“Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” (Henry Ford)

It has been well documented that the industry is facing a severe skills and talent shortage and that many communities are about to face a prolonged period of genuine hardship. Does this create an opportunity where the industry can both develop new frameworks which support local communities plus develop new talent pools for the future?

If ever there was a time to found and create new solutions, it must be this moment in time. Too much of the prevalent thinking remains rooted in the past. The industry is facing new and unprecedented challenges. Many point back at the early 90s but the challenges today are far harder than those faced at that time.

EP is fortunate to be working on a number of initiatives which are seeking to ask new questions and to create new frameworks. One such initiative is focused on developing community restaurants in the most struggling communities which both serve to train young talent plus create a community restaurant where people are able to come together, talk and be as one.

Many small operators are understandably talking of their hardship but their opportunity too is to ensure that they play a central and important role in their community. This, in turn, will naturally grow business.

It was a well known old saying that noted that “strange to see how a good dinner can reconcile everyone”. Food does bring people together and hospitality can be the glue for communities in this most difficult of times.

The industry does need to appeal to new audiences, new talent pools and in new ways. It needs new messages and to build trust in new talent pools so that they do feel they can turn to the industry as a safe place where they can build a career.

For a moment consider:

• With the skills shortages impacting on the industry coupled with the cost of living crisis, there has never been a more important time to develop new concepts and training centres to aid the development of all talent; most especially from those areas where families and the young have been struggling.
• Social mobility is becoming a major topic of discussion and it is vital that we do, in this modern era, give all talent the opportunity to develop – especially in an industry such as hospitality which has traditionally been a meritocracy.
• The hospitality industry has close to 180,000 vacancies and is in need of an approach which will appeal to new audiences.
• At the same time, there is real and fair concern over how many families are going to be able to face the cost of living crisis without talent being developed to be able to build careers.
• Communities are in need of a place where they can come together and which can play a central role for local society. Traditionally this has been pubs but as people do drink less, community restaurants where local talent is trained and employed could play a powerful central role.

The industry can find strength in good employees who want to serve others and build new careers.