A new hospitality award has been launched by the National Hospitality Academy. The Professional Hospitality Award is an accredited award issued by Laser Learning Awards, an awarding organisation approved by Ofqual, QAA and SIA.

The award has been created to recognise competence in the hospitality sector for people in or planning to enter the industry, and  those looking to enter or move up into management.

The award is given on completion of a number of course units provided by the National Hospitality Academy, and the entire programme, including exams, can be completed online.

The 13 course units are:

• Ofqual regulated Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders qualification plus DBS and full application.
• Ofqual regulated Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety qualification
• Allergy Awareness
• Gluten Free Training
• Health and Safety Level 3
• Risk Assessments Course
• COSHH
• GDPR
• Dealing with Customer Complaints
• Customer Service
• How to Cost a Menu
• Unconscious Bias
• Cellar Training

The award comes with certificates for every course plus the Ofqual qualification for both the Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders and the Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety. Once completed the additional overall award is awarded by Laser Learning Awards.

Founded in 2015, The National Hospitality Academy offers 70 courses for the hospitality industry, all available on a subscription basis. Rather than paying per course, the subscription structure enables employers to give their staff ongoing access to all the training they need to build their skills and further their careers.

There are subscription plans for employers of all sizes, depending on the number of people who need to access the courses. The National Hospitality Academy’s subscribers range from small employers to large multi-site operations.

The National Hospitality Academy’s founder Mark Bowden said:

“We’re proud to launch this new award, which will help to make hospitality in the UK a more professional industry, encouraging new people to join and existing people to stay and move up. We provide a low-cost provision for training that enables anybody from a small café owner to the largest corporate to acquire the same level of training and the same access the same tools that everybody else has got.

“It’s not cost prohibitive for anybody to be able to train any level of member of staff to any level that you want to get them to. Ours is an inclusive platform that enables you to provide career progression, improve your business, meet legal and regulatory requirements, and improve staff retention. The courses can be modified to include videos and content specific to your own business, and all exams can be taken online.”

David Gittins, CEO at Laser Learning Awards, said:

“We’re delighted to provide the accreditation for this comprehensive new award, which recognises skills and professionalism in the hospitality sector and provides a pathway for people looking to progress their careers. The online course delivery and online exams make the course highly accessible while providing people with a meaningful, externally accredited award.”

To find out more about the courses, go to nationalhospitalityacademy.co.uk.