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Leeds based charity, the Romero Group Charitable Trust, has announced a new grant giving campaign offering grants to entry-level hospitality workers across the UK.

Recognising the rising challenges facing hospitality venues including restaurants & bars with regard to staffing and recruitment, these grants have been designed to showcase how the industry is a viable long-term career prospect for people starting out in their career or retraining from another discipline.

Venues across the country are reporting staffing as one of the key challenges facing their operations with many operators seeing high staff turnover and difficulty in recruiting new staff. The Romero Group Charitable Trust is aiming to support these venues in demonstrating to entry-level staff that hospitality is not just a temporary or part-time opportunity, but an industry that can be the launchpad to a long-term, fulfilling, and sustainable career.

Following the restrictions and challenges placed upon hospitality throughout the pandemic, many employees saw hospitality as a potentially risky option for career progression as many were furloughed or let go.

However, the strong rebound of the industry in recent months and years following the pandemic has demonstrated the industry’s resilience and the opportunities this creates for staff across the industry.

Charity Trustee, Victoria Romero-Trigo commented:

“Hospitality is at the core of our society, with so many people living their lives through hospitality venues in some way. From casual after work drinks, to a coffee catch up with friends, to a celebratory dinner. Hospitality venues are essential to our way of life. We chose to launch this grant campaign because we recognised the challenges the industry was facing with staffing and wanted to do what we could to support the individuals, and independent venues striving to thrive and grow in an increasingly challenging environment.”

The charity has now launched applications, with nominations running until 30^th October 2023. These grants are targeted to support independent operators, who are encouraged to nominate a member of their staff to receive one of seven potential courses.

The courses available range from in-person training to online courses, allowing the charity to support staff wherever they’re based. The courses available are:

• WSET Level 1 Course (Provided by WSET London available as Day Release, Evening, Saturday or Online)
• WSET Level 2 Course (Provided by WSET London available as Day Release, Evening, Saturday or Online)
• Taste of Le Cordon Bleu Cuisine Workshop (In-person Class at Le Cordon Bleu London)
• Leith’s ‘Cooking with Confidence’ (Online Course)
• European Bartender School Basic Bartending Course (London)
• European Bartender School Essentials & Advanced Bartending Course (Online)
• Hospitality, Leisure Management with Travel & Tourism (Online)

Venues can apply now at https://romerogroupcharity.org.uk/.