20th December 2023

The hospitality sector is especially important to the county of Oxfordshire and in 2022 there was a big boost in the Hospitality and Visitor sector, with a total of 1,880 businesses in the mix. That's an 8% jump from 2017. Most of these businesses were on the smaller side, with thirty medium-sized ones and ten big players.

Now, when it comes to the people working in this industry, there was also an increase, hitting 27,500 jobs in 2022. That's 3% more than the count in 2017, which was 26,800. Despite this good news, there were some challenges, especially in finding and keeping staff, which made it tricky for the industry to grow even more. Fast forward to 2023, and most businesses in the sector are feeling pretty positive about the future. But, there's a catch – staffing issues are still hanging around. About 23% of businesses are doing things to tackle these challenges head-on like changing when they're open and even closing up shop during the middle of the week.
However, there's a concern that everyone isn't on the same page when it comes to dealing with these recruitment challenges. This lack of a united front makes fixing things in the industry a bit more complicated.

SKILLS NEEDED ACROSS THE SECTOR

Supervising staff and activities within hospitality businesses including bars, cafes, conference centres, restaurants, and hotels. 
Commis Chef, Chef de Partie, Maintenance Engineer, Managers and Groundskeepers.

CURRENT COURSES

Activate Learning - Oxford City and Banbury & Bicester

•    Foundation catering course
•    Professional Culinary Art BTEC diplomas: Level 1, 2, and 3
•    Professional Patisserie and Confectionary Level 2 (Oxford City only)

Oxford Brookes University:

•    Degrees in Events Management, Hospitality and International Tourism
Reading University
•    Food Business and Marketing

Apprenticeships:

There is a wide range of hospitality apprenticeships at all levels covering a range of occupational areas within the industry, including Hotel Management, Catering and Chef roles, Front of House Operations, Event Management and Travel and Tourism. Take a look at our portal section on apprenticeships for more information.

FUTURE PLANS 

A plan is in the works called the Hospitality Workforce Development Partnership (WDP), and it's all about achieving some great goals to foster stronger relationships between education providers and employers. The idea is for employers to better understand essential skills needed and for colleges to appreciate which sectors are the most important for the industry to grow.

To make all this happen, Education & Training Providers can use cash from the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF), Innovation Fund, or Skills Bootcamps. This money is a big deal and will help run programs like short, super useful courses. Right now, there's a bit of a hiccup with the T Level in Catering being delayed beyond 2024, but providers are on it. They're looking at what they're offering after you turn 16 (like BTECs), tweaking it to match what's needed most. It's all about making sure you get the skills you need for the real world!

Not in Oxfordshire?

Although this sector may not have been identified as a priority need in your county, there will still be many opportunities if this is something you would like to explore!

For more resources see our portal section:

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