip Addison, Human Resources Director, Accor UK and Ireland: “Our new approach aims to discover and nurture potential talent from as wide a pool as possible – from teenagers struggling to find employment to graduates from the UK’s best hospitality courses. Our Management Apprenticeship Programme gives young people qualification and training. Hospitality Futures will help young people see their potential for a career in the industry, equip them with the skills to get started, and, most importantly, help to get them a job.”
“These initiatives will be brought to life at Académie Accor, the Hospitality Learning Network,” added Philip Addison “The hospitality training centre in London opens today and will be essential to ensuring we guide and support our people to perform at their very best.”
**Internships
