Entries open for Olive Barnett Award 2008

Have you got what it takes to win the Olive Barnett Award?

If you are committed to a career in the hospitality, leisure, travel or tourism industries and are ambitious and willing to meet a challenge ñ this is the award that will help you fly up the career ladder with its fantastic prize-winning package!

The Olive Barnett Award is open to anyone under the age of 30 on 19th May 2008 who is working in one of the most important roles in these industries ñ staff in a customer facing position on a daily basis.

The winner will enjoy the benefit of a 1000 a year grant for the next three years to assist their career development, plus a place on the prestigious weeklong Lausanne Executive Education - Summer Programme at the world-famous Ecole Htelire de Lausanne, Switzerland, to be taken in the summer of 2008.

The award was created by the Savoy Gaastronomes in recognition of Olive Barnett who pioneered excellence in training at the Savoy, and it is organized by Springboard. The Langham hotel is the key sponsor this year, with prizes supplied by the Savoy Educational Trust and the Ecole Htelire de Lausanne.

Commented Duncan Palmer, Managing Director of The Langham:

ìWe have so much talent in amongst our employees throughout this industry and so much passion and desire amongst these people to make a good career that the Olive Barnett gives a wonderful opportunity for them to win some fantastic grants for their career development. We're delighted to be a key sponsor of this award for the 2nd year running.î

So how do you enter? You simply answer the question below in 500 words and this year itís very topical!

ëClimate change, the environment, ëgoing greení and being a ëgoodí employer, are increasingly on everyoneís agenda, if you were asked to put together a strategy for your company to embrace these issues as part of a Corporate Social Responsibility programme, what would your top four priorities be and why? Explain how you would ensure that you were balancing the interests of the business with a more altruistic approach, particularly how you would demonstrate value to the customer?í

An up-to-date CV and an employer reference or testimonial must accompany your entry. Eight finalists will be chosen to make a career presentation on the 18th and 19th May next year, with the presentation being held at Claridgeís in the evening.

The Olive Barnett Award grows in strength each, reflecting the increasingly realised importance of customer facing roles, said Tony Elliott, Savoy Gastronomes spokesperson.

The Savoy Gastronomes recognise the importance of this role through the Olive Barnett Award, and urges employers to encourage their staff to enter. The winners have the opportunity to increase their knowledge and experience through the weeklong Lausanne Executive Education - Summer Programme at the world famous Ecole Htelire de Lausanne, Switzerland, and the career grant of 1,00 a year for three years, bringing back a wealth of extended learning to their workplace.

Enter now and get set to soar! Entries close on Friday 28th March 2008.