CareerScope Blog

Hospitality is one of the most broad and varied industries in which a person can work. Every day is a new adventure, full of fun anecdotes and positive interactions which makes the job rewarding. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be overshadowed by preconceptions of low-pay and long hours.

However, in the UK’s 3rd largest industry, careers in hospitality can be rich, fulfilling and sustainable – which is exactly what Springboard’s Vertical City – a Hospitality Careers Showcase set out to prove.

The inaugural Vertical City Careers Showcase, in association with The Worshipful Company of Innholders and Worshipful Company of Cooks, was held on the 21st January 2019, intending to change perceptions of the hospitality and inspire local young people into considering it as a potential career option. Held at the Shard, the event featured some of the buildings biggest names – including Shangri-La, Gather & Gather and Oblix Restaurant.

The day included six interactive activities which educate these young people in the fundamental aspects of working in hospitality – whether that’s whipping up a latte, turning around a room in the Shangri-La or serving a three course meal at a Michelin 3-star restaurant.

There was also a careers fair, with six organisations currently signed up to take part – including Straight A Training, HIT Training, Westminster Kingsway College, The Springboard Charity, Oblix, Hilton Bankside and Shangri-La.

Dee Smith, London, South and Wales Director at the Springboard Charity, said “The Springboard Charity is excited to be working in association with the Worshipful Company of Cooks and Worshipful Company of Innholders to showcase the amazing careers the businesses have to offer in The Shard – The Vertical City. We cannot wait to engage over 60 students from local schools to appreciate the careers available to them. None of this would have been possible without the support from the employers who have taken to time to showcase this vibrant industry and what a great place it is to work“.

If you would like to find out more about The Springboard Charity, then contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more, or head to our website www.springboard.uk.net 

Springboard helps people of all ages and backgrounds improve their career potential in hospitality, leisure and tourism, especially people who experience barriers to employment and those in education. By so doing, we help reduce unemployment and poverty across the UK and reduce the sector’s skills shortages.

• Equipping with personal, professional and career skills, through first class education programmes.
• Transforming the lives of people by providing tailored quality programmes, dedicated aftercare and access to work experience placements and ultimately, sustainable employment. At the same time we help our employer partners attract, develop and retain talent.
• Providing advice and guidance to inform and guide young people, adults and key influencers about the industry.
• Promoting great place to work, through strategic partnerships with employers, our Ambassador and Alumni network, Government, employment referral agencies, educational establishments and industry bodies.

For more information about Springboard, visit: www.springboard.uk.net 

Leaders in what is next...

"At Delaware North one of our key goals is to deliver scalable programmes and services to acquire, develop and retain talent while advancing our brand reputation. Developing engaged, high performing teams that embody our company values and position us for ‘what’s next’ is a critical part of our long term plan. Coupling that with industry leading, innovative business and people solutions and aspiring to elevate each and every person’s experience with us, is how we invest in peoples’ journeys to bring their potential to life to achieve individual and collective success. Our inaugural year of the NEXT Academy has seen a group of dedicated learners work with us as we shape its purpose and design, all focused with our peoples’ growth and development as our end in mind."

"This is truly a team effort, involving many people, both from within Delaware North, and our trusted partners. Springboard is a great illustration of how we demonstrate this. One of Springboard’s key objectives is to help young people achieve their potential through education, work experience and careers support and as their partner. We have an opportunity to really showcase our industry to a future talent pool. Another one of their goals is to relieve unemployment and alleviate poverty through a wide range of into work programmes, and again, we have an amazing opportunity to support people in finding a purpose and a career within our business. AS you read our ‘year in review’ I know you will join me in feeling proud of just how much our team across the business do to support the Charity’s purpose."

"We have the gift to create our culture so that we are known as the ‘must place to work’ for future leaders, to use internal disruption to challenge how work is done to excite our people to constantly raise the bar, to have an agile and fluid learning eco system to enable people to thrive and to be ambassadors for exceptional customer service. Promoting our industry as a great place to work, grow and thrive is a ‘no brainer’. Our cohort of Springboard Ambassadors, who themselves have developed as a result of committing to this role, continue to advocate our vision and Delaware North as the company to join."

"As we look to 2019, we celebrate our ongoing progress with our people agenda. We will continue to challenge ourselves, test our own ‘norms’ and seek out third alternatives to be the best that we can be. So, our ‘ask’ of you is – can you play a bigger part in shaping the future of our company and our industry by helping others follow in our footsteps into our world? There is no better way to do this than join us in supporting Springboard in 2019."

Alison Gray - Human Resources Director