Read: Guest blog from Donna Catley of Compass Group UK & Ireland

The pandemic hit the hospitality sector hard and while the recovery for hospitality remains fragile, the quality of the job remains key. If our industry wants to attract the best people with great potential we need to be reminding people of why hospitality is such a great place to work and grow a career.

As a business, one thing the pandemic allowed us to do was really focus on our purpose and desire for Compass Group UK & Ireland to be a company that people would be proud to work for. The last 20 months has been a whirlwind, but I believe we have reinforced our unwavering commitment for our people. Throughout the Covid crisis we continued to invest in apprenticeships and training, we signed up to the Government’s Kickstart scheme and used our apprenticeship levy to help smaller businesses fund crucial training for their staff. We became a recognised Living Wage service provider and launched ‘Career Pathways’, an action plan which shows all Compass employees a route of progression and development in their roles. Lastly, we announced the Compass Academy, a multi-million-pound investment to help address the skills crisis the hospitality industry faces. With the aim to train over 12,000 people a year, focusing on supporting young people in the most disadvantaged areas to get on that crucial first rung of the ladder.

As well as making industry leading commitments to support our people, we are also dedicated to becoming the most sustainable business possible. Earlier this year, Compass Group UK & Ireland pledged to reach climate Net Zero by 2030. We published our Climate Promise and Roadmap to Net Zero, which together provides more detail on our philosophies and milestones we will champion in this decade. These include promises such as a 40% switch from animal proteins by 2030, 50% reduction in food waste across its own operations by 2030 and 70% fresh meat, dairy and vegetables sourced from regenerative agriculture sources by 2030.

I am hugely proud of our frontline teams and all that they achieved to support the country as it has dealt with the pandemic – whether in a hospital, education, defence, workplace and more recently sports and hospitality settings, our people have gone above and beyond. As we rebuild, we need to be focused on every job being a good job and showcasing how hospitality can provide great career opportunities for anyone – regardless of background or education.  I can think of no greater example of levelling up.

Donna is Chief People Officer at Compass Group UK & Ireland