In early 2020, Pizza Pilgrims will be launching The Pizza Academy in Central London.
The Pizza Academy will be a 360° hospitality training programme with the number one purpose to champion the hospitality industry; celebrating it as a gateway for fulfilling, long-term careers working with people.
By furnishing young people with a range of skills to pursue a life-long career, James and Thom, founders of Pizza Pilgrims’, ambition for the Pizza Academy is to negate the existing perception that a role in the hospitality industry is temporary or something to do ‘between jobs’.
The Academy will offer free courses, available to anyone who wants to build a career in hospitality, as well as delivering broad and in-depth training for Pizza Pilgrims employees new and existing.
With courses of varying lengths, students will have the opportunity to learn all aspects of the hospitality business - from waitering to bar, management and, of course, how to make a world class Neapolitan pizza.
The aim is to provide a place for people to try their hand at various roles, outside the busy pizzeria environment, and see which one suits them the best.
With current challenges of staff retention and recruitment within the hospitality industry, The Academy aims to support Pizza Pilgrims’ own business (currently 11 sites across London and Oxford) and also benefit the industry as a whole.
At the end of each course, students will either have the option of working for Pizza Pilgrims – or armed with references and a selection of key qualifications - be introduced to other businesses in James and Thom’s network.
As well as the more formal training courses, a programme of lectures from industry experts will be held at The Academy, providing a forum for even industry veteran to learn. Alongside this, weekend courses in a range of modules will be bookable for part-time students to attend.
To support The Pizza Academy, Thom and James have written their Manifesto – illuminating the fundamental ethos that underpins The Pizza Academy:
Pizza Academy Five Point Manifesto
1. Champion the hospitality industry, celebrating it as the number one gateway for fulfilling, long-term careers
2. Challenge the perception that working in the hospitality industry is for during university or between ‘proper jobs’
3. Inspire young people to enter the hospitality industry, giving them management and people skills that can set them up for life
4. Provide a paid, in-depth training programme to people who may not have the means to receive professional training elsewhere, encouraging them to grow within their roles and develop their skills both personally and professionally
5. Give trainees the opportunity to explore all breadths of the industry – from training for front of house roles to ‘how to use a pizza oven’
The Pizza Academy will open its doors in early January 2020, in Central London - with further details to be announced shortly. Applications open in Autumn 2019 and are open to individuals aged 16 and above.