How Marriott opened hospitality careers to 10,517 young people, from virtual work experience to real jobs
A pathway built with Accenture and Movement to Work, reaching 408 NEET young people and creating £8.82M in social value.
Marriott International partnered with Springpod, Accenture and Movement to Work to turn free virtual work experience into in-person placements and jobs in Marriott hotels. In its first year the programme reached 10,517 young people, including 408 who were not in education, employment or training, and created £8.82M in social value.
Two problems, one pathway
Nearly a million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training. At the same time, hotels across London struggle to fill entry-level roles.
Many young people can't picture themselves in hospitality at all. And the ones who would benefit most from a way in are the hardest to reach through traditional recruitment.
young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training (ONS, April to June 2026)
Meet Deborah Ojo
After completing college, Deborah struggled to get her foot in the door to the world of work. With the help of Aviard and Marriott's Virtual Work Experience programme, she went on to join the Aloft London Excel's Food and Beverage team. Listen to her story below.
How virtual becomes reality
Virtual work experience is open to every young person. Those who need it most get in-person support and a route into placements at Marriott hotels.
Free virtual work experience, built with Marriott associates and completed on a phone.
Local wraparound support, with coaching and practical help from Movement to Work partners.
In-person placements in Marriott hotels, leading to job offers.
Follow the numbers
6,012 completed at least one course, 68% of those who started. Placement and hiring figures supplied by the programme team.
Marriott has committed to 30 in-person placements every quarter from here on.
Reaching the young people recruitment usually misses
The programme reached young people from the backgrounds hospitality most wants to hear from, and gave them a low-risk first look at the sector.
Share of those who answered each question.
In Marriott's words
What's stood out for us is how many young people finish the programme able to picture a career in hospitality, plenty who'd never really considered it before. Just as important is who we're reaching, over 300 of the young people on the programme are already NEET, and we know from the wider picture that's likely only a fraction of those who genuinely need this kind of support. Being able to reach the people who need it most, not just the ones who'd have found their way anyway, is what makes this partnership feel different to us.
What young people say
“I enjoyed getting a real sense of how Marriott operates, seeing how teams work together, and learning what it takes to provide excellent guest experiences.”
“I really enjoyed learning about hospitality, especially guest experience and front desk roles. It has helped me better understand the industry and feel more confident about pursuing a career in hospitality.”
“Creating this course definitely shows Marriott put people first by investing time and energy to make working in this field more accessible and willing to invest in future talents.”
Four partners, one pathway
Placements, jobs, associates and content
Skills expertise and a replicable model
Reach and wraparound support via Aviard Inspires, Shaw Trust and Street League
Platform, content, data and school reach
£8.82M of social value
That's 6,012 young people who completed the programme, each creating £1,467 of value. Per-learner value comes from Springpod's 2025 social value model, developed with Social Value Portal. Attribution, deadweight and drop-off are applied, so the figure is conservative.
Illustrative only, using the same per-learner value.
From London to the world
Springpod and Marriott are now scaling the model globally with the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.
The same pathway works for any employer with high-volume entry-level hiring and a social mobility goal, especially where in-person places are limited. That includes hospitality, retail, care and logistics.
Sources. Springpod platform data, 1 September 2025 to 30 September 2026 (programme launched October 2025). Young people enrolled counts unique learners across eight Marriott courses (11,487 course enrolments in total). NEET status is self-reported. Demographic figures are shares of those who answered each question. Placement and hiring figures supplied by the programme team. UK NEET figure from ONS, 16 to 24 year olds, April to June 2026.
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