The Chair of The CRUMBS Project says he’s deeply honoured after receiving a top award.
The Bournemouth-based charity educates and supports adults to develop professional skills for working in hospitality.
Professor Peter Jones MBE received the Education & Training award at The Cateys, regarded as the most prestigious awards in the UK’s hospitality industry.
The award is bestowed upon individuals who have exhibited innovative approaches to continuous learning, particularly catering to the needs of the hospitality sector.
Professor Jones told Bournemouth One: “It’s the reflection of the view of your peers about you as an individual and the contribution that you’ve made to the industry in a specific field.
“I’ve been involved in education training for a long, long time but the real element of the award was focused on what I’ve been doing for the last two years.
“That was taking the CRUMBS Project, introducing particularly education and training provision in a different way, looking at the training programme that we offer and focusing on giving the trainees a real education and training experience rather than just work experience.
“I’m intensely proud at what we’ve been able to achieve with the CRUMBS Project because you see it it, not through our eyes but through the trainees’ eyes.
“One of the trainees said something a couple of weeks ago that was really quite telling, saying CRUMBS has really changed my life.
“Now we’re not setting out to change their life but what we can do is to help them to change their life.”
The CRUMBS Project empowers adults with disabilities and neurodivergences through training in catering and hospitality.
It provides them with essential skills and work experience to enhance their independence and employability.
The charity’s programmes promote inclusion and create pathways to meaningful employment.