Hospitality Matters – with Morecambe BID, Dave Guest and LMC

 Morecambe Business Improvement District (BID) and Lancaster and Morecambe College (LMC) are collaborating with Dave Guest (ex-BBC North West reporter) to produce a series of videos aimed at different industry sectors in the local area to highlight issues around employability and what benefits working in these industries offer.

In the first video ‘Hospitality Matters’ Dave interviews a series of local businesses about the issues and perceived reputation of businesses in the Hospitality and Food & Beverage industries. Myths such as long hours, low pay and lack of advancement are busted. The intention about this series of short films is to attract and keep local talent from a young age.

The Hospitality industry lost many staff due to Brexit and this was compounded by Covid striking in 2020 but the future of the local area is bright with the announcement of successful funding, in January, by the government of Eden Project Morecambe.

This development, alone, will require at least 300 employees by the time it opens in late 2025. LMC have been working with Eden Project for the last few years to deliver the district’s green skills workforce of the future; the intention of Eden and local businesses is to source as many staff as possible locally.

Ruth Wilkinson, Chair of Morecambe BID and owner of the Consult Centre in Morecambe, commented:

At Morecambe BID we are committed to bringing more opportunities to our young people in the region and equally supporting our local businesses to employ local engaged people, we feel showing young people the opportunities available to them in our hospitality industry will help the whole of Morecambe to take advantage of the growth we will see over the next couple of years

Wes Johnson, Principal and Chief Executive of Lancaster and Morecambe College, added:

Lancaster & Morecambe College has built a strong relationship with hundreds of local businesses, supporting their current and future skills and workforce development needs. Our District is preparing for the fantastic opportunities ahead, however, we recognise that skills, or people, shortages pose a serious risk right now and for future economic growth. The College and our local businesses are part of an interconnected ecosystem and only by working together can we encourage young people and adults to engage with technical education and then progress into fantastic local jobs. Our ‘Hospitality Matters’ video is the first of a series in which we hope to celebrate the benefits of living, learning and working in this fantastic part of England, raising aspiration and driving career progression, in turn supporting our local economy to grow and thrive.

Other videos in the pipeline include Arts & Entertainment, Health and Care, Digital Skills, Retail, Construction, Transport and Professional Services. In each of these videos we will look at the particular issues facing these industries locally.