A collaboration between one of London’s top hotels and a homeless charity in the city has created Hotel School – providing homeless & vulnerable people with a route to working in the hospitality industry.
The Goring Hotel and The Passage Homeless Resource Centre are located very close to each other in the Belgravia area of London, and have both been sheltering people in different ways for decades. In 2017 they joined forces to launch Hotel School.
The School inspires people to take an interest in hospitality, teaching them the basics in a hands-on & interactive way, before managing their progression into full time work.
Highly trained college teachers deliver the key course content, which is supported by a who’s who collection of industry leaders, Michelin star chefs, award winning baristas and inspiring hospitality stars, who provide a series of masterclasses and engaging insights across the spectrum of hospitality.
Goring CEO & Hotel School Co-founder Jeremy Goring has been delighted by the support within the industry: “Hotels and restaurants are packed with witty, entertaining, genuinely interesting people, so when we designed this programme we called around to see who might put their hand up to come and volunteer. Everybody we called, whether Michelin star chef, Hipster Barista, Hotel Managing Director or Master cocktail mixologist, said yes without any hesitation. The support we’ve had has been amazing and proves how lucky we are to work in this great industry.”
The result of this dynamic approach is an engaging programme with great completion and success rates. People who haven’t worked in 30 years have found employment (and therefore housing) through the programme and lives are being changed. The programme is currently oversubscribed by 300% – the school are looking for a permanent home to enable them to increase the number of people they are able to help.
Hotel School partners with most major homeless charities in London and beyond, such as St Mungo’s and Centrepoint as well as with major hotels including The Ritz, the Red Carnation Collection, The Lanesborough and the Park Plaza group. The school also has a growing band of volunteer mentors, trainers, chefs and inspirational speakers. Rugby world cup winner and Sky Sports presenter Will Greenwood OBE is the Head of Sports & Fitness. Poor physical health is a common barrier for many of the students in entering the workforce.
Mick Clarke, Passage CEO and Hotel School co-founder says “The Passage is all about ending homelessness. The Passage gives homeless people the resources and opportunities to fulfil their abilities and to transform their lives. Hotel School gives homeless people the opportunity to access real employment in one of the most exciting and rewarding sectors to work in; we are proud to be a co-founder of it.”
If you would like to find out more or get involved do visit the Hotel School website
