A London college has launched a series of courses designed to plug the skills gaps threatening the city’s Olympic dream.
Waltham Forest College’s School of Service Industries is now running catering, customer service, barista (coffee making) and pool lifeguard qualifications to help young people into such careers.
Sector skills council People 1st warned last year that visitors to the London 2012 Games would feel let down unless skill levels in the hospitality sector were increased.
A spokesman for Waltham Forest College said: “The service industries are crying out for qualified staff, and young people in the Olympic boroughs of London are demanding better training to grab the growing number of great job opportunities in the industry. We want to help bridge that gap.”
The college is running the vocational courses in conjunction with London Leisure College and Newham Sixth Form College. The project is funded by the London Development Agency.
