From seven partnerships to 23: scaling hospitality careers across Central London

11 Sep 2026

Hospitality Connect grew from seven Westminster hotel–school partnerships into a Central London programme involving 25 hotels and 23 schools, combining workplace encounters, vocational pathways and long-term relationships with the sector.

Hospitality employs around 9% of London’s workforce and contributes an estimated £22 billion to the capital each year. Yet many young people see only a small part of the sector and may not recognise the range of roles, skills and progression routes it offers.

Hospitality Connect began in spring 2024 with seven partnerships between Westminster schools and hotels from the W1 General Managers Association. The Central London Careers Hub worked with the association and Hospitality Connect to turn employer enthusiasm into a structured, long-term offer.

A second wave added nine partnerships that October. By June 2026, a third wave had extended the model across Central London and brought the programme to 23 school partnerships.

Matching hotels and schools for the long term

The W1 General Managers Association identified hotel ambassadors, while the Hub used curriculum and Gatsby Benchmark data to identify schools that could benefit. Ambassadors received joint training from Hospitality Connect and the Hub, joined as Enterprise Advisers, and completed the checks needed to work with learners.

Schools signed a memorandum of understanding committing to at least six activities over the academic year. Westminster Kingsway College added a clear vocational route, helping pupils connect encounters with post-16 hospitality education as well as employment.

Reach grew with the partnership

By the 2025/26 celebration, programme reporting recorded three waves involving 25 hotels and 23 schools. It logged 55 encounters reaching more than 809 students, alongside larger careers activities involving 6,147 students.

The partnership model created different levels of engagement: hotel visits, in-school activities, skills sessions, workplace experience and conversations about vocational pathways. Several students secured work experience, and two moved into employment in the sector. These are promising individual outcomes, although the programme is still building the consistent data needed to assess change across all participating schools.

Qualitative feedback shows why the workplace element matters. One school described pupils returning from a hotel visit ‘buzzing’, with new conversations about food, finance, customer service and the friendliness of staff, not simply the buildings they had seen.

Turning scale into sustained quality

The next phase is about consistency as well as growth. More regular direct contact with individual partnerships and centrally coordinated termly feedback will make it easier to identify where activity is thriving, where personnel have changed, and where support is needed.

A school Careers Adviser told a hotel partner: “For our students to see your world is truly life changing.”

The programme will continue to monitor Gatsby Benchmarks 5 and 6, hospitality’s position in Future Skills Questionnaire sector rankings, applications to relevant post-16 courses, and the number of pupils moving into work experience or employment.

Hospitality Connect shows what coordinated partnership can achieve: employers gain a sustained way to develop future talent, schools gain access to a diverse sector, and young people can move from a first encounter towards a credible education or employment pathway.