Hyatt has announced that, since introducing its RiseHY programme in 2018, more than 5,700 Opportunity Youth – meaning those from under-resourced communities, between the ages of 16 and 24 – have joined Hyatt or a Hyatt hotel.
This marks a pivotal step toward Hyatt’s global commitment to hiring 10,000 Opportunity Youth by 2025.
In the Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME) region, 926 young people from under-resourced communities, often disconnected from the economy by lack of education and employment, have joined Hyatt or a Hyatt hotel since 2018 in 96 hotels across 31 countries.
The programme puts equal weight on retention, by helping them gain access to new job opportunities, and skills, with training that will enable long-term careers in hospitality. To date, more than 400 hotels in 65 countries have taken part in the initiative, supporting RiseHY participants throughout this journey.
With more than 23 per cent of the world’s young people unemployed, according to the International Labour Organization, investing in underserved communities continues to increase in importance.
The top-hiring countries in EAME for employing RiseHY participants so far are Jordan, Turkey, the UAE and the UK, and the most frequent roles upon hire were in the food and beverage and housekeeping departments. More than 170 of the participants in EAME already benefitted from lateral moves, promotions and transfers, and its retention rates have exceeded 42 per cent.
“The RiseHY program helps thousands of young people around the world find fulfilling careers in hospitality,” said Malaika Myers, Chief Human Resources Officer at Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “Focusing on Opportunity Youth brings Hyatt’s purpose of care to life by creating economic opportunities for individuals in under-resourced communities, while also uncovering an expanded talent pool to solve the hospitality industry’s staffing shortage and turnover challenges.”
“The RiseHY program allows Hyatt to introduce thousands of young people around the world to fulfilling careers in hospitality that feed their ambition,” said Peggy Focheux Duval, RiseHY Program Manager, Hyatt. “Through RiseHY, Hyatt offers youth the opportunity to learn necessary skills so they can advance professionally in the hospitality industry.”