Nicky Wallis

Workplace stress doesn’t just impact wellbeing - it affects performance, morale, and your bottom line. Our 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 guide is packed with practical advice, expert insights, and actionable steps to help hospitality leaders tackle work-related stress head-on. ✅ Understand the impact of stress on your team ✅ Learn how to implement effective wellbeing strategies ✅ Get expert tips tailored specifically for the hospitality industry Download your 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 Workplace Stress Guide here ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/erKJxBvm #stressawarenessmonth #stressawareness #stress

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If you could redesign the apprenticeship system from scratch… what would you keep, and what would you build even bigger? Because honestly? There’s already so much to love about apprenticeships. ✅ They give people hands-on experience. ✅ They support real, tangible business outcomes. ✅ They help learners see their own potential, and apply it. What other qualification gives you the chance to earn while you learn, build confidence, grow into a role, and bring real value to your team along the way? Something that the younger generations are definitely swaying to more, why come out of university with masses of debt when you can get real life experience whilst progressing your knowledge, skills and behaviours, and we’re seeing this shift across all sectors. That’s why I came back to the sector. Apprenticeships are my passion, because when they’re done well, they’re transformational. But we’re in a space now where we can build on what’s already great. ✨ Making qualifications even more bespoke. ✨ Ensuring learners are on the right programmes that suit them, their role, and their progression path. ✨ Supporting businesses to use apprenticeships strategically, not just as a tick-box. We’re in a prime position to make sure apprenticeships are used in a way that drives genuine learning, and builds real capability in our workforces. At Gower College Swansea we’re passionate about making that happen. From entry-level roles to degree-level apprenticeships. Learning isn’t just for school leavers. It’s for everyone, at every stage. So, if you could redesign the apprenticeship system from scratch… 💭 What would you double down on? 💭 What would you tweak? 💭 What would you build from the ground up? I’d love to hear your thoughts 👇 #Apprenticeships #SkillsForGrowth #BusinessDevelopment #WorkBasedLearning #LifelongLearning #PositiveProgress #EmployerSupport #GowerCollegeSwansea #LearningThatWorks #SouthWalesBusiness Paul Rogers Susan James Nia Davies Steffan Rees Stuart Davies Medi - Bethan Williams fCMgr, BA (Hons) 1st,, MInstLM

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How to make apprenticeships count 🚀 It's easy to tick a box when it comes to training. Enrol staff. Complete paperwork. Meet compliance. Done ☑️ But the real impact comes when apprenticeships and funded learning are used as a strategic tool, not just a process. Here's where employers see the biggest difference: ✅ Align training with business goals When programmes are designed around your organisation's challenges and ambitions, learning translates directly into growth. ✅ Engage line managers Apprentices flourish when managers are invested, offering support, feedback and opportunities to apply skills in real situations. ✅ Think long-term development Apprenticeships aren't only for new starters. Upskilling existing staff ensures you retain talent and build loyalty while future-proofing your teams. At Gower College Swansea, we work with employers across sectors to make sure funded learning delivers more than a qualification, it delivers outcomes that matters to your business. Apprenticeships shouldn't just tick a box. They should change the game. #Apprenticeships #EmployerEngagement #FundedLearning #WorkforceDevelopment #GowerCollegeSwansea Paul Rogers Susan James Nia Davies Stuart Davies Medi - Bethan Williams fCMgr, BA (Hons) 1st,, MInstLM Steffan Rees

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🌍 Industrial Strategy, Growth and Jobs in Wales If we’re serious about boosting growth and creating sustainable jobs here in Wales, apprenticeships and funded learning must be front and centre. Apprenticeships aren’t just about training individuals, they’re about developing the skills our industries need right now while futureproofing for tomorrow. From advanced manufacturing and engineering, to digital, health, and green skills, the right programmes can directly align with Wales’ industrial strategy and ensure our workforce is equipped to meet demand. ✅ For employers, this means closing skills gaps and building a talent pipeline that drives innovation and productivity. ✅ For learners, it means developing career-ready skills in real workplace settings. ✅ For Wales as a whole, it means more growth, more jobs, and stronger communities. At Gower College Swansea, we’re committed to working with employers to tailor apprenticeships and funded learning so that they don’t just tick boxes, they make an impact. The industrial strategy is about building a resilient economy. Apprenticeships are one of the smartest investments we can make to get there. 👉 What skills do you think are most critical for Wales’ growth over the next 5 years? #Apprenticeships #Wales #IndustrialStrategy #SkillsForGrowth #EmployerEngagement #FundedLearning Paul Rogers Susan James Nia Davies Steffan Rees Stuart Davies Medi - Bethan Williams fCMgr, BA (Hons) 1st,, MInstLM

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Big news coming out of the hospitality sector!⬇️ The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has collaborated with The Better Hiring Institute, along with other safeguarding industry experts including Reed Screening, to launch a free-to-use industry best practice ‘Better Hiring Toolkit’ for the hospitality sector. The new toolkit provides practical, simplified guidance to support hospitality businesses with hiring new employees by utilising UK best practice. Keith Rosser, Chair of the Better Hiring Institute and Director of Reed Screening, said: “The hospitality industry is vital to the UK economy and I hope that the toolkit will assist organisations to hire to the best possible standard." Access the toolkit here: https://bit.ly/4lnc1NI #Hospitality #Recruitment #BetterHiring #SafeHiring #UKEconomy

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Most Five-Star Hotels Are Still Serving Five-Star Scones… But Three-Star Service 89,000 hospitality jobs lost, according to The Caterer Magazine. And with them, the memory of how ‘Mrs Ashworth’ takes her tea. Premium service hasn’t disappeared. It’s just walking out the door, because no one is staying long enough to learn it. Or you are not training it. High turnover equals no time to train. Yet five-star standards are still expected. But how can your team deliver the details… …when they’ve barely had time to learn the menu? Your guests haven’t changed that much. They still expect polished service. Anticipation. Recognition. And rightly so. Behind the scenes, is it chaos held together by commitment, not capability? The quiet truth? You’re expecting high performance from teams you haven’t invested in. And hoping excellence will emerge by chance. It won’t. If you want exceptional guest experiences, Start where luxury actually lives: In the confidence, presence and emotional intelligence of your trained people. Show them how to read the room. To master the unspoken. To remember, repeat and refine. Because glitzy marketing campaigns won’t matter… If no one notices your guest preferences and acts on them with detailed attention. It’s time to raise the standard — from the inside out. With learning designed as thoughtfully as the service it supports. #LuxuryHospitality #FiveStarService #ThoughtfulLearning #LeadershipInLuxury #TLCMoments #HospitalityRetention #LoyaltyThroughLearning

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In high-stakes environments, mindset is everything (One of my Favourite Tools and Why it works) This week, I have found myself using a simple but powerful tool with some clients, helping them shift from overwhelm to focused, confident action. The "Name It to Tame It" Technique. Whenever you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unusually reactive, pause and ask: ➡️ What am I really feeling right now? ➡️ Can I give this emotion a name? It sounds simple, but this practice of labeling emotions shifts your mindset more than any productivity hack or motivational quote. Here is why it works: 🧠 Neuroscience shows that naming an emotion calms the amygdala (the part of the brain responsible for fear and stress responses) and reactivates the prefrontal cortex, our rational, decision-making centre. In other words, when we can name what we feel, we begin to take back control. It is not about fixing the emotion. It is about making space for it, so it no longer hijacks our thoughts or decisions. This helps you: -> Approach challenges with more clarity -> Communicate more effectively -> Choose my next step with intention If you are navigating change, leading others, or simply feeling the weight of your to-do list, I highly recommend trying it. Ask yourself: What is the dominant emotion I am feeling today? You might be surprised how much clarity that one question brings. What is a mindset tool you are leaning on right now? I would love to learn from your experience. ➕ Follow me, Antje Langsch for more ♻️ Repost if you found this helpful 📨 Get weekly actionable insights in 'Wednesday Wisdom' (link in featured section)

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Almost every chef I’ve interviewed who left restaurant kitchens says the same thing: They didn’t leave food. They left a system that stopped being liveable. This new global report by Bournemouth University and The Burnt Chef Project® puts data behind that feeling. Surveying 460 chefs across countries and roles, the findings are stark: – Nearly 7 in 10 chefs regularly think about leaving – Two-thirds are actively scanning for other work – Work–family conflict and unsustainable hours are central drivers What stood out to me most is this: Intention to leave isn’t a lack of resilience or passion. It’s a structural response to how kitchen work is organised. Through Fugitive Chefs Podcast, I speak with chefs who’ve already made the jump into R&D, product development, education, food systems, and media. Their stories mirror this research almost line by line. They didn’t abandon cooking. They translated their skills elsewhere. This report matters because it helps move the conversation away from “fixing chefs” and toward fixing the conditions we expect them to endure. I’m sharing the full report here because pairing solid research with lived experience is how we start designing better futures for people who want to stay in food — without burning out in the process. #HospitalityResearch #Chefs #KitchenCulture #CareerTransitions  #FoodIndustry #MentalHealth #WorkLifeBalance #FugitiveChefs Dr. Charalampos (Babis) Giousmpasoglou Kris Hall MIH Dr. Evangelia (Lia) Marinakou Emmanouil Papavasileiou, PhD, M.B.A, MSc.

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This might sound uncomfortable, but it needs to be said. Many organisations still believe having an on-roll L&D Head is the safest way to build capability. Yet increasingly, organisations are choosing L&D consultants instead. Not because it’s cheaper. But because it’s smarter. Here’s the real difference: An L&D Head often sustains learning. An L&D Consultant is brought in to transform it. Why the shift? • Business priorities change faster than job descriptions • One role cannot master leadership, EQ, POSH, culture & behaviour deeply • Internal roles come with bias, legacy thinking & politics • Learning today is measured by behaviour change, not calendars • Speed matters—impact cannot wait for approval cycles This isn’t about replacing roles. It’s about choosing outcomes over optics. PearLex-Consulting Excellence, we partner with organisations as learning architects—not event managers. Because learning that doesn’t change behaviour is just well-designed noise. 💬 I’m curious— Do you believe L&D should be on-roll, on-demand, or outcome-driven? #LeadershipDevelopment #LearningAndDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #BehavioralSkills #Consulting #PearLexConsulting

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Todays Learning can make your Tomorrow Better than the Best Monty Panesar was a talented left-arm spinner who played for England. During one commentary session, Shane Warne was asked: “Monty now has 33 Tests of experience. What do you think he has learned?” Warne’s blunt and witty reply became iconic: “Monty Panesar hasn’t played 33 Tests… he’s played one Test 33 times.” Everyone laughed — but the message behind it was powerful. Warne wasn’t criticizing Monty’s effort; he was highlighting something deeper. Monty had talent, but he wasn’t evolving. His 33 Tests weren’t 33 different learning experiences — they were the same patterns repeated. That story stayed with me ever since I read it nearly a decade ago in "The Winning Way" by Harsha Bhogale. Because Warne’s message speaks far beyond cricket: 🔹 Experience is not the same as growth. 🔹 Repetition is not the same as learning. 🔹 Years of service don’t matter if every year looks the same. Over the years, I’ve often reflected on this analogy and asked myself: 👉 Have I truly grown every year? 👉 Or have I repeated some years on auto-pilot? 👉 Have I continued to evolve, adapt, unlearn and reinvent? One of those reflection came at a meaningful point in my career. It reminded me that experience only matters when it transforms us, and that learning is intentional, not automatic. Every “Test match” in our professional lives must look different because we are learning, changing and growing. Pushed yourself Out of comfort zone and have the COURAGE to take on challenging opportunities, make BOLD career decisions and EMBRACE discomfort as a sign of progress — not fear

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Hear me out on this one, because if you work in hospitality, you’ve probably felt it at some point… That dip in confidence. That feeling of being “on it” in some areas but unsure in others. It happens to the best of us. Here are three simple ways to reset your confidence this week: ↪️ Revisit old feedback. Go back to past reviews, notes, or messages from leaders and guests. You’ll be surprised how much you’ve forgotten about your strengths. ↪️ Track small wins weekly. Write down one thing you did well every week. Small wins compound. And they rebuild confidence faster than waiting for the “big moment.” ↪️ Ask one growth-focused question in your next check-in. Try: “What’s one skill I can sharpen to be more effective?” This shows initiative and turns uncertainty into clarity. Hospitality moves fast. It’s easy to forget how much you’ve grown. But confidence isn’t a personality trait, it’s a habit you build. What’s one small action you can take this week to feel a little more confident? 🔖 Save this post as a reminder for the days your confidence dips. ♻️ Share it with someone you know who might need this today.

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I believe in layered learning. Do you? Layered learning is when you don’t rely on one method to teach a skill. Instead, you build it through multiple layers, each one reinforcing the next... so it sticks. Right now at Flat Iron we’re building Beef Academy... our internal school of all things Beef. A training programme designed to build knowledge, confidence and craft across our kitchens as we grow. It started with Butchery Demo videos and whilst I love video learning, it makes things accessible, but I don’t believe it works on its own. The magic happens when videos meets the job. This morning when reviewing stunning content filmed by Dylan McKenzie, I asked myself what are the layers when teaching butchery to our teams? I scribbled down... 🧡 Video demos (quick, simple learning, and a demonstration of what good looks like). Followed by a knowledge check in the moment. 🧡 A practice layer (doing it on for real and having a go... over and over) 🧡 A feedback layer (live adjustments & coaching in the moment) 🧡 Making this learning exist in other training, like leadership programmes, reinforcing the same subtle messages. 🧡 Hidden layers… optional learning for curious minds. ✅ A sign-off (a clear standard to prove you can do it) I’m excited to keep building these layers over the next few years, I believe this is how we grow and keep the craft at heart of what we do. Deyana Petrova Assoc CIPD Julia Bruce Assoc CIPD

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