Working in luxury Walpole’s upcoming report tells the magical story of cultivating jobs & skills in the luxury sector

Our sector creates well-paid, rewarding, highly skilled, sustainable jobs across the regions and nations of the UK. Moreover, luxury businesses are often the employers of choice in their communities.

This year is the year of jobs and skills at Walpole, with a relentless focus on the most valuable asset for all our businesses: our employees.

The recruitment climate has been exceptionally challenging in recent years across the entire economy, and, of course, this affects the luxury sector, too. The skills and qualities that luxury values – craftsmanship, confidence, relationship building, initiative and innovation – have ever-growing appeal, especially as the pandemic recedes and businesses start to grow again. The post-COVID boom in luxury has only heightened the need to recruit more people.

Luxury can be an attractive, welcoming, supportive employer, whether that be supporting the workforce through the cost-ofliving crisis or investing in the skills and professional development of employees. Both of these factors, in turn, protect centuriesold heritage crafts while making sure our people are ready for the high-tech and green jobs of tomorrow.

Luxury businesses across the UK are often the most responsible employers in their communities, offering secure and well-paid jobs where people can progress. Take, for instance, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel in Oxfordshire, where the Head Gardener started nearly four decades ago as one of chef Raymond Blanc’s garden apprentices.

Walpole’s membership spans a huge range of verticals, from automotive to beauty, from fashion to hospitality – and our employees and the jobs they do are equally diverse. However, there is one golden thread, a unifying factor that ties together every job in the sector: a relentless commitment to excellence. From a hotel concierge arranging surprise concert tickets for a superfan guest to the care that goes into making every watch, suit or whisky crafted in Britain, this year Walpole will shine a spotlight on businesses that put their people first.

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