FOR HOSPITALITY PROFESSIONALS
A place to grow, together.
Support, community, and real tools for a hospitality career -- at whatever stage you're at.
Why this matters
You shouldn't have to figure this out alone
Hospitality has one of the lowest average employee tenures of any UK industry -- around three years, with staff turnover at 52%, the highest of any sector. Behind those numbers is a simpler truth: hospitality rarely gives people the support to build a long, sustainable career in it.
Long hours, constant change, and little formal structure make it easy to feel like you're figuring it out alone, moving from job to job without anyone really in your corner.
The Oak Project exists because no one should have to build a hospitality career without real support around them.
Sources: CIPD, Vestd (2026)
Everything the Oak Project offers
WHAT'S INCLUDED
The Skills Pathway — practical content, from CV writing through to leadership
The Canopy — regular peer support sessions
One-to-one support — direct help when you need it
The Hub — a private peer community to connect with others in the industry
A wellbeing space — with professional signposting
Join at your own pace
HOW IT WORKS
1
Join for £5
A small cost to join — just enough to keep the community genuine.
Explore at your own pace
2
Dip into skills content, peer sessions, or just read for a while.
Grow with people who get it
3
Real peer connection with others walking the same path.
The Canopy and one-to-one support are there whenever you need them, not on a fixed schedule.
4
Show up when it helps
“I joined not really knowing what to expect, but it’s the first time in this industry I’ve felt like someone actually had my back. The Canopy sessions alone have got me through some rough weeks.”
Before you get in touch
COMMON QUESTIONS
How much does this cost?
£5 a month — a small, honest cost, and everything's included.
I've just started in hospitality -- is this for me?
Yes. The Oak Project supports people at every stage, from your first shift through to senior leadership
Is this connected to my workplace?
No — the Oak Project is a personal space, independent of any employer. It's yours, to use in whatever way helps you.
SAFE SPACE
Someone is ready to listen
How this works.
What this is: a way to be heard, run by Olive & Oak. It isn't a legal, HR or regulatory service.
What I collect: only what you type. No name, email or IP address unless you choose to give a way to reply.
Who sees it: only me. I won't share what you wrote without your agreement, except where I'm legally required to or someone is at serious risk of harm.
What I do with it: read it, offer you options if you've left contact details, and use patterns across many answers (with nothing identifying) to shape support for the industry.
How long I keep it: I'll delete individual submissions after 12 months unless you ask me to delete them sooner.
Naming people or businesses: I will never publish anything you tell me, including the name of a venue. I will never contact the venue or pass on what you wrote. I will only take a concern to a regulator, such as the HSE or a local council, with your agreement, or if I believe someone is at serious risk and I have to.
