HBAA has partnered with HUGS UK, a support and advice service for CV guidance; LinkedIn profile appraisals and job applications.
HUGS UK also provides support for interview preparation; interview techniques; presentations; video interviews; wellbeing, up-skilling and career diversification.
The not-for-profit initiative posts its content on its LinkedIn page, free of charge, for both industry professionals who currently find themselves out of work and those who remain in work but continue to face uncertainty and challenging times.
Pauline Houston, cofounder of HUGS UK said: “All our services are free, at no point do they lead to paid services or advertisements in return for payment. No money is involved, every service and support is 100 per cent voluntary. We are simply willing to embrace everyone in the hotel, travel and events industries and provide whatever support they need.
“The hospitality, travel and events sector has been one of the hardest-hit industries as a direct result of COVID19 lockdowns, government guidelines and quarantine restrictions. Daily we are hearing of more and more redundancies, with a recent estimate stating that there could be as many as three million people globally who will have lost their jobs in hospitality, travel and events by the end of 2020.
HUGS UK recognises that competition is fierce for jobs at the moment, with many people suddenly finding themselves out of work for the first time, in a long time.
“We aim to support them in giving them the best opportunity to display their talents and improve their chances of securing their next career step. For some, that will not be in hospitality, so it is about how they can showcase their skills to be transferrable and of value in a new arena. For others it is having the confidence to be able to profile their talents in a way that makes them stand out from the crowd and get through to that all-important next round,” Houston added.
Juliet Price, consultant executive director said: “As an industry association we see providing support which relates to the welfare and protection of our members and their staff as a priority. HBAA warmly welcomes valuable supportive initiatives such as this and we wholeheartedly endorse HUGS UK as an excellent tool to ensure our people are #HBAAfuturefit”
“We are immediately promoting HUGS UK to all our members as widely as possible. We urge the industry to get behind this as a community that must face these incredibly challenging times together. Prior to the pandemic, the UK events industry employed over 700K people and every one of us has been impacted in some way.”
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
