Award-Winning Elan Spa Academy: Best Emerging Talent Initiative 2019

The Eden Hotel Collection, a luxury collection of UK boutique hotels, has won the best Emerging Talent Initiative at the Caterer.com People Awards 2019. Discover why Elan Spa’s are the best place for spa therapist training…

The Caterer.com People Awards 2019

The awards recognise the bravest and best talent initiatives in the UK hospitality industry; with the Emerging Talent Initiative specifically recognising those that push boundaries, nurture talent early on and deliver measurable results.

Eden Hotel Collection was recognised in this category for its innovative Elan Spa Academy. Launched last year to provide a chance for talented and aspiring beauty therapists to earn as they learn. Developed in partnership with the International Beauty and Holistic Academy (IBHA), the Spa Academy is also sponsored by ESPA, further improving the apprentices’ skills through additional product and treatment training.

Spa Partnerships

Reacting to the news, Louisa Davidson, National Key Account & Group Manager at ESPA says: “ESPA is very proud to be a partner of Eden Hotel Collection and we’re especially proud of the initiative that we’ve supported, helping the industry with recruitment and seeing new talent grow and flourish through Eden.”

A year on, the Academy has proved to be a great triumph; with the first therapists graduating successfully and double the intake of apprentices planned for 2019-2020. The Eden Hotel Collection is understandably proud to have had this success recognised with the new Caterer.com award.

Eden Hotel Collection

Lisa Redding, Head of HR at the Eden Hotel Collection, also comments. “We developed the Elan Spa Academy as a new concept to nurture our own talent within the Eden Hotel Collection; giving gifted young people an opportunity to earn whilst learning and progress via an apprenticeship route. To break the stigma around apprenticeships is hugely important to tackle the skill shortages across the hospitality and beauty industries – we’re delighted to be recognised for our part in this.

“This programme has proved, in just one year, that the right approach and commitment from an employer can unlock many individual success stories. Our recent first graduates are testament to this – they are already proving to be some of our strongest therapists.”

Julie Speed, Director of IBHA agrees. “We’re absolutely thrilled with the successful graduates who have worked really hard over the last year. Because they have been getting training at the same time as working, they are now experienced therapists and that’s fantastic. Our aim has always been to have people with commerciality, who can work to the right time frames within the spa, whilst getting a supporting hand during training from an experienced team, ensuring that they continue to deliver a high quality service.”