Academy by Simon Rogan in collaboration with Kendal College’s Hospitality and Catering team were presented with a Springboard Awards for Excellence 2024 on the evening of 11th April.
The prestigious evening held at the InterContinental Park Lane hosted by comedian Simon Brodkin saw members of the Academy team from the Lakes based apprenticeship collaboration collect the award for Best Education and Industry Partnership. The second major national award the Academy by Simon Rogan has collected since its inception in 2021.
Created in collaboration with Kendal College, the Academy by Simon Rogan is a 15-month hands-on immersive learning programme, specifically designed to take students on a unique journey. The programme is designed to equip them with skills that will escalate their passion for food and drink. As they learn through working directly with the teams in Simon’s Lake District restaurants and are further supplemented with practical and theory-based learning, provided by the expert tutors from Kendal College, one of the UK’s leading hospitality schools.
The annual Springboard Awards for Excellence are designed as a celebration of hospitality’s finest individuals and businesses. Recognising and rewarding those who have demonstrated over the last year their resourcefulness, creativity and innovation in supporting and nurturing their co-workers within their individual organisations.
Some of the biggest names in hospitality, including The Ivy Collection, Dakota Hotels, The Athenaeum Hotel and Residencies, The Vineyard Group and Hilton, feature among this year’s shortlisted finalists, recognising the outstanding work they have each undertaken in developing their talent and promoting the industry.
On the night, the 2024 Awards for Excellence raised a total of £175,310 for the Springboard Charity through sponsorship, tickets sales and fundraising.
Found in 1990 Springboard supports the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry and those seeking employment within it, with three key aims:
To advance the life and education of those under the age of 25, through the provision of advice, training and skills courses.
To relieve poverty and unemployment by assisting people to secure jobs in the hospitality sector.
Tackle ongoing problems the hospitality, leisure and tourism industries face, including staff and skills shortages and misrepresentation about what a fulfilling career they offer.
Chris Gamm, chief executive of Springboard, said: “In congratulating the winners of the Springboard Awards for Excellence, we recognise the remarkable achievements within the hospitality industry. These awards create a brilliant occasion for us to come together and acknowledge the outstanding contributions of our industry highlighting their exceptional successes and highly talented teams.
“Once again, the support in the room for the finalists and winners was outstanding. The InterContinental Park Lane has provided us with the perfect setting to be together, offer our congratulations and to celebrate the greatness of our industry. The more than £175,000 raised was a record for the event and will help an enormous number of people gain news skills and secure work in the hospitality industry.”
Marcin Maryniak, Simon Rogan Restaurant Group’s Head of HR & Recruitment, commented: ‘’Being presented with a Springboard Award for Excellence reflects the hard work of every member of our team and of the culinary team at Kendal College, who between them have made the apprenticeship programme so successful. This is a collaboration that is still relatively young, it is one that is constantly developing and evolving as we shape the programme to deliver the best possible outcomes for our student apprentices for the future. The relationship between the two organisations has grown and developed and certainly proving to be fruitful for all concerned, long may it continue.’’
Richard Axford, Head of Faculty and Service Industries at Kendal College, said: ‘’This is acknowledgment of how successful our collaboration with Simon Rogan is and how it goes from strength to strength. We at the college were extremely pleased this outstanding training programme has been recognised by the industry experts.’’
