Following another successful conference in February 2018, the PACE Executive agreed a new strategy to take PACE forward in its support of colleges offering Hospitality training, now that mergers have begun to settle. We have also been informed by feedback from delegates and members.
The PACE vision is to represent our sector on all prominent professional bodies associated with hospitality and catering education.
As a team we feel it is time to extend our network further to reflect the work in hospitality and food taking place in secondary and primary schools. Education in hospitality and catering now begins at such a young age, we believe the network needs to support educators at all levels to highlight the range of opportunities our industry has to offer.
To support these changes, and to better represent the needs of this broader network, we have also restructured the PACE Executive.
Molly Shaher has been appointed to the position of Chair of PACE, and will be supported by her fellow directors Sue Kenyon, Geoff Booth and Mike Mounfield.
The Directorate felt that Molly is very proactive in both the FE and HE environments, and has extensive experience of forging links with the school’s sector too. Her financial background and her present role at the heart of the curriculum enables her to represent and react to current issues faced in hospitality and catering education.
The continued growth of each of the regions is also a key priority of the Executive team. In order to enable further progress, we are reaching out to passionate, motivated members to help build on the successes of each of the regions – we need more Molly’s! We will be calling upon colleagues from primary and secondary schools, FE and HE college providers, and universities too. We will be involving more employers so that the education and training sector can fully understand and respond to the changing landscape of our sector.
With Hospitality and Catering businesses facing the unknown of a post Brexit Britain, we know that there will be greater challenges with food costs rising; with the recruitment of skilled individuals, and junior managers; and with rising business costs too.
PACE will continue to grow its numbers, provide local support across the regions by bringing local players together, providing information, sharing innovation and promoting the value of competition work.
It will also expand its reach by building connections with trainees, apprentices and students to ensure they make more links with employment opportunities and alert our employer partners to their specific aspirations and expectations.
Our national conference will be developed with colleges, showcasing the work of the sector and its learners, communicating the latest information and intelligence, and enabling increased networking opportunities for staff.