It’s no secret that pubs and the wider hospitality industry are facing difficult times. Huge tax burdens and spiralling costs are causing far too many businesses to struggle or close. It’s often advocated how important a pub is to a community – as a hub, a place to meet if you need company, a place to celebrate or commiserate, and a place to raise funds for charity. But what I’d like to talk about is how pubs are also a place for the younger generation to learn confidence and vital life skills that can propel them to success in the future.
I have always tried to champion hospitality as a career and will continue to do so because I love the industry and know how rewarding it can be. The reality is that hospitality is often seen as a stop-gap job to earn money while studying for a different career. This is fine by me, as long as employees take their job seriously while they’re with us and absorb as much knowledge as they can to deliver great hospitality.
I’m often asked what my favourite part of running pubs is, and without hesitation, I respond: being part of the journey of young adults growing in confidence and seeing them take their next step in life with a new set of skills. It sounds corny, but it’s incredible. People join us at 16 years old — shy, awkward, looking at us as if we’re speaking an alien language as we discuss food, drinks, and service: “Have you got your mise en place ready?” or “What’s the cuisson on that steak?” Then, as time passes and they absorb our enthusiasm and knowledge, they become confident, chatting with complete strangers about what they’d like to eat or their weekend plans. They become different people.
Confidence is gained by making the uncomfortable comfortable. The more someone is exposed to social encounters, the more normal it feels. Experience teaches how to interact with others. Working in hospitality offers exposure to people from all walks of life and cultures, opening up a wider picture of the world. I truly believe hospitality can put most people in good standing for future careers by helping them develop strong social skills. It’s definitely not for everyone, which we understand, but when it works — it really makes a difference.
There are more challenging sides to working in hospitality, but these also build character. Enduring a long, busy service builds resilience and stamina. Being part of a team that relies on you to turn up shows commitment. Facing the public when you just don’t feel like it teaches dedication. Unfortunately, as amazing as it can be to work with the public, not everyone is a pleasure to serve. I often say, “You can truly judge someone by how they are served.” This can be incredibly difficult and testing, but exposure to such moments offers an important lesson in how to behave in the future and how to treat others. You can always spot a guest who has previously worked in hospitality — they carry an air of grace and appreciation.
While pondering these thoughts, I decided to reach out to some of our past employees to see how they felt hospitality had helped them. Some joined us 12 years ago and have since progressed into amazing careers. I felt incredibly proud reading their messages, knowing our industry has impacted their lives in such a beneficial way. Here are a few quotes that really stood out to me:
“Working in hospitality gave me real-world confidence, not just the ‘fake’ education confidence I came with. It taught me to think on my feet and work under pressure. Being in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment pushed my natural confidence and helped me develop a stronger sense of responsibility, teamwork, and initiative. Those early experiences formed a strong foundational understanding of people and the world – all of which I needed to grow in my career and feel confident in my ability to succeed as I moved into a corporate environment.”
Max, Senior Associate at Goldman Sachs
“I started working in hospitality when I was 15 and was quite a quiet person. Speaking with customers helped me to grow in confidence and taught me patience — skills I’ve carried with me ever since. Working in hospitality from a young age also gave me the confidence to travel, knowing that experience in hospitality is a valuable, transferable skill. Having that in your back pocket means you’ll always be able to find work wherever you go.”
Rhianne, Executive Assistant to CEO
“I learned three key attributes that I believe are essential for success: the ability to work with the public — ensuring guests are safe, seen, and served requires confidence in communication and sound decision-making; the ability to listen and observe while learning — taking in the expertise of the management team; and the importance of building long-lasting relationships. When you trust your team and genuinely enjoy coming to work, that connection strengthens the workplace and makes collaboration easy.
My time at The White Hart helped me develop confidence in these three areas- skills that have since become integral to my professional life. I am now pursuing qualifications in architecture and working for a firm that designs hotels and resorts around the world. The ability to collaborate, communicate confidently, and build meaningful relationships remains fundamental to my work.”
Rob, Architect
I’m writing this to highlight one of many reasons why we need change to help pubs grow. The last five years have been a real challenge. As an industry, we’ve had to cut back and reduce employment – giving fewer people this opportunity and leaving us with less time to focus on our young teams. If I’m honest, and I know I’m not alone in this, a lot of the joy has been removed from what we do because we’re forced to focus so hard on keeping the business viable. We need the financial breathing space to grow our businesses and bring joy back into running hospitality venues.
We’ve lost the ability to give less confident team members time to grow and train, which, for me, is a huge loss. Those who grow with us often turn out to be our best team members. For much of our industry, we do what we do because we love it — but that love is difficult to sustain when the burden is so heavy.
I encourage parents to send their kids down to the local pub and ask for a job if they want independence and the chance to learn invaluable life skills. If they want to try it as a career, we’ve successfully supported many people through apprenticeships, giving them the opportunity to earn while continuing their education. Go to your local pub or restaurant — if the person behind the bar is serving you with a smile, it’s a safe bet it’s a good place to work. And for young people looking to start in hospitality, it’s simple: listen to those with experience, take pleasure in looking after people, and make people smile! At the end of the day, our job is to make people happy, and if you’ve put a smile on someone’s face, you’ve succeeded.
If you start somewhere that doesn’t have the right values in teaching and delivering hospitality, then try somewhere else. I can’t speak for all, but I know there are many great places to work and learn. I’m always disappointed when a bad experience turns people away from our amazing industry.
Hopefully, this has highlighted one of many reasons to support hospitality, and to choose independent businesses or places that embrace a great working environment. Every bit of support helps, but we also need larger-scale help from the government to bring this great industry back to its best. We need to breathe life back into pubs by reducing the things that hold us back. Reduce VAT to 10%, and we’ll have the room to grow and contribute even more to this country, by providing hospitality and teaching future adults valuable life skills.
About James Bainbridge
Co-owner and operator of Bain & Bridges with my brother, Tom Bainbridge.
We run two award-winning pubs in Hertfordshire: The Tilbury in Datchworth and The White Hart in Welwyn, as well as a catering business. We started our business 12 years ago, but I’ve worked my whole career in hospitality, with highlights including working for Heston as part of the management team at The Fat Duck, running the award-winning The Fish House Pub in Chilgrove (now closed), and opening the brasserie at Lucknam Park, a five-star country hotel near Bath.
We love what we do and want to see changes that reduce the strain on our industry- bringing more joy back into running pubs.
