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Ritz London given status to award university qualifications to staff

Employees at The Ritz London have been given the opportunity to gain a university qualification as part of the hotel’s commitment to invest in the development of its staff.

After completing The Ritz London's management development programme, existing and aspiring managers now have the chance to graduate with an academic qualification from Coventry University.

Leadership organisation Acua through its parent organisation, Coventry University has accredited the hotel's management development programme with a Certificate in Professional Development

Up to 25 employees from all areas of the hotel's business will be the first to enrol on the accredited programme which is due to be delivered from September this year.

The programme covers leadership practice as well as managing people and resources.

Joanne Meredith, head of HR at The Ritz London, said: "We introduced the management development programme to ensure that our managers were equipped with the best leadership as well as practical skills.

"It has been extremely successful in terms of improving both confidence and ability to effectively lead and develop teams, and has resulted in employees being promoted within the hotel.

"The endorsement through Acua will strengthen the programme and enable learners to gain a qualification from The Ritz London that is recognised by Coventry University which could allow them to further their studies to a higher level.

"Our employees are vital in delivering the levels of service that is synonymous with The Ritz London and we recognise the importance of developing our managers to ensure they are as effective with their teams as they are with their guests.

"As a privately-owned hotel, we also recognise the value of succession planning and want to develop our people in order to encourage longevity of service."

Developing, delivering and accrediting work-based leadership and talent management programmes, Acua, established by Coventry University in 2008, has become a driving force behind organisational performance improvement.

Its leadership development trainers have worked with more than 100 bluechip companies across the UK, and from a range of both private and public sectors, to help develop a talent pool of nearly 10,000 employees.