Hotels in Sunderland have joined forces to give students a behind-the-scenes look at working in the hospitality industry.
And the Work Discovery Sunderland led event has been so popular, there are already plans to run it a second time before the first one has even taken place.
The Hilton Garden Inn, The Roker Hotel and the Sunderland Marriott will be jointly hosting the Work Discovery Sunderland hospitality sector day on 13 November, with around 90 young people visiting each of the hotels.
The event is part of Work Discovery Sunderland programme which offers a range of sector days, guest speaker days and the annual Work Discovery Week which is held each summer.
The hospitality day is the first of the 2017/2018 programme and gives the students a chance to find out about every aspect of the hospitality industry, along with taking part in a range of practical challenges.
The pupils will get the opportunity to make beds, set tables and create pizzas, along with discovering about the various management and service roles available.
Paul McEldon, co-chair of Work Discovery Sunderland, said it was a great opportunity for young people to get a real understanding into what working in the hospitality industry would involve.
“We have been overwhelmed with the response to this event and we are delighted so many Sunderland students are making the most of the chance to learn more about the sector,” said Paul.
“This is a great opportunity for young people to get some hands-on experience and learn some valuable skills that they would be applying every day if they pursued a career in hospitality.”
Catherine Graham, sales director at the Hilton Garden Inn Sunderland said the hotel were more than happy to be involved.
“There are so many opportunities in the industry and it’s great for us to help the next generation of employees to see these for themselves,” she said.
“It’s also a great chance for the city’s three leading hotels to work together in this way.”
Amy Parkin, Director of Human Resources at the Sunderland Marriott echoed her words.
“As a company, we are always very excited to be part of events in the local area, in particularly Work Discovery Sunderland,” she said.
“We aim to educate young people about Marriott and to give them an insight into what career paths are available in the hospitality sector, in the hope that we can encourage and inspire them to gain skills for the future.”
Jonathan Graham, Operations Director of Tavistock Hospitality which owns the Roker Hotel added that the company was “delighted to be partnering with Sunderland Marriott and the Hilton Garden Inn on this project.
“To bring the next generation of local talent into the industry is an exciting project and very rewarding for a local company such as ourselves,” he said.
Work for next year’s Work Discovery Week is already underway and will be taking place from Monday 25 to Friday 29 June 2018.