Sheffield College encourages schoolchildren to consider a career in hospitality

Spring Forward, which is being run as a collaboration between Hospitality Sheffield and Sheffield College, invited 200 students from 11 local secondary schools to visit different hotels and venues on March 7th and 8th. The 14 and 15-year-olds were given a behind the scenes insight into what makes a hotel tick. With bed-making competitions and baking bread as just two of the activities, the students learnt about the valuable skills that go into the industry. Ian Slater, chair of Hospitality Sheffield and general manager of the Park Inn, Sheffield, said: "Hospitality Sheffield is fully behind this initiative which we hope will encourage students to sign up for hospitality courses at the college, with the benefit of producing a future generation that is well developed, highly trained and ready to take on the future roles within this exciting industry." Jon Broadhurst, one of the organisers of Spring Forward and general manager of Jurys Inn, said: "We feel that this is a really important initiative where we can influence the hotel managers of the future into choosing hospitality as a serious career choice. "The two-day hospitality orientation will allow the students to get a good grasp of how a hotel or venue operates looking at housekeeping, catering, leisure services and event management. After the students have taken part in the various activities they will be taken back to Sheffield College where they can learn about the courses and qualifications needed to get started on the hospitality ladder." Hotels and venues taking part in Spring Forward include the Leopold Hotel, Mercure Hotel & Spa, Park Inn, Hilton Hotel, Cutlers Hotel, Sheffield Hallam University, Premier Inn, Copthorne Hotel, Holiday Inn Express and the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria.