Support access to skills building and mentorship for Black hospitality professionals in the UK
About the programme
The Ben’s Original™ Seat at the Table™ programme will support access to skills building and mentorship for Black hospitality workers in the UK – helping to create more equitable opportunities to advance diversity in the food industry.
The programme is delivered in partnership with Be Inclusive Hospitality and the educational provider is Leiths School of Food and Wine. It aims to advance diversity in the food industry by addressing racial inequality in access to opportunities.
Black hospitality workers are one of the groups least likely to be in the highest paid roles, and second most likely to be in lower paid roles.1 They are also least likely to have access to opportunities that would support career progression such as to a coach, sponsor, development scheme or qualification.2 This data points to something systemically inequitable, and has informed our understanding of where we should focus to help remove barriers.
The programme offers 16 funded places on selected courses ranging from shorter specialised courses that run over a couple of days, to longer accredited professional courses which run over a 10 week period. Successful applicants will also be offered three hours of mentorship over three months via Be Inclusive Hospitality’s proven scheme to provide support, knowledge sharing and personal development.
View the courses available here – including timings and pre-requisites.
Eligibility criteria
Below is a summary of the eligibility criteria but before applying, please read the full Programme terms which can be found here.
Ethnicities
The course is open to hospitality professionals who identify as Black (including Black, Black British, African, Caribbean and Black Mixed Race heritage).
Residency status
UK citizen, national or permanent resident.
Work experience
Minimum of two years experience working in the hospitality industry.
Pre-Requisites
Some courses require prior experience. Please refer to the Leith’s Course Description for details which can be found here.
Application timings
The deadline for applications is Friday 15th December. The classes will take place from mid-March.
For further information on our Seat at the Table™ Programme, please email satt@bihospitality.co.uk
