Carys Williams, aged 16, beat a field of 14,000 to win the Springboard FutureChef 2025 title, and is now mentored by leading Welsh chef James Sommerin (middle left) at his brilliant restaurant Home in Penarth. She is one of thousands guided into a career by Springboard UK, the charity whose mission is to help young people to find work in hospitality and tourism.
Harden’s Insider caught up with Springboard’s chief executive Chris Gamm last week to hear more about its work – just as former minister Alan Milburn called for decisive action in his report to the government on youth employment.
Harden’s: Ever since Brexit (and probably for much longer), hospitality bosses have complained about shortages of staff. Simultaneously, we are all terrified that AI and automation is destroying jobs for humans, and Alan Milburn is now talking about more than a million young people in the UK who are not in jobs or education.
It seems that these are two problems made for each other!
Chris Gamm: Absolutely – and these are by no means small problems. At Springboard, we as an organisation have been providing some of the solutions since 1990.
There are two main components to what we do. Firstly, helping people with employability skills. We work with individuals who have some form of disadvantage: a lack of qualifications or experience, they might have come out of the care system or have criminal convictions. Whatever it is that is preventing them from finding employment, if they have a willingness to work, we give them a bit of a boost.
Initially we work with them for four weeks. They’ll be mixing with a group, learning about teamwork, gaining confidence and the necessary skills for this industry. We’ll take them into work places, so they can hear stories about the hospitality industry and get excited about it.
Each year we work with about 3,000 people and get three-quarters of them into work – 86% are still working in the same place after 12 months, so it’s not a matter of a quick turnover: we support people for the long term.
Our second main task is to change perceptions about hospitality. It is a brilliant industry which requires teamwork, problem-solving, creativity and resilience; the work is satisfyingly hands-on, and you can earn good money. We work with more then 30,000 students in schools every year, and our FutureChef competition attracts 16,000 entries.
Harden’s: There was a time when it was quite normal for young people to work for a while in hospitality, perhaps in their school or university holidays, and they’d get the incidental benefit of picking up the so-called ‘soft skills’ which employers complain are missing today.
Yes, hospitality should be known as ‘the UK’s unofficial national service’! A lot of these skills are completely transferable to other careers, whether it be punctuality, working in a team, solving problems or speaking to members of the public.
Unfortunately it has got more difficult and more expensive to hire young people on a casual basis, as a result of various government policies including the minimum wage. It will be interesting to see whether the Milburn review leads to any positive outcomes – I’m not necessarily holding my breath – but changes are badly needed.
In the meantime, we will continue to work with our partners in the industry to introduce as many starters as possible to the opportunities that are there in hospitality.
- Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses can help Springboard by becoming industry partners, or through signing up to its recently launched Just1more £1 on the bill programme at springboard.uk.net/just1more/at Just1More
CASE STUDIES
Tattoo artist to commis chef at Noble Rot, Mayfair
After working as a tattoo artist for several years, Gregory Lyons decided to pursue his passion for cooking professionally. Despite applying to restaurants for months, he struggled to secure opportunities without industry experience. Through a Springboard employability programme, Gregory received mentoring, CV support, interview coaching and introductions to leading hospitality employers. Following an initial placement with Hilton, Springboard connected him with the acclaimed restaurant group Noble Rot, where he now works as a commis chef in Mayfair. Gregory says: “Changing careers into professional kitchens felt daunting, but Springboard helped me turn a passion into a real opportunity. They gave me the confidence, skills and connections to break into the restaurant industry.”
FutureChef champion now working with James Sommerin
Sixteen-year-old Carys Williams won the Springboard FutureChef 2025 title after competing against more than 14,000 students from 500 schools across the UK. Mentored by Michelin-starred chef James Sommerin, Carys developed her culinary skills through FutureChef and now works weekly at Home, Penarth, while studying Hospitality & Catering at Gower College. Her prize experiences included work experience at Royal Ascot, a visit to Adam Handling’s The Loch & The Tyne, and culinary training opportunities with leading chefs. Carys says: “FutureChef completely changed my confidence and ambition. It showed me that a career in professional kitchens is something I can genuinely achieve.”
Donations from guests and behind-the-scenes access at Noble Rot
Noble Rot Restaurant & Wine Bar in Mayfair has partnered with Springboard to help support future hospitality talent, including adding a discretionary £1 donation to customer bills. The partnership has also included industry visits for Springboard trainees, giving young people behind-the-scenes access to restaurant operations and wine education experiences. Noble Rot says: “Springboard shares our passion for hospitality as a lifelong career. Their work supporting unemployed and disadvantaged people into the industry has the power to create real change.”
Jobs, interviews and workshops at The Wolseley Hospitality Group / Brasserie Zédel
The Wolseley Hospitality Group supports Springboard through sponsorship of the FutureChef programme and direct employability support for trainees. Over the past year, seven Springboard trainees secured jobs within the group. Teams across the business have also hosted restaurant visits, mock interviews and skills workshops at Brasserie Zédel. The group says: “Giving young people the confidence and skills for a career in hospitality is something we wholeheartedly support. Springboard is helping develop the future talent our industry needs.”
Mixology masterclasses at The Ritz
The Ritz London recently became a sponsor of Springboard’s Ambassador Programme and FutureChef initiative, helping inspire the next generation of hospitality professionals. Springboard trainees also took part in a mixology masterclass at The Ritz, led by Head Mixologist Michele Saladino, learning cocktail techniques and hearing first-hand career stories from within luxury hospitality. One trainee reflected: “Experiences like visiting The Ritz build confidence and make careers in hospitality feel accessible and exciting.”
Waitress to management in 12 months
After completing a Springboard hospitality training course in Leeds, Shayna Rodrigues secured a role at Caffè Concerto, progressing from waitress to supervisor within five months and training as an assistant manager within nine months. She has since moved into a Quality Controller role with Absolute Taste in Bicester. Shayna says: “Springboard helped build my confidence and professionalism. It gave me the soft skills and self-belief to progress quickly within hospitality.”