Barclays has partnered with the British Hospitality Association (BHA) to support the industry body’s goal of creating 60,000 new jobs in the sector by 2015.

The two organisations will use their collective power and flagship employability campaigns to help young people get ready for work, and find quality apprenticeships and job opportunities.

• Barclays will boost the BHA’s successful inspiring the next generation campaign through a nationwide tour of events to showcase the variety of career paths available to young people in the hospitality industry, and help local employers to find young people who are keen to start a career with them.
• The BHA will join and back LifeSkills, a programme created by Barclays to help equip one million young people with the skills they need to make the transition from education to employment. BHA members will list thousands of work experience opportunities on the LifeSkills website www.barclayslifeskills.com.
• Through its LifesSkills: Bridges Into Work programme Barclays will also support BHA members in setting up apprenticeships programmes for themselves using Barclays expertise and know-how.

By pooling resources the partnership aims to double the number of new jobs the BHA has already helped the industry to pledge to 60,000, and help ensure a thriving hospitality and leisure sector in the UK.

Research show that the hospitality and leisure industry is a crucial creator of jobs and growth in Britain:

• Over 2.7m people are employed in the sector – c.10% of the UK’s workforce
• It is the 4^th largest industry in the UK, delivering £53bn a year  in GVA (wages and profits) to the economy
• According to Barclays’ Job Creation Survey 2013, it is one of the most active sectors for apprenticeships. Almost a third (31%) of employers surveyed have already taken on apprentices, and a further 44% – the highest percentage of any industry sector – plan to take on further apprentices in 2013.
• Like banking, the hospitality and leisure industry is one of the few with the power to generate jobs in every corner of the UK.

With almost a million young people out of work, Barclays is focused on helping to tackle this issue employing over 1,000 apprentices in the last year. Through its LifeSkills: Bridges Into Work programme the bank is offering to help any UK business with free support and advice on how to set up an apprenticeship programme of their own.

Ufi Ibrahim, Chief Executive, British Hospitality Association, said: “Working together with Barclays enables the BHA to continue the industry’s biggest ever job creation drive where we aim to find opportunities for thousands of unemployed young people across the UK. 10% of the national workforce has a job in hospitality and we want to continue to invest in our best resource – young people.”

Mike Saul, Head of Hospitality and Leisure at Barclays, commented: “As one of the largest industries in the country, the hospitality and leisure sector has an important role to play in driving growth across the UK. Barclays is committed to supporting this growth, and it’s vital that our next generation of workers are able to access the varied, and fulfilling career opportunities that exist within it. This partnership will bring together our combined expertise to support these goals.”

Mike Thompson, Head of Employability at Barclays, added: “We’ve learned from our own successful apprenticeship programme what a great impact that investing in young people can do for your business. Now by partnering with the BHA we hope to take that approach to an industry level and make a really big impact on tackling youth unemployment in the UK.”