Visitor Economy Task Group
The Visitor Economy is a key sector in East Sussex accounting for more than a third of the jobs in some areas. It is wide ranging, with member cross overs with the creative and digital task group. The sector is facing challenges from covid and the cost of living crisis over and above employability and skills challenges associated with the sector (perceptions, seasonality etc).
The Task Group meets quarterly to champion employability and skills and coordinate activities and support the to address the strategic priorities of Skills & Employment East Sussex for these sectors. The group sets a strategic plan annually in September, to drive forward partnership activities.
The Task Group comprises includes representatives from local employers and representative organisations such as:
- The Lansdowne Hotel
- Visit 1066 Country Marketing
- Eastbourne Hospitality Association
- Experience Sussex
- The Beacon
- De La Warr Pavilion
- Eastbourne Chamber
There are also representative from education and training and other stakeholders including
- East Sussex College Group
- Bexhill College
- DWP Job Centre
- Visit England
- Sussex Council of Training Providers (SCTP)
- Councillors with Lead responsibility for visitor economy/tourism
Chair of Visitor Economy Task Group, Julie Barker, MIoD, FIH, PGcert
Supporting the Visitor Economy sector within East Sussex, helping shape future skills and employment needs of the region, encouraging all ages and skills to see the scope and potential of a lifelong career within the hospitality industry is an honour and a privilege
2025/26 Strategic Plan activities
| Partnership activities | |
|---|---|
| 1. Raise the profile of the sector | Access the resource and expertise of national sector bodies to support activities/raise the profile of the sector at a national level. |
| Develop hospitality projects within schools and for recruitment initiatives. | |
| Encourage sector participation at the Careers Hub careers fairs, Apprenticeship Roadshows and Graduation ceremony. | |
| Development of a school assembly programme focussed on the Visitor Economy, showcasing the sector. | |
| Use Experience Sussex as a lobbying mechanism to feed into DCMS/Visit England Skills and Workforce Task Group. | |
| 2. Help industry to engage with education and training provision to inform curriculum / respond to industry need | Work with Experience Sussex to increase sector engagement with Careers Hub opportunities (such as industry champions, open doors, modern work experience). |
| Continue one-to-one engagement with the sector to encourage engagement with Employment and Skills Team programmes. | |
| Explore how we bridge the gap left by ASK (apprenticeship-focussed assemblies and workshops in schools and colleges). | |
| 3. Curriculum and Training Programmes | Pilot Hospitality Skills Passport through Catering Skills Bootcamp provision in partnership with East Sussex College and UK Hospitality, and roll out as industry standard digital competency 'badge' across East Sussex. |
| Map best practice, local and national partnerships, and share these as a resource. | |
| Support of delivery of Skills Bootcamp programme, particularly those related to the Visitor Economy - providing knowledge, opportunities and support, and utilising networks to promote the programme. | |
| Scope out opportunity for the delivery of bitesize training to support businesses in the implementation of the new Protection of Premises Act (e.g. immersive technology). | |
| 4. Widening the net of recruitment | Promoting employer support programmes such as Connect to Work and Skills Bootcamps to the sector. |
| Support delivery of the Connect to Work programme, providing opportunities and support to participants and employers. | |
| Engage with recruitment agencies as a route into employment for the sector. |
Visitor Economy Task Group meetings
Contact Skills & Employment East Sussex if you are a sector employer, training or education provider and want details. Other than your time, and occasional travel, there are no costs to joining Skills East Sussex meetings.
The next meeting of the group is on 12 February 2026.
We use an action tracker instead of traditional minutes. The action tracker includes ongoing actions, decisions, the task groups strategic plan, and attendees/apologies.
Visitor Economy Task Group Meeting Activity & Decision Tracker 2025 [256.9 KB] [xlsx]
If you have difficulties viewing or accessing these documents, or require the information in a different format please contact the Skills & Employment East Sussex Team.
Task group achievements
- ‘Hospitality Rocks’ project saw the DWP and East Sussex College partner through the task group on a social media campaign and Sector Based Work Academies (SWAPs) to drive up recruitment by inviting job seekers to try out cocktail-making or barista, then enrolling them on to a short course with guaranteed vacancies. This was so successful that it was then rolled out by the DWP/job centres to other parts of the country in 2022/23.
- The Transform service provides support for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with workforce development, specialist advice on skills training and apprenticeships, including access to government-funded training and ESCC apprenticeship levy transfer to fund training. Since November 2020, Transform has supported 37 Visitor Economy businesses.
- Careers Hub has 11 active Industry Champions from the visitor economy and 8 businesses that offer Open Doors workplace visits to groups of students.
- Hospitality Roundtable event was held at the De La Warr Pavilion in jointly hosted by East Sussex and Rother District Council to raise the profile and look at activities to address challenges in the sector.
- For the East Sussex Careers Campaign the task group agreed to promote the following roles: Chef, Hotel and restaurant managers
- Job role career pathway videos and infographics have been created on the Careers East Sussex local industry pages for chef and event manager jobs.
- Supported the establishment of the View Hotel in Eastbourne as a 'Hotel of Excellence'. The View will provide long-term placements for students at the University of Brighton. They also provided up to five 50-day placements for East Sussex College group students as part of their new T-level provision.
- Cross county sector workshop to look at and consider actions which existed cross county for the sector.