Hospitality Zone at Skills London wins top accolade

Last week, a collective of hospitality organisations took home the ‘Best New Exhibitor’ award at Skills London; the biggest jobs and careers event for 15 – 24 year olds in the UK. Awarded by Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor of London for Planning, Regeneration and Skills, the hospitality zone led by elite hospitality apprenticeship provider, Umbrella Training, was described as being interactive, engaging and showcasing careers.By far the biggest draw within the zone was the creation of a Virtual Reality Hotel; allowing visitors to explore a variety of employers, departments and learn about a range of career and apprenticeship options across the hospitality sector. Representatives from Umbrella Training, The Ritz London, The Dorchester, Red Carnation Hotels, Firmdale Hotels, Hotel Café Royal, The Strand Palace, Hyatt, The Landmark London, Marcus Wareing Restaurants, Sarova Hotels and Spaghetti House were on hand to answer any questions and share their experiences of working in this vibrant sector. Over the course of two days, 1200 individuals experienced the VR Hotel; each leaving with their own VR headset where they could continue the activity at home or back at school (http://prospectsvr.wixsite.com/tours/hotel-vr).

Sam Coulstock FIH, Business Relations Director at Umbrella Training said “It was great to see hospitality represented so brilliantly at Skills London. By bringing together some of the industry’s most well-known brands, we were able to showcase the vast opportunities our sector offers and inspire those visiting with the achievements and stories from some of the teams from our employer partners.We’re really proud that our zone received such high recognition from the Deputy Mayor, but more importantly we really showcased careers in hospitality and helped change the perceptions of hospitality among young people, parents and teachers.”Skills London was held on 24th and 25th November at ExCel London. It is London’s biggest jobs and careers event; attracting over 30,000 visitors and 200 exhibitors. It provides visitors with the opportunity to discover careers through interactive, inspirational activities and demonstrations, and helps young people visually bridge the gap between what they enjoy doing and what they could potentially do as a career.Learn more about the hospitality zone hereAbout Skills London Skills London is the UK's biggest jobs and careers event for young people.  Focusing on young people aged 15-24 the event attracts more than 30,000 individuals across two days.For ten years Skills London has reached out and inspired London’s young people by showcasing opportunities including apprenticeships, education, training, employment, internships and other options.Skills London takes place at ExCeL London in November 2017.

The event is brought to you by London First and delivered with Prospects. Click here to find out more about the organisers.The key to Skills London’s success is the high level of interactivity exhibitors use to engage with the visitors. Visitors can sample the different career roles on offer in a fun and inspiring environment.By engaging visitors with focused taster activities exhibitors gain access to London’s future workforce; inspiring them, entertaining them and most importantly informing them face-to-face about the career routes and job opportunities available.The all abilities/all ambitions approach delivers visitor diversity. Visitors seek apprenticeships, training, jobs and college and university courses. Many visitors arrive knowing very little about the careers they are interested in, or which industry sectors to consider.The holistic approach of Skills London combines educational institutions with employers under one roof, enabling visitors to find out about careers and the training required