Restaurant and hotel group Whitbread has set up an apprenticeship programme to "attract, retain and reward top talent."
The company has developed the apprenticeship in conjunction with awarding body Edexcel with the aim of streamlining training within the group and giving more employees the chance to develop their careers.
Whitbread Chief Executive Alan Parker (pictured, right) said he hoped more than 3,000 employees would receive training by the end of next year, with the chance to gain NVQs in House Keeping, Food Processing and Cooking, Food and Drink Service, Front Office and Customer Service.
He said:†"By halving the time that it takes and combining the NVQ work with our industry leading induction programme, we anticipate that 20 per cent of our workforce will have a nationally recognised qualification by 2010.”
Whitbread, which runs Premier Inn, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Taybarns and Costa Coffee, currently employs 33,000 people and is looking to employ a further 4,000 over the coming year.
The apprenticeship programme comprises three sections – a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 2 including the technical certification, key skills qualifications in application of number and communication and an Employment Responsibility Rights (ERR) project.
The new scheme will take six months instead of the 12 for a standard apprenticeship with successful completion meaning that team members will receive four certificates – an NVQ Level 2, two Key Skills certificates, an ERR and an Apprenticeship. All certificates are nationally recognised.
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