New Milestone as 40,000 New Hospitality Job Opportunities Created for Young People

• The British Hospitality Association's Big Hospitality Conversation staged at White Hart Lane Stadium on Tuesday 10th February secures 2,123 pledges (2000 jobs, 86 apprenticeships and 57 work experience placements).
• The White Hart Lane event pledges take total UK career opportunities generated by the BHA's Big Hospitality Conversation to over 40,000.
• Tottenham-Hotspur hosted event attended by football legend Ledley King and Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith – making the Premier League Football Club's official charitable body the first football charity to deliver a Big Hospitality Conversation event.
• Over 250 young people attended the Big Conversation with a further 750 attending the careers market place which had 35 exhibitors.

The British Hospitality Association's (BHA) national campaign The Big Hospitality Conversation teamed up with Tottenham Hotspur Foundation to generate over 2,000 job opportunities, work placements and apprenticeships in the hospitality sector for 16-24 year old Haringey residents.

100 top business leaders, including household names like Bourne Leisure, McDonalds, Spirit Pub Company, Costa, Premier Inn, Hilton, Sodexo, Centreplate, and Nandos attended the event, pledging live throughout the day alongside Tottenham Hotspur Foundation's education and employment team who were on hand to offer practical employability advice and guidance on gaining relevant qualifications, interview techniques and career choices.

Delivered in partnership with Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, Department of Work and Pensions and Haringey Council, this Big Hospitality Conversation is the first of its kind to be delivered in partnership with a Premier League football club. Previous events have generated over 38,000 job opportunities and yesterday's pledges mark a significant 40,000 milestone.

The Big Hospitality Conversation has an ambitious 2015 programme which seeks to generate a further 20,000 career opportunities across the UK at venues including Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Swansea, Belfast, Lambeth, Cardiff, Hackney, Legoland, Bournemouth, Llandudno, Dundee / Perth, Preston / Blackpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Exeter, Maidstone, and the Isle of Wight – taking the total to 60,000 opportunities for 16 to 24 year olds.

Ufi Ibrahim, CEO of the British Hospitality Association, which is focused on growth and job creation for hospitality and tourism said: "This event demonstrates that our industry is about action to grow jobs. We are going out into the community to demonstrate the range of exciting careers available across our industry. The BHA wants politicians to understand how important the hospitality and tourism industry is in generating high quality careers for young people."

Ledley King, who made over 300 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur between 1999 and 2012, captaining the Club and earning 21 caps for England, attended the event in his role as Tottenham Hotspur Ambassador. He works closely with the Club's Foundation to inspire young people to access local job opportunities and said: "Tottenham Hotspur is committed to creating employment opportunities for local young people, and holding regular job fairs at an iconic venue like White Hart Lane is a great way of doing this. It was great for me to attend yesterday's event and speak to the many young people who are looking for a new challenge in their careers and being able to offer them some advice that if you are willing to work hard, there is so much you are able to achieve."

-Ends-

For more information, please contact:

Julia Svetlosakova, British Hospitality Association, M 07701 050216/ T 0207 404 7744, E Julia@bha.org.uk

Notes to editors

• The average age of people living in the Haringey area is 34, and the population totalling just under a quarter of a million has an unemployment rate of 8.3%.
• Hospitality and tourism now accounts for over 10% of the UK's workforce and is the 4th largest employing industry in the UK, its growth significantly outpacing the rest of the economy.
• Two in five employees in hospitality are aged under 30.
• Google Trends has shown that the interest of 'jobs in hospitality' (searched in the UK) has increased by 36% over the last 12 months
• The BHA believes that the industry can generate some 300,000 new jobs by 2020, as tourism remains at the heart of economic growth in the UK
• Youth unemployment is one of the biggest challenges facing young people today and the hospitality industry has the commitment and proven power to help tackle it

Statistics source: Statistics sourced from nomisweb.co.uk (2013 stats) and TFL Borough Factsheets August 2014; ONS, British Hospitality Association Agenda 300,000 Report and People 1st State of the Nation Report 2013)

About the British Hospitality Association

The BHA represents over 40,000 hotels, serviced apartments, clubs, restaurants, food service, attractions and leisure companies. As the 'hub' for Hospitality and Tourism, the BHA's thought leadership, market know-how, intelligence and expertise, deliver a powerful voice to government, as well as reliable advice, valuable connections and strategic support to business. Our purpose is to work with government to ensure the right business environment in which Hospitality and Tourism can thrive. Our key measure of success is the creation of 300,000 new Hospitality and Tourism jobs in the UK by 2020.