Supplying skills for the local visitor economy - Report

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Supplying skills for the local visitor economy - Report
Supplying skills
for the local
visitor economy

Report
           Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   1
Work local
HELPING PEOPLE AND PLACES THRIVE

     Work Local is the LGA’s positive
        vision for an integrated and
         devolved employment and
     skills service – bringing together
    information, advice and guidance
 alongside the delivery of employment,
     skills, apprenticeships and wider
 support for individuals and employers.

www.local.gov.uk/worklocal | #worklocal
Contents

Introduction                                                                                   4

The national picture                                                                           6

Work Local – a new approach to delivering skills                                               8

Key findings                                                                                   9

  1. Challenges in developing a strategic response                                             9
  2. Recruitment and retention issues                                                         10
  3. Learning and skills development                                                          11
  4. The importance of place                                                                  12

Recommendations                                                                               14

The case studies                                                                              17

                                             Supplying skills for the local visitor economy    3
Introduction

The tourism and hospitality industry in the                    In terms of leading and creating the
UK is an important driver of economic growth,                  conditions for the visitor economy to thrive,
employing over 3.2 million people nationally,                  local leaders and council members play a
with the potential of creating a further                       crucial role. The employment and skills of the
500,000 new jobs by 2021. At the same                          local workforce are central to growth and local
time the sector has the highest proportion                     authorities recognise that, as drivers of local
of hard-to-fill vacancies, and greater growth                  economic growth, they need to ensure that
in the number of monthly job postings, than                    their economies have a motivated, flexible,
any other sector of the economy.                               and skilled workforce which retains and
                                                               attracts employers and boosts productivity.
The Local Government Association (LGA)                         With the additional current uncertainty of
commissioned Rubicon Regeneration and                          Brexit, there is a need for a skills system
Red Box Research to show how local leaders                     which can quickly and easily identify and
can support this visitor economy to develop                    address skills gaps and shortages; one in
a pipeline of skills through a collaborative                   which industries and localities are involved
vision for an integrated, effective and locally                in determining the type and timing of skills
responsive employment and skills system                        provision.
that can meet the labour market and skills
challenges of the future – a ‘Work Local’                      The recent publication, ‘The future of
approach. Based on a set of six case studies                   seaside towns’, by the House of Lords Select
from across England1, the research findings                    Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns
highlight the significant challenges the sector                and Communities2 adds weight to the case
faces in retaining its competitive edge in                     for localism stating that, ‘For the most part,
terms of productivity, recruitment and skills.                 we want to avoid top down solutions imposed
                                                               from Whitehall and afar. We argue that those
Conducted during the start of 2019, it is                      best placed to build the seaside towns of the
clear from the research that current skills                    future are local people. They represent the
difficulties are being exacerbated by two main                 seaside’s best hope’.
factors – the possible impacts of leaving the
EU and a demographic downturn in young                         In the following sections, we draw together
people – the latter particularly affecting rural               the outcomes of wide-ranging consultations
areas. Employers explained that even with the                  with employers, representatives of the
current open access to the EU labour market,                   destination management organisations,
the tourism and hospitality sector faces a                     local government officers/members, training
challenge in recruiting enough workers to                      providers and other relevant stakeholders
meet its needs.                                                in each of the six case study areas.

1   Blackpool, Brighton and Hove, Cambridge, Cornwall, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Scarborough
2   House of Lords Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities (March 2019) ‘The future of seaside
    towns’

4       Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
Discussions were also held with the
Department of Culture, Media and Sport,
UK Hospitality, the Tourism Alliance and
the British Beer and Pub Association. This
primary research has been supplemented by
a wealth of national and regional intelligence.
Together, these different sources have
enabled us to provide a rounded picture
of the common issues facing the sector,
individual local approaches to tackling those
issues and the potential for Work Local
principles to be applied at a sectoral level.

Acknowledgements
We are grateful for the contributions to this research from local government, destination
management organisations, representative bodies, employers and other stakeholders in each
of the case study areas as well as representatives from the Department of Culture, Media
and Sport, UK Hospitality, the Tourism Alliance and the British Beer and Pub Association.

                                                  Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   5
The national picture

Setting the scene                                        • brings in £22.5 billion spent by overseas
                                                           visitors annually
Hospitality and tourism are core and vital               • generates c.£7 billion tax to HMRC from
sectors within the British economy, accounting             international visitors.
for 9.6 per cent of all employment and 9 per
cent of GDP. Tourism exports more than the               Of course, there is considerable overlap
insurance sector and is growing faster than              between the tourism and hospitality industries
the digital sector. Latest data3 suggests that           as shown in the figure below. One of the
the sector:                                              challenges this poses for the sector is that its
                                                         disparate make up means that central and
• provides 3.1 million jobs across the UK                local government can often fail to recognise
• generates £126.9 billion and 9 per cent                that the sector is the fourth largest employer
  of UK GDP annually                                     in the country. Addressing this perception
                                                         and acknowledging its role in providing a vast
                                                         range of jobs would, in itself, be a significant
                                                         step forward.
3   Tourism Sector Deal Bid document

Figure 1. Mapping of tourism and hospitality industries

                                                                                     Ho
               i   sm
                                                                                            sp
       ur

                                               Hotels and
    To

                                                                                            it a

                                             accommodation
                                                                                               li t y

                                            Holiday and short           Licensed clubs
               Travel agency              stay accommodation               Takeaway
                 and other                  Camping grounds               food shops
            reservation activities       Other accommodation             Event catering
              Cultural activities              Restaurants                 activities
               Sporting and                 Beverage serving           In-house catering
            recreation activities              activities                 Other food
                                             Convention and            service activities
                                               trade show
                                               organisers

6       Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
Every council has a tourism economy, and                             Brexit and shortages of EU workers
in recent years, tourism beyond London has                           Against this backdrop, the possible loss
been growing year-on-year at a faster rate                           of recruits from the EU could have serious
than in the capital.                                                 consequences for the sector. Oxford
                                                                     University’s Migration Observatory has
2017 was a record-breaking year for the UK’s
                                                                     calculated that 96 per cent of the EU
hospitality and tourism sector4 with growth
                                                                     nationals working in hospitality would not be
in both domestic tourist expenditure and
                                                                     able to work in the UK under the existing rules
international visitors. UK holidays enjoyed
                                                                     for non-EU nationals. According to People
record trading, underpinned by the boom
                                                                     1st, across hospitality and tourism almost
in overseas leisure travel and the growth of
                                                                     1 in 4 (24 per cent) of the workforce is made
staycations. According to VisitBritain, growth
                                                                     up of non-British nationals, with the majority
in spending was the highest since 2013 and
                                                                     of these coming from outside of the EU.
the second highest since 2006.
                                                                     Recruitment and perceptions of the sector
Research published by the British Hospitality
                                                                     Research carried out by Amaris Hospitality7,
Association (BHA)5 and based upon growth                             draws insights gathered from research
in recent years (2014 – 2016) shows that the
                                                                     undertaken with leading hospitality experts.
sector has the potential to create a further
                                                                     More than half of them felt that ’outdated
500,000 new jobs by 2021. This of course,
                                                                     perceptions’ were preventing people in the UK
puts a premium on labour supply and skills.
                                                                     from viewing hospitality as a worthwhile career.
Indeed, UK Hospitality has identified the
                                                                     The roles that do exist are perceived as having
workforce as the biggest uncertainty in the
                                                                     long hours, poor pay and prospects.
future. It points to ‘an unprecedented range
of factors combining to create this sense of
the unknown – Brexit, the cost of employment,
technological advances, education and
                                                                     The productivity challenge
training changes and much more. The                                  While the tourism industry represents 10
workforce of the future is going to look very                        per cent of all businesses in the UK and 9.5
different to how it does today – as all these                        per cent of the UK workforce, the overriding
issues intertwine over time’.                                        characteristic of the sector is that it is
                                                                     composed largely of very small businesses.
Nationally, a number of skills challenges
                                                                     Work by the UK Commission for Employment
have been identified:
                                                                     and Skills shows that of the 180,000 domestic
Staff retention: employee turnover                                   tourism businesses in the UK, over 70 per
and churn                                                            cent are microbusinesses and a further
Gross labour turnover is estimated at around                         25 per cent are small and medium-sized
30 per cent per year. With unemployment                              enterprises (SMEs). In turn, these small
at a 40 year low of 4.4 per cent and the                             businesses are less likely to engage in
employment rate at an all-time high of 75.1                          training. This lack of capacity to retrain
per cent, competition for labour is intense.                         in order to attract new customers, together
Businesses are finding it increasingly difficult                     with a wish for stability rather than growth, lie
to fill open and new positions, especially roles                     behind the productivity problem in the sector.
for chefs, kitchen porters, sommeliers and
housekeeping.6 The sector is characterised by
low wages and a fairly flat employment structure
which can make career progression difficult.

4   ‘Destination UK Driving growth in the UK hospitality and leisure sector’, Barclays
5   ‘The Hospitality Workforce Today’, A report by Ignite Economics and published by the British Hospitality Association (BHA)
6   UK Hospitality Workforce Commission 2030
7   ‘Driving UK Tourism: Sustaining growth in 2017 and beyond’, Amaris Hospitality

                                                                     Supplying skills for the local visitor economy              7
Work Local – a new
approach to delivering skills

The Post 16 Skills Plan 20168 acknowledged                        wanted to seize the benefits which devolution
that ‘reforming the skills system is one of                       could bring and there was strong support for
the most important challenges we face as a                        devolved funding and local commissioning on
country. Getting it right is crucial to our future                the grounds that public funds would be better
prosperity, and to the life chances of millions                   aligned with the needs of employers, the local
of people’.                                                       economy, and local people. However Work
                                                                  Local is not just about joining-up budgets,
Against this backdrop, the LGA has worked                         it is also about joining-up services to deliver
with local councils to set out a vision for an                    a more coherent and personalised service
integrated, effective and locally responsive                      to communities – rooted in place – so that
employment and skills system that can meet                        local areas lead in defining, designing and
the labour market and skills challenges of                        delivering the skills services require. In this
the future – a ‘Work Local’ approach. The                         ‘one stop’ service, skills and employment are
context for its work is the UK’s centralised                      driven by local needs and opportunities with
employment and skills system, which with                          the aim of delivering better outcomes at
its top-down approach offers little, if any,                      a lower cost and better aligning the needs
local flexibility even in devolved areas. The                     of employers and learners.
system is fragmented, with seventeen funding
streams managed by eight departments or                           This Work Local approach is only practical
agencies responsible for expenditure of more                      within a common national framework for the
than £10 billion a year.9 Characterised by                        devolution of strategy, financing and delivery
constant change, since the early 1980s there                      with local flexibility and where partnerships
have been:                                                        and devolved skills decision-making is a norm.

• 28 major pieces of legislation related to                       As part of this research our brief was to
  vocational, further education and skills                        explore whether Work Local principles could
  training                                                        be applied to a sector-based approach to
                                                                  skills development. The following sections
• six different ministerial departments
                                                                  set out our key findings.
  with overall responsibility for education
• 48 Secretaries of State with relevant
  responsibilities.

The underpinning research which made the
case for change to a Work Local approach
showed a system in which national agencies
and programmes were insufficiently
responsive to the needs of local economies
and demonstrated insufficient/ineffective
partnership working. To this end, councils

8   Post-16 Skills Plan, BIS, DoE July 2016
9   LGA/Learning and Work Institute (2017) ‘Work Local: Our Vision for an integrated and devolved employment and skills service’

8       Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
Key findings

Although the case study areas were identified       Scarborough is still delivered as an in-house
by the LGA to reflect structural difference and     council-service.
geographies (metropolitan, urban, rural), this
section summarises the core common themes           As a non-statutory service, tourism and
and issues coming out of the research.              economic development has been subject
                                                    to significant financial cuts, which in many
                                                    cases has been the driver for contracted-
1. Challenges in                                    out destination management models. This leads
                                                    to a lack of capacity and resources to support
developing a strategic                              the growth and development of the sector.
response                                            Where there is no tourism officer but just a
Limited local data and evidence                     destination management organisation (which
The areas were identified because of the            in itself does not have a remit for skills) there
importance of tourism and hospitality as            is a gap in the leadership of the skills agenda
a driver of local/regional growth. However,         in the sector and no real driver for change. In
there is a lack of quantitative and qualitative     turn, the lack of data and intelligence on sector
data and intelligence regarding the sector          needs means that it is difficult to make the
at a local level, particularly with regards to      case to invest limited resources in this area.
employment and skills. Much of the available        Tendency for local employment and skills
information is anecdotal. The lack of data and      plans to focus on ‘bright new sectors’
intelligence means that the industry’s needs        All the local authorities had developed local
are not fed through to strategy. Furthermore,       employment and skills plans to support
standard industrial classifications split the       local employment provision and enable
tourism and hospitality sector into small sub-      local residents’ to access better quality jobs
sectors, which understates the collective ‘clout’   within their locality. Many of these plans
of the ‘visitor economy’. The loss of regional      were developed in advance of the formation
information from Visit England further reduces      of the local enterprise partnerships (LEP’s)
the intelligence available to local areas.          Employment and Skills Boards. Despite
Local leaders hope that the delivery                the importance of the sector to the local
of a Tourism Sector Deal will help address          economy, it was interesting to note that the
these deficiencies and make the case for            majority of plans prepared by LEPs and local
prioritising the sector in local economies.         authorities excluded any reference to tourism
                                                    and hospitality as a sector worthy of support,
Lack of capacity and resources                      eg Cornwall and Scarborough. There was a
The research has highlighted the different          universal focus on identifying and supporting
models in place at a local level to support         niche areas of competitive advantage.
destination development and marketing.
For example, Visit Cornwall operates as             Given the importance of tourism and
a community interest company with no                hospitality as a foundation sector, its ability
financial support from the council; whereas         to create new jobs relatively quickly which
                                                    provide accessible opportunities for the

                                                    Supplying skills for the local visitor economy    9
whole community, together with its projected           Lack of a consistent local sector
growth over the next 5-10 years, more weight           voice on skills
needs to be given to the strategic value of            Businesses recognise the support and
the sector within local employment and skills          assistance available but the research
plans. The potential for even small productivity       highlighted a lack of a consistent single
gains across such a labour-intensive sector            voice to champion the sector and change
has potential to have a significant beneficial         attitudes to jobs and careers within tourism
impact on the UK’s overall productivity.               and hospitality. This is particularly the case
                                                       in areas which have a higher proportion of
Importance of strong partnerships
                                                       small and medium sized enterprises and
There is a need for strong and effective
                                                       self-employed business owners. These
sectoral partnerships involving a wide range
                                                       businesses tend to be the ones that most
of stakeholders including local government,
                                                       need help and support, but because of cost
training providers and employers with strong
                                                       implications, are least able to engage in skills
local leadership. There is a need to build trust
                                                       and training.
to create the right environment to explore
new ways of working and joint ambitions                The lack of any clear employer voice means
and with the necessary connections                     that in many areas there is little coordination
in place to influence strategy development.            or collaboration between employers and
                                                       providers over skills provision. Whilst there
At the heart of this is the need to raise the
                                                       may be a will for collaboration there is no
attractiveness of the sector to new entrants
                                                       clear impetus from either side or appetite to
and to embed tourism-related learning into the
                                                       take the lead/champion the sector and this is
curriculum. Critically, employers need to take
                                                       where the support from local leaders would
the lead to make the sector more attractive.
                                                       help empower the main players and bring the
                                                       right people together.

2. Recruitment and                                     Local areas with a strong tourism and
retention issues                                       hospitality sector will need to provide clear,
                                                       consistent leadership and close alignment
‘Hard-to-fill’ posts                                   with industry priorities to fully benefit from
Throughout all the case study areas,                   the final UK tourism sector deal.
recruitment difficulties were widely reported
                                                       Impact of Brexit
for chefs and all food-related activities, with
                                                       Discussions with stakeholders and industry
other difficulties reported in housekeeping,
                                                       representatives confirm real concerns about
project management, front-of-house and
                                                       Brexit, which would limit significantly the
sales skills. There are concerns about filling
                                                       number of EU workers coming to work in
immediate front-line vacancies in areas such
                                                       the sector. For example, as many as 80-90
as housekeeping and bar-work with a worry
                                                       per cent of staff at the Grand Hotel Brighton
that this situation will be exacerbated by
                                                       are foreign nationals, although this figure
Brexit. One issue highlighted by Visit Cornwall
                                                       has declined over the last 12-18 months.
was the increasing need for individuals to
                                                       Fluctuations in exchange rates and Brexit
have multiple skills sets to meet the needs
                                                       means the number of EU workers is already
of businesses, especially small businesses.
                                                       declining and the industry is concerned
Digital skills are increasingly needed across
                                                       about future recruitment. The high number
the sector.
                                                       of independent tourism and hospitality
                                                       businesses are the most vulnerable to
                                                       challenges arising from the EU exit.

10    Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
The level of uncertainty and scale of the          Frameworks/standards were said to be too
challenge seems to be bigger in the south          narrowly defined and there is a need for more
of England and larger metropolitan/urban           bespoke programmes, eg instead of being
areas mainly due to the high volume of hotels,     purely focused on customer service skills
bars and restaurants.                              employers would prefer individuals with
                                                   more rounded skillsets.
Despite the impact of changes to freedom
of movement and labour shortage, there             There is a stigma around apprenticeships
seems to be a lack of coordinated actions          – even at a higher-level people were said
being undertaken to attract and recruit new        to prefer an academic degree than a degree
home-grown talent.                                 apprentice. In areas where the workforce
                                                   is well qualified, such asCambridge,
Work environment needs to evolve to
                                                   apprenticeships are seen as a programme for
better engage with potential ‘millennial’
                                                   poorly qualified young people who are unable
recruits
                                                   to pursue an academic pathway/cannot get a
Industry is well aware of the impact of labour
                                                   job. Many people in the industry are not there
shortages caused by high employment rates,
                                                   for a career so have no interest in undertaking
changes in the population structure and a
                                                   12-18 months training.
more restrictive immigration policy. For most
external vacancies, the feeling from local         The image of the sector
employers is that the issue is a shortage of       There is a general view expressed that
people ‘with the right attitude’ coming forward    the level of aptitude and customer service
rather than skills shortages. Employers            is higher amongst EU workers, where the
emphasised the primacy of personality              hospitality sector is deemed more of a long-
attributes, such as enthusiasm, commitment         term career option than it might be in the
and the will to learn.                             UK. A number of industry representatives
                                                   and employers voiced concerns that young
A number of industry representatives
                                                   people considered tourism and hospitality
highlighted the difficulty in recruiting
                                                   as a short-term job rather than a career.
millennials, who were seen as wanting
different things out of work (work-life balance)   The full breadth of the visitor economy and
and are less accepting of fitting in with          the jobs and careers prospects it offers are
employers’ needs, having a tendency to ‘job        not accurately conveyed to young people,
hop’. If employers are to compete effectively      especially in schools. Employers believe
for labour with other sectors then they need       this impacts on the numbers and quality
to innovate and adapt to make their jobs and       of applicants they receive. More needs to be
careers attractive.                                done at a local level in order to maintain and
                                                   create a skilled workforce within the sector,
                                                   specifically to address the local image and
3. Learning and skills                             profile of the sector as providing quality career
development                                        opportunities and to support independent/
                                                   micro businesses address skills needs.
Apprenticeship programme
The seasonal nature of work makes the
apprenticeship model less suitable for the
sector as there is a reluctance or inability
to release staff for one day a week at peak
periods. Some employers had experimented
in shifting training to the end of the season
but found that people would rather find
another job than train at that time.

                                                   Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   11
Disseminating best practice                             Addressing non-skill issues which
Many of the major employers and chains                  impact on recruitment
have developed their own bespoke in-house               The case studies highlight a number of
programmes for training and development                 non-skills related issues, which impact on
to recruit and retain staff, for instance:              recruitment and retention particularly in rural
                                                        areas. Getting to employment and training is
• Starbucks has announced that it is to                 often one of the most significant barriers for
  provide the cost of university courses                local residents including transport at unsocial
  taught online by Arizona State University10           hours and cost implications. Employment
  to staff without a degree as an employee
                                                        in the sector in rural areas is often seasonal,
  incentive
                                                        temporary or part-time due to the business
• Travelodge has developed a five-step path             base in most rural areas and distance means
  to help parents back to work, including               there is a limited labour pool within easy reach.
  careers advice, flexible hours, company
                                                        The affordability of housing in some of the
  benefits, training and an opportunity
                                                        city economies, such as Cambridge, was
  to join its management programme
                                                        another issue, with recruits having to be
• the ’Hospitality Futures’ programme has               drawn from greater and greater distances.
  been developed by AccorHotels and                     Other issues identified included access
  The Springboard Charity to provide the                to training and FE/higher education (HE)
  opportunity for people out of the labour              provision, lack of diversity amongst recruits
  market to develop a career in hospitality.            and childcare issues.
These options are not available to the small            A ’one-size-fits-all’ approach is not working
independents which dominate the sector but              One of the self-evident findings from the
there may be opportunities to adapt some of             research is the great diversity of socio-
the principles of these initiatives for smaller         economic characteristics between each
enterprises working collaboratively.                    case study area which means they face
                                                        very different contexts for action. For instance,
                                                        unemployment in Blackpool (6.7 per cent)
4. The importance of place                              and the Royal Borough of Greenwich (6.3
                                                        per cent) is more than twice as high as
Relationship between skills and workforce
                                                        unemployment in Cambridge (2.8 per cent)
development and destination development/
                                                        and Cornwall (2.9 per cent).11
marketing
                                                        The working age population also differs
A successful and thriving tourism and
                                                        markedly in terms of its qualification profile.
hospitality sector will contribute to place-
                                                        In Blackpool (30 per cent) and Scarborough
making, profile and image as welcoming
                                                        (32 per cent), almost 1 in 3 of the working
destinations. Local initiatives, such as the
                                                        age population, are qualified to below Level
Blackpool Tourism Academy, have been
                                                        2 – the level which is commonly used as the
designed to deliver a coordinated and
                                                        benchmark for employment. This contrasts
enhanced training provision across several
                                                        with Brighton and Hove where just 12 per cent
leading employers, acting as industry leaders
                                                        of the workforce are qualified to this level.
to encourage SMEs to upskill their employees.
In Blackpool there has been recognition that            Employers’ recruitment difficulties therefore
all parts of the visitor economy ecosystem              vary according to their context. In some
impact on the visitor experience and there              places such as Cambridge with virtually
is value in joint planning of training across           full employment there is a sheer lack of
different sub-sectors.                                  domestic applicants and increased reliance

10 www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-47773592
11 Annual Population Survey, December 2017

12     Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
on international recruitment. In other areas, in
a sector where a high proportion of demand
is for entry level jobs and pay is low relative
to the average for all industries, the high
skill level of the population means that the
industry is unable to compete effectively for
labour. However, each local authority area is
limited to the same policy levers rather than
being able to flex the funding and system to
suit their particular needs and circumstances.

                                                   Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   13
Recommendations

Although the current system has limited local          and give consideration to how local areas
flexibilities, the research and case studies           might access this information in the future.
have identified a number of areas where there
are opportunities to develop solutions driven          3. A place based and coordinated
by local needs, summarised below.                      approach to tackle non-skills issues
                                                       Issues such as transport and housing
                                                       affordability impact on recruitment and
For local leaders                                      retention not just in tourism and hospitality
                                                       but in other areas of the foundation
1. Strong local leadership is needed                   economy such as health and social care and
to bring partners together                             construction. Against a backdrop of a tight
If localism is to work on a sectoral basis, then       labour market it is imperative that local action
tourism and hospitality needs to be supported          is taken to develop non-skill solutions which
with strong local leadership. Local leaders            will help boost the availability of local labour.
should take on a facilitating role, encouraging
others, whether it is key employers or training
providers, to support the skills agenda.               For Government
Partnership working needs to be founded on
                                                       1. Delivering the Tourism Sector Deal
an understanding of where the responsibility
                                                       Sectors with lower productivity are in danger of
for skills and employment lies, which may
                                                       being left behind as the Government prioritises
differ from area to area. There are examples
                                                       the more innovative sectors for sector deals.
of good practice amongst major employers,
                                                       The Tourism Sector Deal has the potential to
and employer or provider-led partnerships
                                                       be a game-changing milestone for the industry,
have real potential to better align local
                                                       ensuring that tourism and hospitality has a
provision to meet local needs.
                                                       voice that is heard. It is recommended that the
2. Work with the sector to address                     Government delivers on the proposed sector
the data and intelligence gaps                         deal which will drive forward a sea-change in
Evidence on employer skills needs is the               how the sector is perceived.
foundation of any local strategic response
                                                       There are a number of positive government
and implementation of any sector deal
                                                       initiatives taking place with the potential to
which could flounder on the lack of labour
                                                       impact on the tourism and hospitality sectors.
market information. It is recommended that
                                                       However, these are not coordinated and not
in developing local industrial strategies the
                                                       always accessible by the small and medium
opportunity is taken to gather the information
                                                       sized enterprises that make up the majority of
needed on the challenges the sector faces
                                                       the industry. The Department for Digital, Culture,
and to develop appropriate responses, which
                                                       Media and Sport (DCMS) should work with
include addressing issues such as image,
                                                       other government departments to feedback
awareness of opportunities, skills gaps and
                                                       access issues for the sector and futureproof
training. Visit England should examine the
                                                       accessibility for these growing sectors.
impact of removing its regional data collection

14    Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
2. Recognising the key role of local leaders
It is critical that Visit Britain and Visit England,
                                                       For the tourism sector
alongside industry partners, recognise                 1. Making careers more attractive
and involve local leaders in shaping and               The proposed sector deal is already helping
delivering the skills element of the deal              to raise the profile of the visitor economy and
and the resources needed to achieve that.              to convey the importance of the sector to
There is a need to strike a balance between            local economies. With employment at an all-
opportunities and needs so that it is not just         time high and a perceived change in the work
those areas which have the capacity/resource           demands of millennials, it is recommended
which benefit.                                         that employers play a greater role in attracting
                                                       new entrants into tourism and hospitality
3. Consider trialling a Work Local approach
                                                       and developing a response to the potential
Although the forthcoming devolution of
                                                       implications of leaving the EU. If employers
the Adult Education Budget heralds a step
                                                       are to compete effectively for labour with
towards local budgeting and commissioning,
                                                       other sectors then they need to innovate and
it appears that the scope for action will be
                                                       invest in staff training to make their jobs and
limited due to requirements to spend on
                                                       careers attractive, following the lead of some
statutory learning entitlements and literacy
                                                       of the major employers.
and numeracy.
                                                       2. Changing perceptions: champions and
There is an appetite amongst local leaders to
                                                       ambassadors
have more influence on the employment and
                                                       The industry needs champions and
skills agenda, for instance careers advice
                                                       ambassadors to showcase the breadth of
and guidance, which is fragmented and
                                                       career pathways in the sector and provide
lacks local relevance, as well as the 16-19
                                                       positive role models. It is vital that the
training budget, apprenticeships and back
                                                       industry works closely with the Careers and
to work support. The Apprenticeship Levy
                                                       Enterprise Company and schools to ensure
needs to be reformed, should be more closely
                                                       that information, advice and guidance is
linked and aligned with the place and sector
                                                       current and provides a clear line of sight to
based elements of the industrial strategy, and
                                                       progression opportunities. This can only be
employers encouraged to work together more
                                                       done at a local level by talking to councils and
collaboratively around the transfer of funds,
                                                       local enterprise partnerships.
including through pooling. New initiatives
like the National Retraining Scheme should
recognise the value of retraining within the
tourism sector. Without coordination at a local
                                                       For learning
level, all of these initiatives and programmes         1. Responding to the priorities of industry
risk being stand alone and less effective.             The introduction of ‘T levels’ and the
                                                       National Retraining Scheme will provide new
The LGA believes a more place based and
                                                       opportunities for learning providers to broker
integrated approach to policy and funding is
                                                       links with industry for work placements, taster
needed to coordinate the range of national
                                                       days and mentoring. Close links should
and local initiatives and has set out how this
                                                       be developed with local Employment and
could be achieved through ‘Work Local’. The
                                                       Skills Boards to develop skills compacts to
Government should enable this approach to
                                                       formalise relationships and create dynamic
be trialled, where additional powers could be
                                                       partnerships between businesses and skills
devolved.
                                                       providers through which employers, schools,
The issue of seasonal working and                      colleges and training providers can work
apprenticeships needs to be addressed.                 together and align careers advice, learning
                                                       and preparation for work. This can happen
                                                       at a local level without any drive from the
                                                       national skills agenda, providing the right

                                                       Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   15
partnerships are in place to ensure that
liaison is efficient and effective.

2. Maximising opportunities for skills
development
The devolution of the Adult Education Budget
to mayoral combined authorities provides an
opportunity for learning providers and it is
recommended that they work collaboratively
with local leaders to develop non-accredited
learning to boost the skills of current and
prospective employees for the sector.

16    Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
The case studies

             Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   17
Blackpool

                                         Tourism and Hospitality
                                         Profile: Blackpool

 Employment in Tourism & Hospitality

 25,000
 full time equivalent
                           1 5  in
                           of the workforce
 job

                                                       City life on the beach

                                                       £1.5 billion
                                                       total visitor spend

 18 million                  14.6 million
 visitors per year           day trips

 3.4 million                 1  million
 total number of             more tourist
 staying trips               visits since
                             2015

                                                        Key Assets
                                                             • Blackpool Pleasure Beach
                                                             •   Blackpool Tower
                                                             •   The trams
                                                             •   Blackpool Winter Gardens
                                                             •   The Zoo
                                                             •   The illuminations

18    Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
Context                                             and leadership abilities to support staff
                                                    progression and the growth of the industry
Well known for its attractions such as the          more generally.
Pleasure Beach, trams, the Tower and
                                                    Several times during the consultation work
illuminations, Blackpool attracts 18 million
                                                    undertaken for this study, the scarcity of public
visitors per year and generates £1.5 billion
                                                    transport services outside conventional working
in visitor spend. Following a decline in its
                                                    hours was highlighted as an issue affecting
visitor numbers, the town began to reverse
                                                    employment opportunities in the sector and
its fortunes from 2014 onwards through a
                                                    exacerbating the difficulty of filling vacancies.
sustained programme of investment. Recent
years have seen significant levels of public
and private investment and key assets such
as the Winter Gardens and Tower taken               The local response
into public ownership. The importance of            A new Tourism Academy has been
the tourism and hospitality sector to the           established, chaired by the private sector
Lancashire economy and especially to                and led by Blackpool and The Fylde College.
Blackpool, is recognised in the council’s           Through this model, employers and the
and the local enterprise partnerships (LEP)         college are building on their experience
strategic planning and funding bids.                to work directly together to tackle key skills
                                                    issues facing the industry with the support
                                                    of the council, but without its mediation.
Issues and challenges
                                                    Key success factors in tackling its skills
At a strategic level it is recognised that skills   challenges include:
issues including recruitment challenges and
high staff turnover are preventing the visitor      • a strategic drive and acknowledgement
economy from achieving its potential. The             of the importance of the sector at local
industry is seen as low pay, low skilled with         authority and LEP levels
limited career progression opportunities and        • a willingness to apply for all available
employers report that the full breadth of jobs        funding to support growth
and careers in the sector is not accurately
                                                    • strong partnership working between the
conveyed to young people. More generally,
                                                      council, employers and the main training
employers remarked on the need for:
                                                      provider which in turn has led to continuity
• customer service skills                             and the emergence of trusted relationships
• work readiness skills amongst young               • a willingness on the part of the Blackpool
  recruits, with comments about a lack of             and The Fylde College to drive forward the
  work ethic – prospective recruits lack soft         skills agenda for the sector and to respond
  skills and are not seen as ‘work ready’             creatively and flexibly to local needs
• good supervisory and management skills            • the presence of a number of major
  – there is a lack of relevant qualifications in     employers who can collectively provide
  this area to be able to make a judgement            a voice for the sector and deliver the scale
  of competence                                       of demand needed to develop bespoke
                                                      training courses
• a rising demand for digital skills in a whole
  range of roles such as front of house,            • the engagement and commitment of major
  kitchen staff and HR.                               local employers to ‘own’ the skills agenda.

As well as recruitment and retention
issues employers see a need to address
the prevalence of skills gaps across the
sector and to develop better managerial

                                                    Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   19
Brighton and Hove

                                         Tourism and Hospitality
                                         Profile: Brighton and Hove

 Employment in Tourism & Hospitality (2016)

 18,100
 people working in
                           13%
                           of all jobs
 the sector
                           -7%
                           2011 - 2016

                                                      Businesses Tourism & Hospitality (2016)

                                                      1,620                      10%
                                                      businesses across          of all businesses
                                                      Brighton & Hove

                                                      £886          million      +15%
                                                      Total visitor spend        increase in businesses
                                                                                 (2012-17)

 10,856,000                 9,400,000
 visitors per year          day trips

 1,456,000                  4,363
 total number of            rooms, total
 staying trips              serviced bed-
                            stock

                                                      Key Assets
                                                           • The Royal Pavilion
                                                           •   The Palace Pier
                                                           •   British Airways i360
                                                           •   South Downs National Park
                                                           •   Brighton Beach
                                                           •   Brighton & Hove Albion

20   Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
Context                                               • retention of staff, with higher turnover
                                                        than other sectors
The visitor economy is a key component                • skills shortages and lack of educational
of the economy of Brighton and Hove and                 pathways in areas such as catering.
continues to be an important driver. The
sector supports around 1 in 5 jobs in the city        Discussions with industry confirm concerns
and generates visitor expenditure of around           about the uncertainty around Brexit, which
£886 million. A vibrant city centre and good          could impact the number of EU workers
rail and road links makes Brighton an easy            coming to the city. A number of industry
day trip destination from London. Conference          representatives also highlighted the difficulty
tourism and day visitors account for the              in recruiting millennials, who were seen as
strong performance of tourism in Brighton             wanting different things out of work and are
and Hove. The visitor economy is identified           less accepting of fitting in with employers’
by the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise              needs, having a tendency to ‘job hop’.
Partnership (LEP) as a priority sector, which
will generate jobs and growth, with Brighton
and Hove highlighted as a local area with             The local response
core specialisations in the sector. There
is a clear recognition that the growth and            The consensus is that more needs to be
development of the sector will be dependent           done at a local level in order to maintain and
on the availability of a quality workforce. At a      create a skilled workforce within the sector,
local level, Visit Brighton is the official tourism   specifically to:
organisation responsible for promoting                • address the local image and profile of
and developing the sector in the city. Visit            the sector as providing quality career
Brighton is an in-house service and income is           opportunities
generated through membership schemes and
operation of the Brighton Centre, the major           • raise the visibility of and access to career
conference venue in the city.                           insights and specialist support for young
                                                        people encouraging more people to
                                                        choose the sector as a career path
Issues and challenges                                 • support independent/micro businesses
                                                        address skills needs
The city’s labour force is characterised by
strong qualification levels; half of working age      • promote graduate recruitment and facilitate
residents have a degree level qualification,            graduate retention in the city.
compared to 38 per cent nationally.
                                                      More local action is needed to support
Discussions with industry and stakeholders
                                                      small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs),
highlight the challenges facing the sector with
                                                      particularly independent enterprises, to
regards to recruitment and retention and the
                                                      improve retention and career development
potential impact of Brexit. Specific barriers
                                                      and raise awareness of existing skills
to growth in the sector include:
                                                      pathways, including forthcoming ‘T levels’.
• employer concerns about filling
                                                      Capacity and lack of resources are
  immediate frontline vacancies
                                                      challenges to the Brighton & Hove City
• perception of tourism as a short-term               Council in terms of shaping new interventions
  job rather than a career, underestimating           to maintain and strengthen growth. Building
  opportunities available locally and globally        strong strategic partnerships with the LEP,
                                                      industry, education and training providers
• challenges presented by the seasonal
                                                      is key to tackle the skills issues facing the city.
  context

                                                      Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   21
Cambridge

                                        Tourism and Hospitality
                                        Profile: Cambridge

Employment in Tourism & Hospitality

7,853
full time
                         22%
                         of employment
employment
Tourism is forecast to have the second highest rate of
jobs growth between 2016 and 2045 in the Cambridge
and Peterborough Combined Authority area.

                                                         Both the volume and value of tourism has
                                                         increased dramatically in recent years with
                                                         visitors up from 5.4m in 2013, an increase of
                                                         50% in four years.

8.1 million                   7.1 million
visitors per year             day visits

0.9 million                   80%      of annual
total number of               visitors stay for a
staying trips                 few hours and at
                              best a day.

                                                         Key Assets

                                                            •   Cambridge colleges
                                                            •   Imperial War Museum Duxford
                                                            •   American War Cemetery
                                                            •   River Cam/punting
                                                            •   Ely Cathedral
Context                                          • young people’s expectations have
                                                   changed with the ‘gig’ economy and
Cambridge has a strong international profile       there is an expectation for greater flexibility
aided by easy access from London. Its              in working hours
tourism and hospitality sectors have been        • changing demographics with fewer young
growing strongly in recent years with visitors     people and an ageing workforce.
having increased by 50 per cent since 2013.
The vast majority of its 8.1 million visitors    The workforce in Cambridge is well-qualified
are day visitors and the priority is to change   and the perception is that vocational
the perception of the city as a day trip         routes are second class, including the
destination, whilst increasing the value that    apprenticeship route. Employer discussions
the city and the surrounding area derives        acknowledged that there is an issue with
from tourism.                                    the competitiveness of wages. The absence
                                                 of major employers, coupled with the lack of
Visit Cambridge and Beyond is the official       strategic impetus and limited funding means
destination management organisation (DMO)        that no organisation is leading the drive
for Cambridge and the surrounding area. It is    to tackle the skills issues the sector faces.
almost entirely self-funding and receives less
than 4 per cent of its annual earned income      Not all recruitment difficulties are skills
from the public sector. This funding model       related, other issues which impact on
poses real challenges for Visit Cambridge        recruitment and retention include a lack
and Beyond. There is no residual tourism         of affordable housing and transport issues.
function within Cambridge City Council.

Although it has considerable growth potential,
tourism and hospitality is not recognised as a
                                                 The local response
strategic priority by the Cambridgeshire and     There are no skills initiatives specific
Peterborough Combined Authority.                 to the visitor economy but the new Skills and
                                                 Apprenticeship Hub being developed by the
                                                 combined authority will streamline employer/
Issues and challenges                            learner engagement for work experience,
                                                 work trials, career support and so on. The aim
Whilst “recruitment and retention are a          is to put more onus on employers to engage
constant issue” the shortages are fairly         in training and apprenticeships through
universal, including bar staff, cleaners,        a skills pledge.
chefs, waiters, gallery attendants, kitchen
porters and housekeeping staff. Very high        Skills devolution is seen as important for
employment rates locally mean that there is      Cambridgeshire and Peterborough since
an absolute shortage of labour. Prospective      the Mayor and the combined authority only
young recruits are considered to lack            have responsibility for the very modest adult
communication skills, which are vital in the     education budget with little or no traction
sector’s customer-facing roles.                  on the 16 to 19 training budget or the
                                                 apprenticeship system.
As well as recruitment, retention is a
significant issue. Current difficulties are      The Sector Deal is seen as an important
becoming more acutely driven by:                 lever to put pressure on local areas
                                                 to acknowledge the potential of the
• the loss of international employees –          tourism and hospitality sector.
  employers are already feeling the impact
  of workers returning to their home countries
  with some employers relying on international
  staff for 60-70 per cent of their workforce

                                                 Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   23
Cornwall

                                           Tourism and Hospitality
                                           Profile: Cornwall

     Employment                 36,191
     in Tourism &               direct
     Hospitality (2016)
                                10,305
     54,185                     indirect

     total estimated            7,689
     actual jobs (2017)         induced

                                                          Businesses Tourism & Hospitality (2015)

                                                          £730 million
                                                          Total business turnover

                                                          £1,951,266,000
                                                          Total visitor spend

     19,440,000                 14,656,000
     visitors per year          day trips

     4,784,000
     total number of
     staying trips

                                                          Key Assets
                                                          • 300 miles of coastline including top quality beaches
                                                          •   Tate St Ives
                                                          •   Eden Project
                                                          •   Geevor Tin Mine
                                                          •   Tintagel Castle
                                                          •   St Michael’s Mount

24       Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
Context                                               Industry feedback highlights the continued
                                                      challenges in attracting and retaining talent
Tourism is the biggest sector in Cornwall,            and recognises the importance of developing
supporting one in five jobs and is projected          a range of opportunities and quality work
to grow at 3.8 per cent each year through             practices.
to 2025. As the leading domestic brand,
                                                      Getting to employment and training is often
the area attracts over four million UK tourism
                                                      one of the most significant barriers for local
trips every year. Cornwall continues to
                                                      residents including transport time and cost
experience growth in inbound tourism, with
                                                      implications. Employment in the sector in
a 5 per cent increase in the number of trips
                                                      rural areas is often seasonal, temporary or
made to Cornwall and 10 per cent increase
                                                      part-time due to the business base in most
in spend. Cornwall is particularly well-known
                                                      rural areas. Other issues relate to access
for its high quality natural, historic and marine
                                                      to training and further education/higher
environments, its beaches, resorts such as
                                                      education provision, lack of diversity and
Newquay and iconic attractions like the Eden
                                                      childcare issues.
Project, the Maritime Museum and St Ives.
Since 2015, Visit Cornwall, incorporated              There is recognition of the importance
as a community interest company, has taken            of tourism and hospitality, although no
over responsibility from the county council           sector- specific actions are identified.
for marketing, promoting and developing               The Employment and Skills Plan has a
the visitor economy in Cornwall.                      focus on identifying and supporting niche
                                                      areas of competitive advantage, ie smart
                                                      specialisation sectors.
Issues and challenges
Cornwall’s geography, dispersed population
and lack of a significant industry base have all
                                                      The local response
impacted on the economic growth prospects of          Cornwall has one of the most recognised
the county. The area’s GDP is less than 70 per cent   and comprehensive visitor offerings in the
of the national average, with a high proportion       UK, making it one of the top UK tourist
of employment being low paid and seasonal.            destinations. With a key, growing contribution
                                                      to the Cornwall economy, the visitor economy
Tourism is identified as an opportunity
                                                      sectors need to plan for the skills needed now
sector, with the focus on maintaining existing
                                                      and in the future.
markets and building new ones. An important
opportunity area is to increase the number            On the ground there are a number of
of international visitors through improving           successful examples of programmes and
and diversifying the tourism offer. Despite its       initiatives to support skills and workforce
contribution and projected growth, the sector         development including an active FE sector
faces a number of challenges:                         leading on a range of initiatives to foster
                                                      culinary talent. There is a recognition that
• dominated by small and medium
                                                      more needs to be done to bring together
  sized enterprises (and self-employed
                                                      demand with supply and a focus on ensuring
  entrepreneurs) which typically do not
                                                      that there is a strong employer voice on skills
  have an HR function and are least able to
                                                      for Cornwall. The consensus is that more needs
  engage with skills and training programmes
                                                      to be done at a local level in order to maintain
• a reducing pool of labour, particularly             and create a skilled workforce within the
  in light of Brexit uncertainty                      sector, specifically to address the image and
• low productivity, particularly low pay              profile of the sector as providing quality career
  and low output                                      opportunities and to support independent/micro
                                                      businesses address skills needs.
• a number of ‘hard to fill’ posts, particularly
  in catering.

                                                      Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   25
Royal Borough of Greenwich

                                             Tourism and Hospitality
                                             Profile: Royal Borough of
                                             Greenwich

     Employment in Tourism & Hospitality

     16,000
     jobs
                                  3.9%
                                  forecast jobs
                                  growth by 2023

                                                             £1.4 million
                                                             total visitor spend (2017)

     19.4 million                  1.2%
     visitors in 2017              increase in visitors
                                   (2017 vs 2016)

     1 million                     9.1%
     total number of               increase (2017
     staying trips                 vs 2016)

                                                             Key Assets
                                                                  • Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site
                                                                  •   Greenwich Peninsula
                                                                  •   Woolwich
                                                                  •   O2 Arena
                                                                  •   Rest of borough – for hidden gems,
                                                                      parks, open spaces

26          Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
Context                                             • a lack of quality and diversity amongst
                                                      applicants
The Royal Borough of Greenwich has a rich           • careers in the sector are undervalued
heritage, with a unique place in maritime             and it was said that local schools do not
history and a global profile through the              promote tourism as a career
Greenwich meridian. 2018 was a record
year for visitor numbers, when the borough          • there is a significant gap in ‘in work
received 19 million visits made up of a mix           progression’ and upskilling – there is limited
of London, UK and international visitors. Visit       adult information, advice and guidance and
Greenwich has acknowledged the importance             learner loans are too expensive
of spreading the benefits of tourism across         Brexit is causing particular concern
the whole borough and to this end, there has        with possible skills shortages predicted
been approval for significant investment of         if a portion of the current workforce were
£31.59 million in arts and culture in Woolwich      to leave as a result of leaving the EU.
which is due to be completed by 2020.

The Employment and Skills Action Plan for
London 2018 sets out a vision for a series          The local response
of sub-regional, business-led London jobs
                                                    The council is committed to using the adult
and skills boards. These will bring employer
                                                    education budget for flexible non-accredited
groups and sector representative bodies
                                                    employment and skills development to boost
together with education and skills providers
                                                    people’s employability skills.
and London government representatives on
a regular basis. The plan notes that sectors        It has a robust planning policy and makes
such as hospitality, which are most affected        extensive use of S106 agreements to secure
by restrictive immigration policies, could be       local recruitment and pre-employment
a particular focus for action.                      training. The borough has also made use
                                                    of its ownership of key buildings to let
Locally, Visit Greenwich has responsibility
                                                    buildings at below market value on the
for promoting and developing the tourism
                                                    basis that under the terms of the lease, the
and hospitality sector in the borough, with
                                                    tenant will be required to attract visitors, as
financial support from the council.
                                                    well as creating employment and training
                                                    opportunities and the delivery of a range of
                                                    educational programmes. The new service
Issues and challenges                               level agreement between the council and Visit
There is little data specific to Greenwich but in   Greenwich includes a specific reference to
London, evidence suggests that tourism and          supporting employment and skills.
hospitality is not seen as a viable, long-term      Partnerships at the right scale and geography
career. This is causing high staff turnover,        are seen as essential to building the skills
lower productivity and higher recruitment           pipeline and the borough benefits from a
and training costs. Twenty-six per cent of the      strong local offer through the University of
workforce are EU nationals and the annual           Greenwich and London South East College
workforce attrition rate is 30 per cent.            which make a significant contribution to skills
Key issues identified in Greenwich include:         development in the sector.

• improving transport links mean that
  outward commuting for higher wages has
  become easier which has exacerbated
  retention issues for those employers who
  find difficulty paying the London Living
  Wage

                                                    Supplying skills for the local visitor economy   27
Scarborough

                                       Tourism and Hospitality
                                       Profile: Scarborough

 Total estimated actual jobs (2015)

 17,356
 people working in tourism and hospitality

                                                       Businesses (2015)

                                                       £730 million
                                                       total business turnover

                                                       £524         million
                                                       total visitor spend

 7,137,000                   5,604,000
 visitors per year           day trips

 1,533,000
 total number of
 staying trips

                                                       Key Assets
                                                          • Whitby Abbey
                                                          •   Scarborough Castle
                                                          •   Scarborough Spa
                                                          •   North Yorkshire Moors Railway
                                                          •   Rotunda Museum of Geology
                                                          •   Scarborough Sea Life Sanctuary
                                                          •   Peasholm Park

28    Supplying skills for the local visitor economy
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