Jeremy Goring, whose family have owned and run The Goring Hotel for 112 years, started Hotel School – a joint venture with The Passage, London’s largest voluntary sector homeless centre – a couple of years ago to teach hospitality skills to homeless and vulnerable people, match them to sustainable employment, and support them in their first steps into work. We caught up with Jeremy to get an insight into the charity.

---

Why did you decide to set up Hotel School with The Passage?

The Goring Hotel and The Passage, London’s biggest homeless centre, are 100 yards away from each other and we’ve always always had an involvement together. It struck me that with 300,000 homeless in the capital and, conversely a chronic shortage of staff in the UK’s hospitality scene, it should be possible to start to balance this equation with a little bit of creative thinking.

Can you tell us about some of the opportunities it provides?

Hotel School inspires people to get into hospitality and teaches them the basic skills over a 13-week programme. We then carefully match our students to employers and hand hold them through their first steps into work and beyond.

How much can the charity transform the lives of those in need?

Our students will all have been homeless, some for over ten years and even 20-30. Many feel they have no hope of entering the workplace when they come and join our programme. We keep it interactive, practical and teamwork based, which builds confidence fast; we always see a stark change in our students within the first couple of weeks. The team break down the fear barrier  – such as the misunderstanding that a smart hotel might not be staffed by completely normal, welcoming people. 80% of the students make it through to graduation, which is something unheard of in this area. And of those, most will be in full-time work soon after thanks to our employment progression team.

Can you name some industry experts involved in the teaching?

We have over 100 hospitality professionals who give their time for free. Chefs such as Jack Stein, John Williams – Head Chef at The Ritz – and Nathan Outlaw. As well as Managing Directors from the top hotels in London and a few curve balls such as World Cup winning rugby legend Will Greenwood OBE, and of course HRH Prince William who visits from time to time. I don’t think anyone has ever said no to coming over and getting involved! It’s very heartening.

What do you hope to achieve with the Hotel School in the years ahead?

With an unemployment time-bomb ticking away due to the current situation, we are bracing for massive demand and so our immediate aim is to up the number of students dramatically. I’m delighted to say that we have entered into a partnership with the Westminster Kingsway College to give us more teaching space and some brilliant demonstration kitchens.

How has Covid-19 upended hospitality and has this effected your work?

Obviously we’ve had to take everything online over the last year, which has been quite difficult for the students. Many of our graduates are furloughed or have lost their jobs and the team have been supporting them on a daily basis. The great thing about Hotel school is that you never leave! Our team stay in touch with students for as long as they need after graduation, even several years.