The Royal Society of Arts played host to the 3rd British Hospitality Association Recruitment Conference again last week, as more than 60 delegates were addressed on how to 'Build a Winning Team' for their business in time for the London 2012 Olympics.

Professor Peter Jones from the University of Surrey made a short presentation on the importance of higher education and hospitality training for young people in the industry.

He looked at the ways in which the university attracted the best candidates from around the world, how higher education enabled them to realise their potential, and illustrated the importance of nurturing their talent through effective hospitality training.

The deputy chief executive of the BHA, Martin Couchman, made a short presentation about the latest planned employment legislation from Parliament and the European Commission.

David Fairhurst, vice president – people, of McDonald’s Restaurants, emphasised the importance of prioritising diversity and equality in the hospitality and retail sector workplace, and how giving credence to those factors can benefit to businesses.

Jean Claude Noel, president of Atrium Consulting, New York, delivered an incisive presentation on the role of executive coaching in preparing individual businesses and the industry as a whole for future changes, in particular the importance of inter-generational knowledge transfer between employees.

The conference closed with a presentation and film from Charles Wijeratna, commercial and legal director of the London Olympic Games Organising Committee (LOCOG), which gave an overview of the measures now being put into place to meet the Olympic challenge by 2012.

BHA chief executive Bob Cotton would like to thank all speakers and delegates for their support of the event, and the Royal Society of Arts for its excellent hospitality on the day.

He would also like to thank Paula Rogers, chair of the BHA's Recruitment Committee, and managing director of Admiral Group, for chairing the conference.

Picture shows, (L-R) Martin Couchman, deputy chief exectutive, BHA; Paula Rogers, chair of the Recruitment Committee; Jean Claude Noel, president of Atrium Consulting; and Professor Peter Jones, University of Surrey