WORLDWIDE: Hyatt’s RiseHY initiative has seen more than 5,700 opportunity youth join the group since 2018, including 926 from the EAME region.
Opportunity youth are defined as young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who have been disconnected from the economy by lack of education and employment.
RiseHY was launched in October 2018, and has committed to hiring 10,000 young people from under-resourced communities by 2025.
The programme is designed to put equal weight on retention and training to enable long-term careers in hospitality, and so far more than 400 hotels in 65 countries have taken part.
Hyatt has released the data to coincide with the UK’s Learning at Work Week, which runs between May 13 and 19 and aims to put a spotlight on the importance and benefits of continual learning and development.
The latest figures shows that 926 opportunity youth have joined Hyatt or a Hyatt hotel across the Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME) region since the launch of the RiseHY programme.
Nearly 100 hotels across 31 countries in EAME have hired under the RiseHY initiative, with retention rates exceeding 42 per cent and more than 170 participants having benefitted from lateral moves, promotions and transfers.
Jordan, Turkey, the UAE and the UK have so far been the top hiring countries in the region under the RiseHY programme.
More details on RiseHY, including spotlight stories, resources and current job listings can be found here.
Hyatt’s most recent Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) report – published in August last year – outlined the programme’s work with community-based organisations (CBOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and nonprofits.
This includes a partnership with the Bali Children Foundation, to provide schooling for opportunity youth until year twelve, as well as hospitality scholarships and internships.
Hyatt reports aim for “an organisation whose leaders reflect diverse communities”
Commenting on the news Malaika Myers, chief human resources officer at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, said: “The RiseHY programme helps thousands of young people around the world find fulfilling careers in hospitality.
“Focusing on Opportunity Youth brings Hyatt’s purpose of care to life by creating economic opportunities for individuals in under-resourced communities, while also uncovering an expanded talent pool to solve the hospitality industry’s staffing shortage and turnover challenges.”
Image supplied