Nestlé Professional will use a team of ‘hospitality ambassadors’ to visit secondary schools | Photo credit: Nestlé Professional UK

Nestlé Professional UK has launched its ‘Choose Hospitality Pledge’ to encourage hospitality leaders across the UK to promote careers in the industry to young people. 
 

Seeking to address the negative perceptions many young people have about working in the hospitality industry, Nestlé Professional will use a team of ‘hospitality ambassadors’ to visit secondary school students and provide insights into hospitality career opportunities. 

The campaign is being supported by Whitbread, Compass Group, Sodexo and Elior. 

Nestlé Professional UK cited research indicating that more than 40% of hospitality businesses currently face skilled worker shortages, with industry experts forecasting a 13 million talent gap for positions suitable for hospitality graduates within the next five years. 

“Hospitality businesses are more than twice as likely as other industries to experience challenges filling vacancies. We were keen to understand why, so we could highlight ways in which our industry could come together to deal with these issues. We learned that a lack of clear information and advice from key influencers has led to a serious image problem for the industry. The Choose Hospitality Pledge is all about galvanising up-and-coming hospitality superstars. Helping us to get young people excited about our industry again, and showcasing hospitality as a stimulating, flexible and incredibly rewarding career,” said Katya Simmons, Managing Director, Nestlé Professional UK&I. 

To help staff during the cost-of-living crisis and improve staff retention, Costa Coffee raised hourly worker wages by at least 5% in UK company-owned stores in October 2021. 

In October 2022, UK-based Pret A Manger pledged £10m ($11.1m) to fund pay rises for its UK staff. The coffee and food-to-go chain had already invested £9.2m ($10.2m) to raise wages in January 2022.