Experts warned that the UK's economy - currently the sixth largest in the world - is set to slide down the international rankings unless its skills and employment systems are fundamentally reformed and improved.

The report, "Ambition 2020", says that 10 million people need to improve their skills if the UK is to achieve its ambition of being in the top eight countries in the world for skills, jobs and productivity by 2020, but predicts that we are likely to achieve just half that number.

Research has shown that 38 per cent of those working in the hotels, restaurants and distribution sector have no formal qualifications, whilst only 17 per cent are qualified to degree level or equivalent.  Investors in People is urging businesses in the hospitality industry to increase their investment in the skills of their people to help keep their organisations on track and remain competitive in future.

Chris Humphries, Chief Executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, which has strategic responsibility for Investors in People, said: "In the current economic climate, it's more important than ever that businesses are able to get the best out of their people. This means challenging and inspiring managers and employees at all levels to achieve their potential: employers have to be ambitious and act now to develop the skills they will need in future. This will improve their productivity and performance, benefitting them, their employees, and the hospitality industry as a whole."

Luxury hotel collection Red Carnation is an Investors in People Gold award holder, whose commitment to help every member of the team achieve their full potential is enabling it to improve performance across the organisation. Service and customer satisfaction is the primary focus for Red Carnation which aims to deliver this by providing rewarding career opportunities for employees who embrace the organisation's values.

Liz McGivern, Director of Human Resources and Training at Red Carnation Hotels, commented:
"Our philosophy is simple: By treating our guests exceptionally well, they will come back to us.  Our goal is to give memorable and personable service and this translates into how we treat our employees, too. The Investors in People model reflects how we do this through all levels of the company and we have worked hard to achieve it.

"We don't have the resources of some of the industry giants so ours is a more small scale and family orientated approach - but the Investors in People Standard can be achieved by any organisation if it truly believes in communicating to and looking after its employees, developing them to reach their potential and having a training plan that builds on the bones of the company's business strategy - whatever form that takes.  We are immensely proud of having achieved this at the Gold Standard."

To support other organisations to improve skills and productivity in the hospitality sector, Investors in People has developed these top tips:
- Take a good, hard look at your business goals. Do you know exactly what you need to do to achieve them? Success will depend on breaking down your business ambitions into small, manageable steps.
- Create a plan for up-skilling the business. It's all too easy to overlook raw talent that can be developed into the stars of the future. Look beyond employees' current roles to assess their full potential - and then help them achieve it.
- Businesses which don't train their staff are two and a half times more likely to fail than those that do. Think creatively about how you do this.  Formal training is only one method of encouraging skills development - there are many on-the-job techniques that can help employees keep growing. Mentoring, shadowing schemes and more regular feedback can all play a key part in unlocking an employee's full potential and performance.
- Keep talking. When planning your learning and development strategy, consult your employees on their ambitions, align these with the needs of the business and everyone will be a winner.
- Bring people with you. By engaging your people in the company's vision of future success, you will reap the rewards in terms of better motivation, productivity and performance.