Major Local Growth Fund project will play critical role in supporting hospitality sector and its pipeline of future talent

The new facilities include state-of-the-art training kitchens, featuring industry-standard equipment that was identified in partnership with Activate Learning’s hospitality and catering lead partners, The Fat Duck Group.

They were officially opened on 4 November by Nigel Huddleston MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Heritage and Tourism.

Overall, the total cost of the project was over £3m to bring it to fruition, with additional building work carried out to develop a refectory and student area for the college, creating a new heart to the city centre campus. This additional funding was paid for by Activate Learning.

The investment into the new facilities at City of Oxford College are in line with both local and national demands for highly-skilled and work-ready staff to take on roles within a sector that is vitally important for the local economy. 

Nigel Huddleston MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Heritage and Tourism came down to the college to officially open the new facilities.

He said: “I was delighted to open Activate Learning’s brand-new hospitality and catering facilities at City of Oxford College and see first-hand the fantastic opportunities that await the next generation in these sectors.

“Tourism and hospitality make vital contributions to our economy and we need to make sure we have a strong pipeline of talent coming through to help build back better for the future.”

This development is a major feature that is outlined within the business-driven economic recovery plan led by OxLEP released in February this year.

The plan aims to support key sectors and industries hardest-hit by the pandemic and OxLEP hopes that – by securing investment that supports the development of talent into the leisure, hospitality and tourism sectors – young people will be inspired to take-up careers in an industry that remains one of the biggest not just in this county, but across the UK too.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism had supported 10% of all employment in Oxfordshire and contributed £2.17billion to the local economy and nationally, was worth a staggering £100.8billion.

Despite facing significant challenges throughout the pandemic period and being impacted by the loss of staff due to Brexit, there are now significant green shoots of recovery for the sector.

Jeremy Long, Chair of OxLEP, added: “We were delighted to secure such a significant level of investment for this project, leading to the development of a state-of-the-art facility that will undoubtedly play a major role in inspiring young people from across Oxfordshire to discover opportunities within the hospitality sector.

“As we are all aware, the pandemic created unprecedented challenges for the leisure, tourism and hospitality industry – therefore, the opening of this new, multimillion pound suite will underpin a vibrant sector that is not just vital to our own economy, but the UK economy too, creating a pipeline of major talent for many years to come.

“As the Local Enterprise Partnership for Oxfordshire, we will continue to champion such a vital sector working with both industry and our education providers to ensure a positive future ahead.” 

Tourism Minister, Nigel Huddleston MP, added: “I was delighted to open Activate Learning’s brand new hospitality and catering facilities at City of Oxford College and see first hand the fantastic opportunities that await the next generation in these sectors.

“Tourism and hospitality make vital contributions to our economy and we need to make sure we have a strong pipeline of talent coming through to help build back better for the future.”

Sally Dicketts CBE, Chief Executive of Activate Learning said: “We have a long track record of providing the hospitality and catering sector with amazing talent from here at City of Oxford College and these new facilities will allow this brilliant work to continue for years to come.

“This is a fantastic example of how further education can work with central Government to develop a strategic response to a long-term need for the local economy.

“These ultramodern, state-of-the-art training spaces will ensure students have real-life, practical experience of working in the sort of kitchens they will expect to find when they go out into the workplace.

“They will also allow us to strengthen and build on the outstanding relationships we have with local employers, by offering more opportunities for them to come into these facilities and offer practical demonstrations and skills workshops.”

According to a recent Office of National Statistics report, job vacancies in the hospitality sector have seen large increases nationally and are now higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Nancy Buckley, Director of Career Pathways at Activate Learning, said: “We work with hundreds of employers in the hospitality and catering sector across the Thames Valley and we know that people are desperate for good staff.

“Here in Oxford the situation is no different. There are exciting opportunities out there for people with the right skills and we’ve worked hard to develop a curriculum that delivers this, and now we have amazing facilities for students to work in too.”

The opening of the new suite sits alongside significant further support provided by OxLEP to the sector.

More widely, many hospitality-related businesses benefited from OxLEP’s backing, with a significant proportion of the 2,000-plus Oxfordshire-based businesses supported since March 2020 operating in the leisure, tourism and hospitality space.

To-date, OxLEP has administered in excess of £5million-worth of direct funding into the county’s business community across multiple sectors.

Find out more about the Local Growth Fund Project