From Care to Career: Travelodge Expands Employability Programme to Manchester
Travelodge builds on Liverpool pilot with new Manchester programme
Travelodge expanded its 'Care to Career' programme to Manchester, offering care leavers aged 18-30 a four-day employability bootcamp with guaranteed interviews, following a successful 2024 Liverpool pilot.
Participants in a Care Leaver to Career workshop delivered by Travelodge and Catch22 in Manchester. — Photo by Travelodge
Eight care-experienced young people across Greater Manchester have taken their first major steps into the workforce, completing an intensive career-launching pilot delivered by Travelodge at its Manchester Central hotel in March.
Designed specifically for young care leavers facing complex barriers when entering the job market, the four-day ‘Care to Career’ initiative combined targeted, confidence-building workshops with two days of immersive, hands-on hotel operational experience. Every participant who completes the scheme receives a practical pathway into the hospitality sector, culminating in a guaranteed interview with the budget hotel chain.
The Manchester expansion marks the next phase of Travelodge’s social mobility programme, following the success of its initial pilot in Liverpool in 2024. Delivered in partnership with Catch22’s Care Leavers into Careers (CLIC) initiative, the scheme forms part of a broader commitment to scale employability support for underrepresented groups across the UK.
Hospitality is about people and this scheme is all about giving local young people a genuine chance to succeed. Following the success of our Liverpool pilot, expanding the CLIC programme into Manchester allowed us to create real, practical opportunities for care leavers who face significant barriers to employment, helping them build confidence, gain hands-on experience, and take their first meaningful steps into the workplace.
Sandhiya Patel, Social Mobility Manager at Travelodge
Travelodge continues to set a high standard as an employer committed to supporting young people from underrepresented backgrounds. The Manchester programme has provided participants with valuable skills, confidence and insight into the workplace, and we look forward to continuing this partnership.
Cath Forshaw, Operations Manager, CLIC Programme at Catch22
Travelodge first partnered with Catch22’s Care Leavers into Careers (CLIC) initiative in Liverpool in 2024, where two participants subsequently joined Travelodge’s hotel teams.
The CLIC programme is currently active in Liverpool and Manchester and the company is actively exploring opportunities to expand the programme into additional regions. Catch22’s Care Leavers into Careers initiative supports young people aged 18–30 in accessing employment, education and training opportunities.
In 2023, working with the Purpose Coalition, Travelodge became the first company in the UK hospitality industry to publish a Social Mobility Impact Report, highlighting the barriers faced by groups experiencing significant challenges in accessing work and identifying opportunities for employers to make a difference.
About Travelodge
Founded in 1985, Travelodge is Britain’s very first budget hotel chain and today is one of the largest budget hotel chains in the UK, with a portfolio of 632* hotels and approximately 49,000* bedrooms across the UK, Ireland and Spain.
In Spain, Travelodge has an established profitable presence and has ambitious growth plans within this market and has identified the top key locations where it would like to open additional hotels in Spain.
Welcoming over 22 million guests annually across the UK, Ireland and Spain, the majority of Travelodge hotels are located in major cities, towns and holiday hotspots as well as by airports and key business hubs. With over 96% of its hotels rated 4 dots or above on TripAdvisor, Travelodge is proud to offer guests across its diverse customer base a good value experience – whether they are travelling for business or leisure.
Whether out celebrating a birthday, going to a concert or sporting event, visiting friends and family, taking a business trip, working away from home, or taking a short break, we help people to go and do their thing by Being the Brilliant Base.
Travelodge continues to invest in its ongoing hotel refit programme, with over two-thirds of the room estate now featuring the new look and feel across refits and new hotels. The brand is also continually evolving its quality offering to deliver a better experience for its diverse mix of business and leisure guests such as its new look Bar Café design, 85 Bar Café, which has been rolled out to selected hotels in the UK and Spain as part of the refit programme.
Travelodge is focusing on its environmental and social impact, with sustainability integral to its business strategy. Its Better Future sustainability plan aims to build a more sustainable future for its customers, colleagues and the planet, underpinned by three core pillars: Inclusive – ensuring we are accessible, inclusive and well-priced to our customers and colleagues; Caring – creating a caring and healthy environment for our colleagues and customers and ensuring their wellbeing; and Conscious – Travelodge is conscious of its impact on the planet, taking into account the waste it produces, the energy and other resources it consumes and the carbon emissions it generates.
For further information visit Travelodge Online or Travelodge Hotels Limited LinkedIn.
Media Contact
The Travelodge Press Office
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