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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of an alumni and employer engagement mentoring initiative in a hospitality and tourism school within a UK university. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses the survey method and interviews to provide qualitative and quantitative data on the participants' reactions to the initiative. Findings -The main components of successful mentoring programmes; matching, preparation, interaction and evaluation are explored to help identify the long-and short-term challenges and benefits of mentoring students as they transition into the graduate labour market. The findings highlight the benefits to mentors and mentees and the challenges for ensuring participant engagement and ongoing development. The article concludes with an agenda for further mentoring developments in the midst of the dynamic challenges facing UK higher education institutions and the hospitality and tourism industry. Practical implications -The article highlights the importance of a systematic approach to developing a mentoring programme and engaging industry in a distinctive way with the transitioning of undergraduates into the workplace. Originality/value -This article offers unique evidence of an employer engagement initiative aimed at supporting sector specific management graduates as they transition from university into industry.

The importance and value of employees in service industries has been recognised by senior executives for many decades and they are aware that the service provided by human resources is the key to competitive advantage in the market place. This is particularly true of the hotel industry where employees form an integral part of the “hospitality product”. In labour intensive industries human resources are also costly to develop and maintain and increasing global competition in the 1980s followed by a world‐wide recession in the early 1990s has focused attention more acutely on the effectiveness of investments made in human resources. This had led to the rediscovery of human resource costing and accounting as a means by which organisations can monitor the impact of their employment practices on business performance. This article discusses the findings from research on the human resource accounting practices of hotel companies operating in the UK. The research indicates that very few hotel companies studied undertook any systematic analysis of their human resource investments and the economic contribution of employees remains unknown. This raises questions regarding the extent to which human resources are truly “valued” by hotel organisations and how much time and effort is devoted to ensuring that human resource investments and employment practices add value to the business.

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