4C Associates partners with non-profit Springboard
As the hospitality industry struggles to recruit in the post-pandemic labour market, training group Springboard is looking to give disadvantaged students across Britain the skills needed to enter the leisure and tourism sector. Transformation consultancy 4C Associates has partnered with the company to support these efforts, becoming a corporate patron.
After a period in which their work – and their willingness to make sacrifices – have been shown so overtly to be crucial for the success of their employers, many workers are now substantially less willing to settle for ‘business as usual.’ This has resulted in the ‘Great Resignation’, and job vacancies in the UK are at record high, while 63% of mid-sized businesses are experiencing unusually high attrition rates.
The hospitality sector in particular is struggling to recruit and retain staff, and this is having a notable impact on businesses in the sector as they struggle to recover from a difficult two years. In this context, it is especially important that a new pipeline of future talent is secured for the leisure industry.
Founded in 1990 to support the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry, Springboard is a charity which helps people of all ages and backgrounds to build their careers in hospitality. To facilitate this, Springboard provides employability training and education programmes, as well as careers resources and advice, working with schools, colleges, and universities to help students gain key industry insight and skills development required for the transition from education to employment.
Between 2020 and 2021, Springboard engaged over 27,000 pupils through their careers and education programmes, across 420 schools, colleges, and universities.
4C Associates
As the charity looks to build on this momentum, it has secured the help a new corporate patron, in the form of 4C Associates.
“This is the most crucial time to support the industry and make an impactful change, working in solidarity to get businesses back on their feet and help the 2.9 million people who have been made unemployed or furloughed as a result of Covid-19,” commented Kirsty Linton, Business Development Manager at Springboard.
One of Europe’s largest procurement and supply chain transformation consultancies, the firm will join the charity to help to make a difference in the industry. The London-headquartered consulting firm supports clients in the hospitality and leisure sector to optimise their supply chains, something which aligns with the goals of Springboard.
“I’m proud that we are able to use our expertise and skillset to support the industry that’s been hit by events of the past few years and future proof the hospitality talent pipeline”, said Gavin Bowen-Ashwin, Managing Partner and Head of Hospitality at 4C Associates. “We are looking forward to establishing a long-term partnership with Springboard and hope to make a positive impact on the industry through our joint efforts.”
Founded in 2000, 4C Associates today has over 100 consultants working from offices in the UK and the Netherlands. The firm has previous experience when it comes to training customer-facing commerce. Since 2019, the consultancy has been an approved Grocery Supply Code of Practice training provider, to the UK grocery trade sector.
