It is imperative that the workforce hold the skills, knowledge and behaviours to be productive and help businesses emerge stronger from the crisis and flourish

Management and staff across the Hospitality and Tourism sector have been under huge strain, as the industry has dealt with lockdowns and unable to resume full operations for the past year.

As identified by industry representatives, funded by the Department for the Economy and delivered in partnership across the six Further Education Colleges in Northern Ireland, the free programme will help address the key challenges this sector faces. The bespoke training is aimed at Hospitality and Tourism industry managers and technical specialists of all levels, with an Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) / Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Level 3 accredited qualification also on offer to eligible businesses.

Roisin McKee, Project Director for the HATS Network, confirmed:

“As the Tourism and Hospitality industry builds back from the disruption caused by Covid-19, it is imperative that the workforce hold the skills, knowledge and behaviours to be productive and help businesses emerge stronger from the crisis and flourish. 

“I urge businesses to act now and take up the opportunities offered in this recovery skills support series to develop and refresh the skills of their workforce.  Building back with a better skilled workforce will provide the much-needed reinforcement to deliver a tourism product that attracts visitors and encourages repeat business.”

The series of masterclasses are designed to meet the needs of the sector and will be delivered in partnership across all six FE Colleges. The online series starting in April and May will be fully contextualised, bite-size learning sessions.  

Economy Minister, Diane Dodds, said: “The tourism and hospitality sector has been hit incredibly hard by the pandemic. This training programme, funded by my Department, will provide significant skills support for the industry as it seeks to prepare for recovery, offering recognised, accredited qualifications and help make our unique tourism and hospitality offering even more appealing to both local and external visitors when the time for reopening comes.”

The series will include Management webinars and Technical masterclasses. The Management Spotlight series, which will commence from 14th April, will focus on Skills Support; Attraction and Retention of Staff; Building Resilience; and the Changing Customer Service Needs. From May, the Technical Skills Series of masterclasses will promote skills development in areas such as AR and VR Technologies, and Podcasting for the Tourism industry, as well as interactive specialist Hospitality masterclasses in Butchery, Baking and Patisserie, Poultry, Chocolatier and Cocktail Making. 

Further supporting this skills intervention initiative is the delivery of an ILM/CMI Level 3 Award in Leadership and Management that will have a specific focus on the required skills to boost recovery, as identified by sector representatives within the Hospitality and Tourism industry. The ILM/CMI Level 3 Leadership and Management courses will be available across all NI Colleges from April – June.

Managers of all levels are encouraged to choose from the menu of free virtual support programmes on offer.