Run by People 1st and the National Skills Academy for Retail (NSAR) and now in its fourth year, the Independents’ Day campaign celebrates the contribution small businesses make to the UK and culminates on 4 July, when the public are encouraged to visit and buy from their local independent tourism and visitor economy businesses.

Paphitis has encouraged businesses to take part in the campaign, and stressed the importance of making sure staff are trained in advance.

He commented: “I would definitely encourage town centres to embrace Independents’ Day. Small and independent businesses are the lifeblood of the UK’s high streets and tourist hotspots, so making sure that they have the right skills for success is vital to the economy.

“Independents’ Day is a fantastic opportunity for small businesses to take the limelight, attract new customers and show off the unique offer that sets them apart. But it’s important that business owners are prepared to take advantage of this opportunity. That means making sure that their staff are trained to deliver excellent service, and that they themselves have the skills to promote their business and maximise sales.”

People 1st and NSAR are providing training support to businesses in the lead-up to this year’s Independents’ Day, with a particular focus on customer service skills through the WorldHost training programme, and online marketing skills through the Digital High Street Skills programme.

Retail businesses in England may also be eligible to take part in the Digital High Street Skills programme at a special subsidised rate until the end of July, thanks to funding support from the Employer Ownership Fund.*

In addition, independent newsagents, convenience stores and out of home operators can enter a competition by Independents’ Day sponsors, Mondelez International, to win one of 30 free places on the Digital High Street Skills programme.

Paphitis added: “The key to growing a small business is not to stand still. The most successful business owners are always looking to learn and develop both their own skills and those of their staff. I would urge small businesses to use the training that is on offer through the Independents’ Day campaign to ensure they really make the most of the celebrations on 4 July.”

Simon Tarr, managing director at People 1st said: “We’re delighted to have Theo’s support for the Independents’ Day campaign – as a successful entrepreneur he clearly understands what it takes for businesses to succeed and grow, and that skills and training is a critical ingredient. We want to ensure that small and independent businesses are able to benefit from improved sales not just on 4 July, but all year round – that’s why we making training such an important part of this year’s campaign.”

A large number of local businesses and towns have already confirmed their support for Independents’ Day and are currently finalising plans for events and activities that will take place on Friday 4 July. The campaign also has the support of 18 trade associations.**

More information on Independents’ Day, how businesses and other organisations can get involved and the training support on offer is available at http://www.indieday.co.uk

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* The Fund is accessible to all retail businesses with fewer than 250 employees in England and is available until the end of July 2014.

** Association of Cycle Traders; Association of Town and City Management; Act Smart; Beverage Standards Association; Bira; Booksellers Association; British Council of Shopping Centres; British Sandwich Association; Entertainment Retailers Association; the Guild of Fine Food; Horticultural Trades Association; the Hospitality Guild; Independent Retailers Confederation; National Association of Goldsmiths; National Federation of Meat and Food Traders; National Federation of Retail Newsagents; Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association; National Market Traders Federation.

Now in their 10th year, the Women 1st Shine Awards are the only awards that exclusively celebrate the achievements of women working in the hospitality, passenger transport, travel, tourism and retail industries, as well as the mentors and businesses in those industries that actively support the career development of women.

The categories for this year’s Women 1st Shine Awards are:

• Rising Star
• Stepping Up
• Outstanding Entrepreneur
• Mentor of the Year
• Woman of the Year
• Lifetime Achievement
• Small Business
• Large Business

The awards were launched last night (29 April 2014) at Women 1st networking event at The May Fair hotel in London. The event was hosted in partnership with Unilever Food Solutions, which is sponsoring the awards for the fourth year running.

Managing director of Unilever Food Solutions, Tracey Rogers, said: “As a company that invests heavily in the development of its female talent, we understand that having a good balance of men and women in senior positions makes good business sense.

“Awards like the Women 1st Shine Awards play a critical role in creating a momentum for change, helping to raise aspirations and highlighting good practice across the whole tourism and visitor economy. We’re delighted to be sponsoring the awards and I’d encourage as many businesses and individuals as possible to put themselves forward for recognition.“

Women 1st director, Simone Roche, said: “Running the Women 1st Shine Awards is always a hugely motivating and inspirational experience. Our research shows that women report a lack of visible role models as one of the biggest barriers to their career progress, and we’re passionate about changing that.

“Winning a Women 1st Shine Award is a brilliant way for women to raise their own profile and for businesses to shout about why they are a great employer for women. We’re looking forward to receiving this year’s nominations!”

Nominations for the Women 1st Shine Awards will close on 7 July and can be made at www.women1st.co.uk/awards. The awards are free to enter and the winners will be announced at a dinner at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square on 16 September.

The awards evening will also see Women 1st induct 10 more women into the prestigious Top 100 Club – a network of the most influential women in hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism, who act as ambassadors and role models for the female leaders of tomorrow. Current members include hotelier, Alex Polizzi; chef Angela Hartnett; CEO of EasyJet, Carolyn McCall OBEand director of performance for London Buses at Transport for London, Clare Kavanagh. Nominations for induction can be made at www.women1st.co.uk/top-100 and also close on 7 July.

The WorldHost customer service programme, which has already proved extremely successful across Northern Ireland’s tourism sector with over 11,000 people trained, is now being made available to businesses in the retail sector.

The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) has committed to fund the roll out of the programme across Northern Ireland, following research that shows:

• 75% of retailers identify poor customer service as the biggest cause for customers to walk away
• 78% of retailers that are struggling to find skilled staff say that it’s down to a lack of customer service skills among applicants
• 60% of retail businesses say that customer handling skills among sales and retail assistants needs to be improved

WorldHost training for retail businesses covers the key principles of customer service, from remembering names to communication and listening skills, with an additional focus on sales skills.

Roisin McKee, director of Northern Ireland for People 1st, said: “We are delighted that the Department for Employment and Learning has committed to fund the roll out of this programme to the retail sector. This will ensure a seamless, consistent level of excellent customer service across the whole of the tourism and visitor economy sector.”

Minister for Employment and Learning, Dr Stephen Farry, who visited home furnishing specialists, Wardens in Newtownards, one of the first retail businesses in Northern Ireland to achieve WorldHost Recognised Business status*, said: “This initiative endorses my Department’s commitment to retail as one of the priority sectors of the economy. The retail sector is extremely challenging and retailers need to train or upskill their staff to remain competitive. I commend the co-operation between my Department’s Skills Solutions Service and People 1st in bringing forward this innovative programme which demonstrates support for the sector and will have long term benefits for the local economy.”

Outlining the benefits of WorldHost training, Keith Irvine, General Manager of Wardens said, “Excellent customer service is at the heart of our retail offer. Putting our staff through specialist WorldHost training has enabled us to streamline our service approach and allowed staff members to share and discuss best practice in terms of customer interaction and sales approach. It has also been a huge motivational tool and ultimately has helped the store improve our bottom line performance.”

A network of trainers is now in place to deliver the training across Northern Ireland. Anyone working for a private sector or social economy retail organisation in Northern Ireland with fewer than 250 employees can currently take part in the training for just £20, rather than the full cost of £190, thanks to funding support from DEL.

To book a place, contact People 1st at worldhostretailni@people1st.co.uk or 028 9089 0313 or go to www.worldhostni.com for more information.

* Businesses that train 50% of their front line staff using any of the WorldHost programmes can apply to become a WorldHost Recognised Business – a national badge of excellence that allows them to display the WorldHost logo on their website and marketing materials, and receive a plaque to display in their business. Towns, cities and visitor destinations that train 25% of businesses to WorldHost Recognised Business standards can also apply to become WorldHost Recognised Destinations and build their profile as a visitor destination.

The pub chain is working with the People 1st Training Company, the company that launched WorldHost in the UK, to deliver the training. Over 1,700 members of staff have already been trained, while staff at all of Wetherspoon’s new openings will undertake the WorldHost programme as part of their mandatory pre-opening training.

Once 50 percent of staff have completed the training, JD Wetherspoon will receive WorldHost Recognised Business status – a nationally-recognised badge of customer service excellence awarded to companies that invest in their staff’s customer service skills.

There are currently over 900 WorldHost Recognised Businesses across the UK but, with such a large number of staff undertaking the training, JD Wetherspoon would become the biggest organisation to achieve the award to date.

Sarah Williamson, senior recruitment and training manager for JD Wetherspoon, said: “For many of our customers, we are more than just a pub. We are their community; somewhere that they feel comfortable and ‘at home.’ We don’t want to just meet their expectations, we want to exceed them and we hope the WorldHost training will enable our pub teams to go the extra mile.

“As a business, we recognise that customer service is ‘a people thing’ and that includes our employees as well as our customers. We’ve worked closely with the People 1st Training Company in the past so, after WorldHost training had such great feedback following the Olympics, it was an easy decision to continue to work together. And of course, we’d love to be able to say that we’re the UK’s largest WorldHost Recognised Business!”

Sharon Glancy, managing director of the People 1st Training Company, added: “We are delighted to be working with JD Wetherspoon on its mission to become the UK’s biggest WorldHost business. Customer service remains a major challenge for hospitality businesses – almost two-thirds (61%) say that customer handling skills need improving in their workforce. At the same time, customers are becoming ever more aware of where they spend their money, so service is now a major differentiator among businesses. It’s great to be working with a major chain that is striving to exceed customer expectations.”

WorldHost training has been used to train over a million people worldwide, and covers topics including good communication techniques, listening skills, empathising with customers and making an excellent first impression.

For more information, visit www.worldhost.uk.com

Since People 1st launched the accreditation scheme a year ago in association with the Hospitality Guild, 16 leading hospitality colleges have become accredited, reporting benefits including increased revenue and higher quality applicants for courses. Four more colleges are also currently undergoing the accreditation process.

The scheme has been set up by skills and workforce development charity, People 1st, and promotes quality training to encourage more people to work in the industry. It also helps colleges benchmark themselves and identify opportunities for future growth.

Having been involved since its inception, New College Nottingham has recently reviewed the impact that the accreditation model has had on its business.

Dawn Whitemore, principal at the college, said accreditation has helped them target new commercial opportunities:

“Taking on board the feedback from the accreditation process and really exploring the potential of our restaurant has combined to generate a huge increase in our commercial activity.”

“This is great from a financial point of view, but also means that our students are being exposed to a far wider range of people and getting a much broader experience because we’ve developed improved community links.”

People 1st’s partnership with AA Hotel Services and the development of the AA College Rosette has also proven popular as these awards reflect industry standards in colleges’ realistic working environments.

New College Nottingham achieved an AA College Rosette Scheme for The Adams Restaurant and Brasserie, giving it an additional opportunity to showcase to employers how their teaching translates into practice:

“We’ve used our accredited status to help open doors when it comes to working with employers. Because our accredited status means the industry recognises that we train students in the skills employers need, we’ve been able to increase the number of employers we work with by 100 percent since we became accredited.

“What is more we have seen a significant increase in both the number and quality of students applying to study with us.”

Martine Pullen, director of operations at People 1st, said the success of the accreditation scheme is a reflection of the industry’s drive to fulfil its potential:

“When we launched the scheme we knew it was what the industry wanted and needed to show the great training and opportunities it offers new and existing staff. However, the results have exceeded our expectations.

“In this current climate, asking colleges to invest in a scheme like this can seem challenging, but the benefits of opening up to new commercial opportunities, attracting high-quality students and forging strong relationships with employers are things that cannot be ignored.

“We are thrilled by the results so far and we’re looking forward to delivering even more benefits to accredited organisations in the future.”

A complete case study on the impact that accreditation has had on New College Nottingham and further information on the scheme can be found on the Hospitality Guild website.

Now in its fourth year, the campaign celebrates the contribution independent businesses make to the UK and culminates on 4 July when the public are encouraged to make use of independent businesses within the tourism and visitor economy sectors.

Last year thousands of businesses in over 150 locations across the UK took part, with activities such as street festivals and special promotions to mark the day.

This year 18 trade associations* are supporting the campaign, which aims to support small businesses in developing their online skills through the new Digital High Street Skills programme, with a package of support available to destinations across the UK.

Jane Rexworthy, executive director of strategic partnerships for People 1st said, “We are delighted to be launching this year’s Independents’ Day campaign which celebrates independent businesses across the UK and encourages the public to support their small businesses on 4 July. The campaign has gained considerable momentum over the last four years and we are certain that this year’s campaign will be the most successful yet.

“We are calling on destinations across the UK to support small businesses in their areas and celebrate the valuable contribution they make to the local economy on 4 July.”

Over the next three months, businesses will be encouraged to download supporting materials from www.indieday.co.uk to join forces with other SMEs, town centre teams and local skills shops, and to communicate to customers the town-wide activities, which will help drive footfall into locations and the small businesses within them.

Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock said: “Independents’ Day is a great opportunity for people to show their support for small businesses – the lifeblood of our economy. It is part of the Government’s long term economic plan to ensure that small businesses have the right environment to grow.

“The Digital High Street programme, launched this year, will help businesses take advantage of increasing opportunities online and the new markets that will open up.”

The Independents’ Day campaign is sponsored by Mondelez International.

*Association of Cycle Traders; Association of Town and City Management; Act Smart; Beverage Standards Association; Bira; Booksellers Association; British Council of Shopping Centres; British Sandwich Association; Entertainment Retailers Association; the Guild of Fine Food; Horticultural Trades Association; the Hospitality Guild; Independent Retailers Confederation; National Association of Goldsmiths; National Federation of Meat and Food Traders; National Federation of Retail Newsagents; Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association; National Market Traders Federation.

This is all part of a brand new initiative by Arkell’s to boost the levels of customer service offered across is estate of pubs. Run by AA Hotel Services in conjunction with People 1st Training Company, the WorldHost customer service training programme was used to train thousands of staff and volunteers for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics. Now, Arkell’s is offering the training programme to all its managed houses and tenants pubs.

The AA Inspectors, Garry Baldwin and Stephen Wilkinson, spent time with the first Arkell’s group going through key customer service skills. Garry said: “You can’t teach hospitality, either you’ve got it or you haven’t. What we are doing is fine tuning skills and giving everyone practical advice, tips and hints to make sure that customers are treated well and considerately at all times.”

Garry and Stephen have both experienced poor customer service in their jobs. Garry explained: “I remember two members of a hotel reception complaining that their boss had told them not to ignore guests. Sadly they were completely ignoring me as I waiting to be served. They obviously hadn’t been on our customer service course!” Stephen added: “Every guest is different so staff must be always alert to different needs and requirements.”

Brewery director, George Arkell, said: “Good customer service is an important element for pubs. A hearty welcome will keep customers coming back and that’s what we are trying to encourage across our estate of pubs.”

Sharon Glancy, managing director of the People 1st Training Company, added: “Customer service is a big challenge for UK businesses. Almost two-thirds of hospitality businesses say that their staff’s customer handling skills need improving and that’s why we brought WorldHost training to the UK. It’s great to see Arkell’s going the extra mile to invest in their staff’s service skills – customers will be sure to notice the warm welcome they receive!”

The comments back up a statement issued by chief people officer for McDonald’s Europe, David Fairhurst, earlier this week.

Fairhurst urged UK businesses to focus on getting more young people into work, offer opportunities to older workers, and invest in training and development for their people, or risk faltering economic growth, after European Commission figures indicated that the European workforce will begin to shrink by approximately 0.5 percent per year from 2021 onwards.

Simone Roche, director of Women 1st, agreed with Fairhurst’s comments and said it’s particularly important that the hospitality industry focuses on attracting and retaining more women.

She commented: “In hospitality in particular, we know that attracting and retaining women can make a huge difference to the workforce challenges we face.

“Our research shows that 310,000 women leave the hospitality industry each year. If they stayed, it would save the industry approximately £2.8bn in replacement recruitment and training, and there’s no doubt that it would go a long way towards addressing this rapidly approaching ‘workforce cliff’.”

Simone said that there are a number of practical actions businesses can take to help stem the flow of women leaving the workforce.

“One of the biggest barriers for women is the difficulty in balancing work with caring responsibilities, so offering flexible working options can have a huge impact. Lack of visible female role models is another barrier, so running mentoring schemes with senior women can be a brilliant way to make sure women feel supported and aspire to stay in our industry.

“Training is also critical for both men and women. When people feel valued and their skills are being invested in, they are less likely to leave.

“McDonald’s itself is a fantastic example of a company investing in developing its women – and its solutions work. Jill McDonald, president of McDonald’s Europe’s North West division, spoke at our annual Women 1st conference in 2012 and said the company had seen a 36 percent increase in women working in senior management positions after implementing networking and training programmes for female staff.

“By following McDonald’s example, other businesses can put themselves in the best position for growth in the future.”

To help businesses that want to retain and develop women, Women 1st has published a book that includes practical tips, guidance and case studies from leading global brands. The Little Book of Diversity – A Practical Guide to Supporting Women in the Workplace can be purchased at www.women1st.co.uk/lbd

The Centres of Excellence are recognised for the high standard of training delivery in this specialist area and their commitment to ensuring learners gain the skills they need to enter the industry.

Colleges can use their new Centres of Excellence status to demonstrate to employers needing to recruit and develop skilled patisserie and confectionery chefs that they have the facilities to help meet their business needs through clear development pathways and direct links that they have to industry.

The new Centres of Excellence in Patisserie and Confectionery are:

• Bournemouth and Poole College (also Gold accredited and Centre of Excellence for Food and Beverage Service)
• University College Birmingham (also Gold accredited, Centre of Excellence for Food and Beverage Service and Centre of Excellence for Asian and Oriental Cuisine)

Speaking about the Centres of Excellence, Annette Allmark, director of strategic policy at People 1st said: “We know that there are some fantastic colleges and providers out there delivering education in patisserie and confectionery to the next generation of professionals and it is vital that we recognise this in order to raise professional standards across this vibrant and exciting culinary discipline. Employers have found it increasingly difficult to employ patisserie and confectionary chefs and the Centres of Excellence will promote the excellent routes into this profession and develop highly skilled work ready employees to fulfil employers’ recruitment needs”

Sophie Roberts-Brown, operations director of the Hospitality Guild, added “The aim of the Guild is to improve professional development across the industry and recognising excellence in education is a major part of that. We believe passionately that it is vital that students, parents and employers know where an education can be found which will exceed their expectations and this will lead to motivated, excellent staff in years to come.”

For more information contact accreditation@people1st.co.uk

Hilton Worldwide will lead the employer trailblazer group, which includes a wide range of other leading hospitality and tourism organisations, to develop new apprenticeship standards for two roles in the sector, professional chefs and hospitality and tourism supervisors and managers, with support from People 1st.

While work will begin immediately and the new standards will be available from this summer to allow employers time to prepare for the changes, the new apprenticeships will not become the industry standard until 2017/2018.

Ben Bengougam, Vice President Human Resources EMEA, Hilton Worldwide, said that his organisation was keen to work with the trailblazer group and represent the industry to ensure that future apprenticeships gave the industry the skills that it needed.

“Hilton Worldwide employs hundreds of apprentices each year, so we were keen to take a leading role in the development of the new standards whilst showcasing what a thriving industry we are part of and the fantastic career opportunities available. That’s one of the reasons we’ve chosen to work with People 1st as employers – they understand what employers need and have the technical expertise to do the work, but they are also dedicated to promoting the industry as a great place to work”

To coincide with the announcement about the hospitality and tourism trailblazer status, People 1st has also released a practical guide to the apprenticeship reforms in England.

Martin-Christian Kent, research and policy director at People 1st, said that with the government’s recognition of the hospitality and tourism industry in the latest round of trailblazers, the guide was timely.

“The government clearly recognises that our industry plays a huge role in the UK economy and has made hospitality and tourism a trailblazer industry, so we’re keen to make sure everyone is clear about the potential implications of changes to the apprenticeship system.

“We’ve spoken to a lot of employers over the past couple of years while the consultations took place and got their opinions of how things should change, so we’re clear where the concerns are and what areas employers are going to need to look at in future.

“We can help employers prepare, but they have time to do this – the world of apprenticeships is not going to change overnight. This report outlines the process and when it will start, and guide them through what they need to consider.”

People 1st has developed an infographic with key information about apprenticeships that can be used alongside the full report, and can be downloaded here.