North Yorkshire junior board scheme aims to change perceptions of 'undervalued' hospitality careers

Nine promising workers employed at venues including Rudding Park and The Star Inn at Harome have been selected for the board and are being tasked with projects and receiving individual mentoring from more experienced people within the industry to build their skillsets. The board is made up of people aged under 30 and in junior managerial positions. It is meeting on a monthly basis for six months, having started in January.

Mr Bolson said: “In its essence, it is identifying the future leaders of the sector in the region for two reasons. Firstly, it is to help develop their skills but it is also bigger than that, it is to help change perceptions of the sector which aren’t great.

"Some of it is its own fault but some of it is that in this country, we just don’t get hospitality as a proper career. There is a lot of negative press about hospitality at the moment with businesses closing and narratives about staff being low-skilled and underpaid.

"I’m not saying that stuff isn’t there but there is another side to it which it is exciting, dynamic, positive, inclusive and diverse. That is the hospitality world I know and I’m trying to put a spotlight on an amazing sector.

"This is a great career. I’ve got people on the board who are 22, 23, who are getting mortgages and learning amazing things and working in amazing places. There are not many sectors that are really accessible and you don’t have to have a degree for. You’ve just got to want to work with people and apply yourself.”

The voluntary scheme is being supported financially by local organisations including Punch Creative, Cedar Court Hotels and Castle Employment Group. Mr Bolson is hoping to secure more public and private funding to continue and expand the programme beyond its initial cohort.

"I want to do this over two or three years and in that time I could potentially take 70 or 80 people through this. That is when you really start having a significant impact. No one else in the country is doing this.

"Currently it is open to just York and North Yorkshire, but I’m open to doing this across Yorkshire. I get nervous when people start talking about outside Yorkshire because there is only one of me.

"But people have asked whether I would be interested in doing it for South Yorkshire and I would, 100 per cent.

"It can evolve and grow as it is needed, it would be great to either have a Yorkshire-wide hospitality board or two or three running at the same time.”

To find out more about sponsoring or supporting the programme, email [email protected].