Exeter MP Steve Race welcomes plan for 100,000 hospitality jobs for young people

Exeter MP Steve Race has welcomed a Government plan to provide 100,000 hospitality jobs for young people who are not in education, employment or training, saying he hopes it will inspire some of them to build careers in the city.

The Department for Work and Pensions announced on October 15 that some of Britain’s biggest hospitality businesses had committed to the jobs through a new partnership with the trade body UKHospitality. Employers will provide paid work, as well as work experience and training, for 18 to 24-year-olds over three years.

The firms named include Whitbread, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Marriott, Compass, Burger King, Parkdean Resorts, Haven, Fuller’s, Merlin Entertainments, Stonegate Group, Mitchells and Butler, Wagamama, Sodexo, WSH Limited and De Vere.

Mr Race, the Labour MP for Exeter, said a young person’s first job could be life-changing. He recalled that his first paper round at 13, and his first retail job at the local Co-op at 15, were formative experiences that set him up for the future. “Having a job at a young age will kick-start a career, build confidence and deliver valuable experience,” he said.

He said Exeter’s hospitality sector was one of the reasons the city was “such a brilliant place to live”. “I’m excited to see the next generation be given new opportunities to take their first steps into the industry,” he said. “I hope, in turn, they will be inspired to pursue a career here, so that Exeter’s hospitality businesses can go from strength to strength.”

Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said hospitality had long provided young people with a route into the world of work. “I’m delighted that the industry is helping unemployed young people get their first step on the ladder and build their careers,” he said.

Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, said the sector was the number one employer of young people in the economy. He said expanding access to the Hospitality Skills Passport, which he said had already been very successful, would be a significant part of the partnership’s work.

The Government said almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training, and that nearly six in 10 of them have never had a job. The figure was highlighted in an interim review by Alan Milburn into the causes of youth inactivity.

The announcement follows a similar pledge last month of 100,000 jobs in the retail sector, developed with the support of Marc Bolland, the former chief executive of Marks and Spencer, who is convening employers to help young people into work.

The Government also said the Education Secretary, Lucy Powell, is expected to announce a call for evidence on school exclusions. It said pupils who are persistently absent, meaning absent 10 per cent of the time or more, are 3.9 times more likely to become NEET.

Other measures the Government pointed to include £3,000 hiring incentives for employers and a £450 million Youth Matters programme, which it said would include recruiting 1,000 new youth workers from spring 2027.