Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that employment support programmes provide effective routes into work in labour-intensive sectors such as hospitality.

The Department is working with employers and sector bodies to create effective routes into work, including in hospitality. Through its partnership with UKHospitality and leading hospitality employers, the Department is creating opportunities for young people to enter employment and gain relevant skills and experience.

Hospitality businesses including Whitbread, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Marriott, Compass, Burger King and Wagamama have committed to providing over 100,000 jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training by the end of Parliament. These opportunities will be delivered through direct recruitment and a hospitality training programme providing sector-specific experience, a guaranteed interview and a Hospitality Skills Passport.

The Department supports routes into the sector through hospitality Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), which provide pre-employment training designed to equip jobseekers with the skills needed for hospitality roles, alongside work experience and a guaranteed job interview. In collaboration with UKHospitality. the Destination Hospitality SWAP pilot has been extended to 22 SWAPs in 16 areas across England and Scotland.

More broadly, SWAPs are short vocational programmes designed around genuine job vacancies and to develop sector-specific skills. They include training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview, with DWP working with employers to understand their recruitment needs and identify suitable candidates.