Manchester Hoteliers’ Association is taking further strides to plug the skills gap in the hospitality industry.
Having launched a mentorship initiative with Manchester Metropolitan University (Manchester Met) in 2017, which pairs final year BA (Hons) Hospitality Business Management students with general managers of some of the city’s most renowned hotels, current mentees gathered to discuss their progress with second year hospitality students.
MHA Chair Adrian Ellis and Chris Mitchell, Principal Lecturer at Manchester Met, are behind the initiative which they say has been designed to attract students to careers in the hotel industry – but more importantly retain talent.
Adrian said: “It was a privilege to meet the second year students at Manchester Met who will all have the opportunity to join the mentorship scheme in the next academic year.
“It is our mission to nurture young talent in our industry – but first we have to make sure that we give them the best possible path to a career in hospitality.
“The final year students currently involved in our mentorship programme got together to talk to the second year students about some of their experiences working in hotels across Manchester. It was inspiring to see so many young people enthused about developing a career in our sector.”
He added:
“The feedback presented from both mentors and mentees was really positive. This event also gave everyone in the room the opportunity to network and ask questions regarding work opportunities and areas for development in the future.”
In May MHA and Manchester Met will host a final mentor event of the current academic year.
Diane Connelly, the HBM Programme Leader at Manchester Met, said “this scheme provides a great opportunity for both parties involved. Success stories are also developing through work opportunities available on successful completion of the students’ degree.”
“We can then recognise achievements from the whole experience, and from these success stories we can then continue with the scheme into the future.”
