We have a new website!

We at Concord Hotels are delighted to announce the launch of our new website - www.concord-hotels.org.uk. The site is contemporary, easily navigable and offers up-to-date information about Concord, our training programme, our member hotels, our trainees, and much more besides.

Our 2013/14 marketing communications plan commenced with the launch of our electronic training programme, replacing the previously printed version. The May launch of the new website, redesigned as part of this continued endeavour to enhance our communications, is aligned with our increased social media presence on Facebook and planned activity on both Twitter and LinkedIn.

We firmly believe in the importance of attracting and investing in the young people of today. Our modernised approach to communications will enhance our ability to reach and communicate with this audience.

Our strapline, ‘developing talent for the future’, is attained by offering a first-class, two-year management development programme to students we have recruited from catering colleges across the UK, who have completed either a BTEC Level 3 in Hospitality Supervision or an NVQ/VRQ hospitality craft course and are interested in a long-term supervisory or management career in the hospitality industry.

Carl Waters, graduate of the Concord scheme in 2013, says, “I had planned on going to university, but the Concord scheme turned out to be a better option, specifically because it is a work-based scheme, leading to a supervisory/managerial position in a relatively short period of time.”

Colleges are equally enthusiastic about our programme, citing factors such as experience, networking, learning on the job, excellent career progression as well as the added benefit of not accumulating student debt, as benefits of the scheme to students successful in being awarded a place.

Glen Allenby, lecturer at the City College Norwich, says, “The Concord programme has proved to be an excellent option for students completing BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Hospitality courses. Particularly for those not wishing to progress into higher education, it offers structured, practical training in a range of departments and establishments. The breadth of experience gained makes these young people highly desirable to employers seeking flexible, skilled professionals with a track record of working in the industry. Feedback from recent candidates shows they are really enjoying the programme and building a great network of contacts which can only help their future careers.”

Our approach to training also provides an effective manpower solution to hotels that are members of the Concord Hotels organisation and builds the skills necessary for the future of the industry as a whole.

Vida Daval, HR Manager at The Woodlands Park Hotel, says, “The Concord scheme is an opportunity to train up young, talented people with the potential to achieve at a senior management level... We would certainly recommend it to other hotels that are looking for management talent via a cost-effective route.”

The structured Concord Management Development Programme consists of four six-month placements, one at each of four of our member hotels, covering all aspects of operation – beverage service, food service, food preparation and front office – the different environments enhancing their knowledge and giving them the widest possible range of operational experience during their training. The comprehensive programme is completed in conjunction with the trainee’s line manager and supported fully throughout by Concord’s Group Training Officer. The graduate trainee is then assisted in securing permanent employment, with over 70% finding a position in one of the member hotels they’ve trained in.

For further information and enquiries about Concord Hotels, please contact Glen Harrison at Concord Hotels at [email protected] or alternatively by telephone on 07970 331034.

members view

"For the member hotels it provides a guaranteed supply of committed, ambitious and eager employees who can provide the backbone to the workforce within an establishment. It also provides a level of certainty over where the next staff member is going to come from in an uncertain jobs market. Once trained the member hotels can also reap the rewards of fully trained managers who have a professional approach to the industry and a diverse experience of the different hotel departments."


David Oxley - HR Manager - Victoria Hotel