The UK’s hospitality sector is delivering continued apprenticeship growth, bucking the national trend in other sectors. Speaking at the Hospitality Apprenticeship Showcase in Parliament, Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality called on the government to ensure support to address hard-to-fill vacancies and review the apprenticeship levy to guarantee it meets the changing needs of businesses.

She said: “Hospitality has created half a million new jobs over the past decade and has the potential to create hundreds of thousands more over the next ten years. Apprenticeships are a key part of that job creation and starts in the sector increased by 15% last year while many other sectors experienced decline. They help provide opportunities at all levels across the UK and they are hugely valuable when it comes to upskilling the workforce. They help provide real career progression and are key to getting people off entry level wages.”

“The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced to help businesses provide more apprenticeships, but it is clear that it isn’t working for all businesses. It needs reviewing to increase flexibility and make sure it is appropriate for businesses of all sizes,” she added.