The winners are as follows:

The Springboard Ambassador Award – sponsored by SSP UK
Winner: Joel Fagg (The Puma Hotels’ Collection)

The Best Regional Initiative Award
Winner: Inspired Change Limited

The New Media Award – sponsored by drp Group
Winner: River Cottage Chefs’ School,

The Education Pipeline Award
Winner: Apex Hotels Ltd

Best Student Placement Provider – sponsored by James Hallam
Winner: The Red Carnation Hotel Collection

Best Recruitment Initiative – sponsored by Caterer.com
Winner: River Cottage Chefs’ School

The Young People Award – sponsored by American Express
Winner: The Geoffrey Harrison Foundation

The People Innovation Award – sponsored by LaunchPad Recruits
Winner: Crieff Hydro Limited

Best Chef Strategy – sponsored by HandPicked Hotels
Winner: Hilton Worldwide

Best Management Strategy – sponsored by LifeTime
Winner: Crieff Hydro Limited

Best Food & Beverage Strategy
Winner: Park Plaza County Hall

The Diversity In Employment Award – sponsored by Dunleavy White
Winner: Talkington Bates

Best Career Progression Award – sponsored by LCBT
Winner: Arora Hotel Heathrow

The Retention Award – sponsored by Axminster
Winner: London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch

The Corporate Responsibility Award – sponsored by BonaSystems
Winner: The Brookwood Partnership Limited,

Best Employer Award – Charnwood Training
Winner: Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons,

The very special Chris Beaumont Special Award – sponsored by 3663
James Thomson OBE

Chris Griffiths, head of education, River Cottage Chefs’ School, said: “This is a real privilege for us. We’ve only been formed for a year, but delighted to be already making a difference to the youth and unemployed of the South West. We’re all huge advocates of Springboard, so this award is a real honour for the team”.

“After a record number of entries, the judges were set a tough task, not only to go through the sheer volume of entries, but the standard of the entries were  of the highest quality,” according to Anne Pierce, Springboard CEO. Adding: “What a fantastic night of celebration to reward people, organisations and projects that work to raise the profile of the hospitality sector and to attract and retain talent to this great industry.’’