ATLANTA—InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Goodwill Industries International announced the establishment of the Goodwill IHG Academy program in the United States and Canada that will offer skills development and employment opportunities to those seeking a career in the hospitality industry. Goodwill IHG Academy participants will have access to job services, resources and real-world work experience in IHG-branded hotels that will help increase opportunities for employment.
The IHG Academy program is tailored to meet local job needs around the world through IHG-branded hotels working hand-in-hand with educational and community organizations to fill jobs in hospitality. Goodwill provides job training programs that meet the needs of local employers in high-growth industries, like hospitality, through job services and other community-based programs such as counseling, financial education and résumé preparation. Through the Goodwill IHG Academy program, both organizations are working together to create more sustainable communities.
“We are enthusiastic about working with Goodwill Industries to expand the IHG Academy program in North America and further support economic growth,” said Kirk Kinsell, president, the Americas, IHG. “Being a responsible business is a part of IHG’s DNA. We take a long-term view of our business and focus on how we can positively impact our local communities now and in the future.”
Program Offers Work Placement
Individuals participating in the Goodwill IHG Academy will receive a skills development experience that includes work placement in IHG-branded hotels, performance feedback, and recruitment discussions that will give them opportunities to gain experience with the job interview process. The work placement opportunity will add important mentoring and networking connections for those whose utilize Goodwill’s jobs services.
“As a leading hotel company, IHG has been a contributor to the travel industry’s job creation engine fueling the U.S. economy since the recession,” Kinsell added. “And, we have a need to recruit even more skilled, motivated and talented employees into our workforce, so that we can continue to meet the needs of our guests.”
“Goodwill builds strong communities through job creation,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “Our partnership and collaboration with IHG will enable us to create more sustainable communities by establishing job training and placement opportunities in the field of hospitality.”
Goodwill’s employment training and job placement services benefited more than six million people in 2012. Job services and other community-based programs are funded and supported through the sales of donated clothes and household items at Goodwill stores and online, as well as through community relationships, like the Goodwill IHG Academy.
Helping People Achieve Economic Independence
“Goodwill has done tremendous work though its community-based programs that help people achieve economic independence,” said Kate Gibson, vice president, Corporate Responsibility—Sustainable Communities, IHG. “Together, we will work to close the skills gap, fill available jobs within IHG-branded hotels and provide a pipeline of talent for the hospitality industry.”
As a leading, global hotel company with the tools to hire and develop world-class talent, IHG-branded hotels employ 350,000 people around the world who bring its broad portfolio of nine hotel brands to life every day. With more than 1,000 hotels in the IHG development pipeline, IHG-branded hotels expect to recruit approximately 90,000 people over the next few years, including 30,000 in the Americas.
The IHG Academy reinforces IHG’s responsible business commitment to supporting sustainable communities by using a business model that enables collaboration with small to medium-sized enterprises, often local to the hotel location. First launched in China in 2006, the IHG Academy program continues to open the door to economic opportunity through more than 250 programs globally. More 10,000 participants have benefitted from the program to date. IHG recently announced new corporate responsibility targets for 2013 to 2017, which include expanding the reach and impact of the IHG Academy to provide skills development and improved employability to 20,000 people worldwide.
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