IHG is proud to announce that it has joined Movement to Work, fortifying its commitment to providing work placements to young people from all walks of life keen to kick start a career in hospitality.

Movement to Work is a collaboration of UK employers that aims to tackle youth unemployment by providing work experience placements to young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs).

As part of Movement to Work, IHG will provide more than 50 placements per year to young people not in education, employment or training within its network of hotels across the UK. This collaboration forms part of the IHG® Academy, a programme whereby IHG hotels work with a variety of educational providers and community groups around the world to help local people build their hospitality skills and improve their employability.

Since its launch in 2006, the IHG Academy has trained more than 40,000 people globally across 60 countries in more than 800 hotels. In the UK alone, more than 300 people have participated in the programme since the start of the year, which has developed a pool of diverse, skilled, motivated and engaged people committed to providing a consistent level of service that guests expect when staying at an IHG hotel.

Vasi Nadarajah, Programme Director, Movement to Work commented: “At Movement to Work we believe in the power of meaningful work placements to transform the lives of unemployed young people in the UK. Our placements give young people the skills, confidence and experience they need to move towards employability, while meeting new people who may open doors to career opportunities. We’re immensely proud of our members’ contribution to our 64,000 placements to date and I look forward to our collaborative effotts with IHG in developing the talent pipeline in the hotel industry.”

Kate Gibson Vice President, Global Corporate Responsibility, IHG, commented: “We’re delighted to join Movement To Work, which gives us the opportunity to help more young people launch careers in hospitality. We’ve seen through the IHG Academy, how participants benefit from practical, on the job training in our hotels and look forward to seeing more young people get the all-important experience they need to kick-start their careers.”