A year on from the launch of an innovative scheme designed to tackle the hospitality and leisure industry’s staffing crisis in the wake of Covid-19, ‘Westminster Works’ has revealed that over 220 businesses across the borough of Westminster have been supported with recruitment and retention of new talent.

The first of its kind in the UK, the initiative created in partnership by Step Ahead, New West End Company, Knightsbridge Partnership and AttisTowns and funded by Westminster City Council attracted interest from over 7,000 potential employees in the first six weeks. Over 150 people have been placed in new roles, from barista to bartender, reception manager to chef de partie all at London Living Wage rates or above*. This was a key component of the Westminster Works Good Employer Pledge which has helped to secure better job conditions and prospects for traditionally low paid workers in the industry.

Recognised as having a world-class hospitality and leisure offering, Westminster is home to over 3,700 restaurants, bars and cafes and a further 4,000 leisure businesses supporting around 120,000 jobs in the city. Some of the most iconic destinations in the borough have signed up to the scheme including luxury hotel, Raffles, restaurant group Caprice Holdings, which encompasses some of London’s best restaurants such as Balthazar and Scott’s Mayfair, and the popular Arcade Food hall dining experience.

Jason Sham, Head of recruitment at Arcade Foodhall comments:

“Since joining the Westminster Works scheme we have taken on around 16 full time new employees and have been looking in particular at how we can recruit, train and support more inexperienced staff such as school or college leavers. All our entry level roles pay a competitive wage, with some of them paying up to £15 an hour and it’s really important to us that we offer this, not only because it’s the right thing to do to support our staff, but because it will enable us to attract and retain the best talent, helping to give us a competitive advantage as a business.”

The year milestone for the initiative comes as the latest ONS figures reveal that there are over 121,000unfilled job vacancies in the accommodation and food services industry across the UK, one of the highest rates of any sector and still significantly higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. According to industry advocacy organisation UK Hospitality, staff shortages cost UK businesses £21bn in lost revenue in 2022 and led to 45% of operators reducing opening hours or closing at least one day a week. 

One of the ways Westminster Works is addressing this problem and adapting to the needs of businesses in a changing labour market is by attracting a new, diverse range of high calibre applicants to the roles via a bespoke training service run by Step Ahead. Candidates are first enrolled in a Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Excellence in Customer Service for Hospitality, upon completion of which they are offered guaranteed interviews with selected employers in the Westminster Works scheme. 

Candidates can then go on to take either a Level 1 course in employability skills or a Level 1 in personal and social development, with each course lasting just seven days and being completed fully remotely. This approach means that in two and half weeks, job seekers can achieve two new qualifications and secure a guaranteed interview with a London Living Wage employer in Westminster, helping to fast track the employment process whilst providing motivated, trained talent.

There are currently over 120 live vacancies as part of the Westminster Works programme for a diverse range of hospitality roles in some of London’s most prestigious hotels, bars and restaurants. 

Businesses looking to fill roles with high quality candidates can register interest in joining the scheme at www.westminster.works