The 8th annual Hospitality Apprenticeship Showcase recently took place at the House of Commons, with more than 330 apprentices, parents, company representatives, students, and industry VIPs meeting with over a hundred Lords, Ladies, MPs and Ministers. The annual event, that is hosted as part of National Apprenticeship Week, showcases the variety of career paths available through apprenticeships and celebrates rising talent in the hospitality industry.
Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, Jo Churchill and Minister of State for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, Kevin Hollinrake all addressed attendees at the event. Speeches were also given by Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group Alun Cairns and Steve Double MP.
Jo Churchill commented: “It was great to see so many MPs celebrating the hospitality sector and the exciting opportunities available in one of the liveliest sectors of our economy.
“Pubs, hotels and restaurants have an important role in our local communities and DWP’s Sector based Work Academy Programmes are helping businesses – big and small – to recruit talent while supporting jobseekers into work.”
At the event, nine outstanding apprentices were celebrated from AB InBev, British Beer and Pub Association, Fuller, Smith and Turner, Greene King, Lifetime Training, Marston’s PLC, Mitchells and Butlers PLC, Nando’s, and Stonegate Group.
Robert McAllister, AB InBev Outstanding Apprentice of the year and drinks dispense apprentice at Budweiser Brewing Group, said: “I have been participating in my first apprenticeship, and it is such a great way to be trained and upskilled whilst still being paid. I struggled with schoolwork, but through doing the practical elements of my apprenticeship it has given me more confidence for when I go into the classroom at college to learn those elements of the course.”
The apprentices in attendance represented 33 different leading hospitality companies and numerous apprenticeship roles, from chefs, front-of-house team members and brewers to professional support team apprentices, property surveyor apprentices and marketing apprentices.
Nick Jatter, a regional managing director at Nando’s UK & Ireland, said: “I’m currently doing my first apprenticeship – a level 7 in senior leadership, alongside an MBA. I think apprenticeships are really good, but sadly there is still a perception that they’re a second-rate qualification, which is a perception that the sector needs to shift. To help change this view I think apprenticeships need to be role modelled from the top with more senior leaders doing apprenticeships. Through me doing an apprenticeship it has also reinforced to my team what apprenticeships are available, their value and it has helped get traction around them.”
In its eight-year history, the Hospitality Apprenticeship Showcase has welcomed more than 1,200 apprentices from the hospitality sector to the House of Commons to date celebrating National Apprenticeship Week.
For the first time in the event’s history college students were also invited to the event to see first-hand the impact and breadth of the hospitality industry and the opportunities that are available. The students are all currently undertaking a hospitality related college course and were part of either West London College or London South-East College.
Lena-Louise Simpson, student at London South-East Colleges (Orpington), said: “The showcase event has been really helpful in seeing what opportunities are available. It has helped to excite me about a career in hospitality. I was considering it before, but this event has helped reinforce that this is what I want to do.”
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EDITOR’S NOTES
Hospitality Apprenticeship Showcase:
Hospitality Apprenticeship Showcase is a not-for-profit industry initiative. It was created to challenge the negative image of careers within the industry and to encourage young people to look at the sector as somewhere where they can pursue a rewarding career.
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National Apprenticeship Week:
National Apprenticeship Week is an annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships across England and is a time to recognise and applaud apprenticeship success stories across the country.
Apprenticeship employers use the opportunity to promote the success of their apprentices and highlight the huge benefits to other employers, of all sizes, who are thinking of taking on an apprentice.
Throughout the 17 years, National Apprenticeship Week has brought together apprenticeship supporters from across the country, with MPs, ambassadors, apprentices, training providers and top employers involved in recognising the value and importance of apprentices
Contact: Elisabeth Osmand, elisabethosmand@leisurepr.co.uk
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