Employability scheme named “best class” by North Tyneside Council

An employability project that successfully recruited new talent into one of the north east’s most hotly anticipated hospitality openings in the north east has been recognised for its achievements at the North Tyneside Council Adult Learning Awards.

‘Get INN to the Tynemouth Castle Inn’ was named class of the year at the celebration of learning event, after it recruited 15 people as part of the recruitment process for its namesake venue.

The week-long programme was run by The Inn Collection Group’s people team in conjunction with North Tyneside Council Employment and Skills department and Newcastle United Foundation and offered a Level 1 employability qualification with a guaranteed interview at the end.

Attracting 45 participants who had previously encountered challenges in securing employment, the programme was tailored by The Inn Collection Group’s People Team to deliver workshops that included business induction, and conflict resolution.

To deliver a quality experience, the cohort was split into two separate groups, with one held at the NU Foundation building by Hannah Rowen and Laura Sharman of Newcastle United Foundation and the other at North Tyneside’s Working Well Hub by Michael Kennedy.

Hosting an assessment centre at St James’ Park, the participants were then immersed into an environment designed to enhance and allow them to demonstrate their teamwork skills whilst engaging with a diverse selection of roles within The Inn Collection Group.

Concluding with interviews, 17 positions were offered at the new flagship inn on the Tynemouth coast with 15 new members retained.

Reflecting on the programme and its award win, people partner Jake Henderson said: “We’re very proud for the programme to have been recognised at the learning awards and for what it achieved.

“We have engaged with 45 people to provide an opportunity for them to work on and develop their skillsets to improve their employability prospects in the future and also recruited members into The Tynemouth Castle Inn’s team.

“It has been a brilliant collaboration with Newcastle United Foundation and North Tyneside’s Working Well hub and I am incredibly grateful for all of their support and those of our people at The Inn Collection Group who made this programme so successful.”