Olive & Oak hospitality

Real work. Real growth. Real people.

I help people build real skills and real work in hospitality and help venues build the teams that keep them there.

THE CORE OF WHAT I DO

Acorn to Oak

Hospitality is one of the few sectors that hires on attitude over qualifications. It offers a fast route to real, paid work — not years of unpaid apprenticeships or qualifications first — and builds skills that transfer well beyond the industry itself.

For someone who's struggled to get a foot in anywhere else, hospitality is often the fastest, most realistic route into real, sustainable work. Acorn to Oak exists to make that route genuinely walkable.

52%

3yrs

50%

UK hospitality staff turnover — the highest of any sector (CIPD)

average employee tenure — second-lowest of any UK industry

of waiting staff nationally are aged 16-24, despite being just 10% of the workforce

Hospitality already runs on young people — it just doesn't keep them. The barrier isn't a lack of opportunity. It's readiness, retention, and access — and that's exactly the gap Acorn to Oak closes.

Partner with us

Training, Motivational days & Speaking

FOR HOSPITALITY VENUES

Bounded, practical sessions built around your team — booked directly, with no ongoing commitment required.

Training Days

Hands-on sessions on culture, service standards, and working as a team — built around what your venue actually needs.

Motivation Days

Talks and keynotes on hospitality culture, retention, and building teams that stay — for events, conferences, and away days.

Speaking Engagements

A dedicated day to re-energise a team, rebuild morale, and reconnect people with why the work matters.

Looking for something more ongoing? I also take on a small number of embedded consultancy projects each year for venues wanting deeper, longer-term support.

Get in touch to ask.