Hospitality Skills Academy

Hospitality is one of the most important industries that provides jobs for 568,000 people, contributing £17 billion to the London economy whilst offering excellent career prospects. However, staff and skill shortages are present across all key sub-sectors including food and beverage, accommodation, entertainment, and tourism.

About the Hospitality Skills Academy

The Hospitality Skills Academy is part of the Mayor of London’s Programmes that support Londoners hardest hit by the pandemic in sectors key to London’s recovery and long-term economic growth. We proudly work with the Mayor of London and a fantastic range of businesses to produce our Skills Academies.

We are the UK’s leading school of Hospitality and Culinary Arts courses with our extensive gastronomic practice and proven excellence, the college is committed to innovation and high performance in Hospitality and Culinary Arts.

Our Hospitality Skills Academy offers a range of new initiatives to provide flexible training and professional development. We provide free training opportunities and support packages to help Londoners get a job in the Hospitality and Culinary Arts sectors. We do this by providing bespoke flexible learning programmes to fit individual circumstances and availability. We aim to give them the confidence and skills they need to be employable within three to five weeks, and a guaranteed job interview with an employer who is accredited with the Good Work Standard.

Entry-level course with CCC digital badge

Essential Kitchen Skills
Essential Bar, Barista and Customer Service Skills
Hospitality Skills Passport

Pathway courses, OCN accredited E-certificates

Other upskill short courses available:

Bakery Workshops
Sommelier Workshops
Butchery Techniques
Fish Preparation Techniques
Food Sustainability and Nutrition – Introduction
Chocolate – Introduction

Hospitality Skills Academy Courses

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The Quality Mark

Our Mayors Skills Academies are all credited by The Quality Mark which identifies our academies to be excellent, industry-relevant training in the capital. The Quality Mark Statement also represents our commitment to including a combination of sector-specific questions and wider cross-cutting issues like diversity and inclusion, sustainability, Good Work and the engagement of underrepresented groups.

Flexible training

Our award-winning Hospitality and Culinary Arts department has supported more than 2,000 students in hospitality careers in the last two years. The Hospitality Academy combines this experience with a range of new initiatives to provide flexible wrap-around training and professional development, including:

Workshops in specific personal and employability skills, for example, resilience, customer service and communication
Insight sessions into roles within the hospitality industry
Introductory bite-sized units where you can get a first insight
Access to specialist training (for example, our Chefs and Bakers Academies)
Multiple step-on and step-off points for greater flexibility
Free additional courses up to Level 3 in a wide range of areas
Individual support to address barriers to employment
Personal tutors and mentoring
Apprenticeships and work experience including pre-apprenticeships and pre-employment courses
Industry engagement and career support sessions with employers
Hospitality and job fair attendance across London
Use of industry-standard equipment
Help with job applications, writing CVs and cover letters
Personalised information, advice and guidance, career advice and help with job searches
Tailored Sector employability workshops
Award in employability Level 1 and Level 2
Advice and guidance for self-employment

Our facilities

The Hospitality Skills Academy has access to 15 operational kitchens and two training restaurants at our Victoria centre. We offer a wide range of facilities and equipment including:

Professional kitchens
Patisserie
Chocolate making kitchen
The Vincent Rooms Restaurant and Brasserie
Computer suites
Event, conference, and meeting rooms

Find out more about our Westminster centre.

Student testimonials

Hear from our Alumni!

Alfie
Westminster centre student

Alfie studied for three years on a full-time Professional Chef Diploma Course at Capital City College. Alfie has an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) and required support within the kitchens and classrooms during his time with us. Alfie found that multi-tasking was one of the hardest aspects for him to cope with, but with in-class support to refocus he managed to achieve a Level 3 Professional Cookery qualification.

During his time with us, Alfie was assigned a Learning Support Assistant to work alongside him during the course. The practical work was always completed by Alfie, but the support he received helped him to manage and organise his time to help him achieve his qualification.

At the end of the course, Alfie was recruited to the Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse restaurant in central London. He has just completed his probationary period and they are talking about promotion in the New Year. Additionally, Alfie was awarded the Special Achievement award at the Graduation of the class of 2021 for his resilience and achievement despite the challenges he faced.

“Capital City College prepared me and got me ready for the industry and working in a professional environment. [They] believed in me and helped me to succeed.”

Hospitality sector employer partnerships

The Hospitality Skills Academy programmes are co-designed with some of the biggest names in the catering sector to give you an accessible and direct career pathway. Your learning includes work experience with our partner employers, so you get real-life experience and skills that you can put into practice immediately.

The Craft Guild of Chefs, the Institute of Hospitality, UK Hospitality, the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and The Worshipful Company of Cooks of London represent a plethora of employers in the hospitality industry. We work with them to shape the skills and employment provision in line with short-medium, and long-term industry needs to maximise career opportunities and make the hospitality sector more inclusive.

Central District Alliance (CDA) is the Business Improvement District (BID) for Holborn and Clerkenwell. BIDs are a transformative way to manage business communities, and their popularity is growing rapidly in London. CDA proudly stands as one of the largest and most successful BIDs in the country, showcasing the positive impact that BIDs can have on attracting and retaining businesses in the area. CDA represent a highly diversified commercial and cultural base of creative, educational, legal, medical, professional, scientific, and technological brands of global significance – generating a contribution to London’s GVA second only to the city. One of the BID’s core priorities is addressing the economic recovery of the Capital, in particular focusing on the hospitality and digital industry and creating opportunities for both the businesses and communities within the district to thrive.

Sodexo is one of the largest catering services employers.

Fuller’s is a leading employer creating unique premium pub and hotel experiences, award-winning ales, craft lagers/ciders, and chef-led kitchens.

The Ivy is a portfolio of 14 restaurants across London.

Atul Kochhar Restaurants is a portfolio of 7 restaurants, with additional openings announced.

CH&CO is a collection of specialist businesses and market-leading brands in the catering and hospitality sector.

Lexington Catering is a leading hospitality and catering provider with a variety of cafes and restaurants in its portfolio.

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How to apply

We have a wide range of short courses as part of our Hospitality Skills Academy. See our full list of Culinary Arts and Hospitality courses here. If you are unsure of which study path to take, check out our level equivalence table.

If you are interested in training with us, please fill in your details on the form below and one of our team members will contact you to discuss your options and help you apply.