Empowering young people into inclusive and green jobs in hospitality

Youth employment and the hospitality industry

Over one in five young people globally are not in education, employment, or training, placing them at increased risk of poverty, exclusion, and exploitation. Barriers to accessing skills, work experience, and decent job opportunities continue to prevent many young people from entering or progressing in the labour market.

With a relatively accessible entry level, the hospitality sector offers young people from diverse backgrounds a pathway into decent work and long term careers. Tourism and hospitality play a critical role in job creation worldwide, providing opportunities across a wide range of roles and skill levels while supporting local economic development.

The skills developed through hotel based training are highly transferable, both within hospitality and across other sectors. By equipping young people with practical skills, work ethics, and inclusive and sustainable workplace practices, these employment pathways help reduce vulnerability while building a skilled, motivated workforce that supports the long term resilience and prosperity of communities and economies globally.

Background to our work in youth employment

The hospitality industry has worked to develop training programmes on skills development, entrepreneurship, leadership and career progression to offer long-term and credible career opportunities for young people. We have supported several of our members in the development of their own individual employability programmes.

We are also able to bring together the industry to create opportunities at scale for young people. Since 2004 we have been working with the hospitality industry and local partners to offer a youth employment programme, which helps young people from restrictive backgrounds to access training and practical experience in hospitality.

What we are doing

Convening the industry

• Our youth working group brings our members together to share expertise and identify ways the hospitality industry can address youth unemployment.

Practical action

• Our youth employment programme is operational in four countries around the world. The programme works with the hospitality industry to give young people the opportunity to gain the skills and experience to take the first step in their career.
• We have developed an accessible training curriculum that’s transferable for a career in any hotel in the industry and beyond. This includes skills relevant to hospitality, as well as a solid base in English, computer skills, budgets and job applications to give young people the skills to recognise and secure decent work.

Building a movement

• We raise awareness of youth unemployment as a global challenge and encourage the hospitality industry to take a role in providing a solution, either through their own youth employability initiatives or by participating in our youth employment programme.

Global partnerships for sustainable development

• We are partnering with philanthropic foundations, government-funded bodies and the corporate sector to run hospitality employment programmes aimed at supporting young people including survivors of human trafficking, refugees and people with disabilities.