Recent research suggests that a high number of graduates in the UK are unhappy with the amount of responsibility given to them in their first job.
A poll by UKSP, a careers website specialising in hotel recruitment, revealed that 36% of those who have graduated in the last five years were "disappointed" with the low levels of responsibility that they were given in their first job. This has led to widespread dissatisfaction, with 45% of recent graduates believing that "they could have progressed quicker in their chosen career if given the right opportunities."
Additionally, 45% said that they were now wondering if they were "in the right job," as a result of this lack of responsibility. One in five, meanwhile, feel they haven't been given the "right opportunities" to take on responsibility in their job.
Culinary school grads might find working at a hotel restaurant a better alternative
As UKSP points out, a career in hospitality may be the answer for many disillusioned graduates, allowing them to take on responsibility at an early stage of their career. "At a time of high graduate unemployment, it's disappointing to also see that many employers are not making the most of the graduates they do take on," said Lesley Potter of UKSP.
But she says the hospitality sector is attractive to graduates: "For young people currently considering career options… managers in the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries are often younger than average… There's a wealth of opportunity – both at graduate and non-graduate level – within the sector for those who want to experience managing a business at an early age."
For example, entry-level sommelier jobs could lead to a head sommelier position quite fast – as our interview with Lia Poveda of the Milestone Hotel revealed.
Hotel boom provides extra opportunities for young people
The current growth of the hospitality sector means that the number of available opportunities can only increase.
People 1st's "State of the Nation Report 2011″ estimates that there will be an extra 69,000 managerial jobs in the sector by 2017 across the UK.
As we reported here on London Hotels Insight back in September, London's booming boutique hotel sector is a particularly promising and exciting area for graduates to enter, with plenty of new hotels set to open in the next 12 months alone.
Staff at Hotel 41 - the boutique hotel industry is especially rewarding for those who want to feel at home at work and have a fast tract to a management position.
In April we reported that Travelodge is creating a host of new management opportunities for young people in the budget hotel sector, with the launch of their Junior Management Programme, aimed at school leavers. In a sign of the company's commitment to offering responsibility to young people, CEO Guy Parsons said that, "I am aiming that forty to fifty percent of our new hotels will be managed by our Travelodge apprentices by 2015".
These are just a few examples of how young people seeking jobs with responsibility can find what they are looking for in hotel jobs, at a time when ideal paid positions are few and far between.
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Photo credits: trazomfreak www.flickr.com/photos/trazomfreak/4630295835, Mike Saechang www.flickr.com/photos/saechang/3823440620 , Red Carnation Hotel Collection.
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