We at World Class Service are delighted to bring you the news that Oldham Council is unveiling pioneering plans to develop the country’s first National Hospitality Training Academy (NHTA) in the town centre.

World Class Service have championed the idea along with the Manchester Hoteliers Association for many years and are delighted to see the plans coming together,

The proposed multi-million pound project – Hotel Future – would be a landmark regeneration scheme attracting significant economic benefits, inward investment and employment opportunities to the Borough.
Oldham Council has been in high-level talks with the Manchester Hoteliers Association and Oldham College and other education providers since December to realise this ambitious vision.

It would see the construction of an iconic national ‘centre of excellence’ in Oldham that would then become a blueprint for potential nationwide expansion of the scheme.

The project aims to deliver a new build Hotel and Convention Centre in the town centre – including restaurants, bars and hotel leisure facilities and spa – that would be run on a commercial basis by a professional hotel management company.

All of the leading Hospitality brands nationally and internationally would use these facilities to offer unique new opportunities – not only for young people to learn the trade, but also for hospitality professionals at all levels to advance their learning. 

Learners would receive training in the hospitality industry through a combination of structured courses and on-the-job training coached by full time professionals within the environment of an upscale hotel.

Paying guests would be served by a combination of full-time trained staff together with students and apprentices enrolled in the NHTA training and apprenticeship programmes.

Senior executive management programmes would also be run at the Academy.

At its next meeting on February 27, Oldham Council’s Cabinet will consider a report recommending a £90,000 investment in the project.

This could fund a feasibility study to assess the potential demand, space requirements, specifications of the facility, plus training requirements, costs and income projections.

Councillor Jim McMahon, Oldham Council Leader, said: “This is an aspirational joint venture that could deliver significant regeneration – plus economic and employment gains – for Oldham.”

”As a Co-operative Council we are firmly committed to providing leadership on innovative schemes like this that helps people into work and brings jobs into Oldham by working with partners across all sectors to deliver outcomes that benefit everyone.

“At present there is a limited hotel provision for residents, visitors and business customers in our Borough. That needs to be addressed but we also want to go much further and deliver something of regional – and national – significance.

“We’ve been holding initial talks with the Manchester Hoteliers Association and Oldham College to potentially deliver something innovative that will not only plug that hotel provision gap but also offer some fantastic new training and employment opportunities.

“The project would be led and chiefly financed by the private sector and – subject to Cabinet approval on February 27 – the next step would be for a feasibility study to examine how Oldham Council can support this groundbreaking national scheme.

“The details of our plans, such as a potential site, costs and projections, must remain commercially sensitive at this stage.

”What I can say is that negotiations are progressing well and we hope to be in a position to announce news of firm progress within weeks.”