Starbucks takes on 1,000 apprentices and pledges 1,000 more

The US-based coffee giant partnered with the East Midlands-based training company to work with young people and promote career progression, with 80% of the young people who took part in the scheme having completed their training, and remaining within the business.

Similarly, one in five of the learners was found to have received a promotion at work since beginning the scheme, with 20% of Level 2 Baristas being promoted to supervisory roles, and 23% of Level 3 Management Apprentices becoming store managers.

The Remit Group has also pledged to work with Starbucks to ensure another 1,000 apprentices come on to the scheme by 2020, a target that will also see it take part in the government’s ‘Apprenticeships: Vision for 2020’ programme.

Similarly, the company will work to provide the apprentices with Level 4 and Level 5 qualifications, effectively bringing them up to store manager positions at Foundation Degree standard.

Lisa Robbins, director of partner resources at Starbucks, said: "As a large employer committed to providing meaningful opportunities for young people within our business, it was important we worked with a training provider that shared our values. [Remit] has worked hand in hand with the learning team at Starbucks to deliver the right sort of training, in the most efficient and supportive way possible.”

Sue Pittock, chief executive of the Remit Group, said: "We're incredibly proud of the scheme we're running alongside Starbucks. Our teams have helped train and develop those young people, advancing not just their skills and qualifications, but also their confidence and career prospects.”

Championing apprentices​

The Starbucks apprenticeship scheme is just one of the high-profile programmes within hospitality at the moment, alongside other well-known brands such as Greene King, which is planning to take on 10,000 new apprentices by 2019, and Malmaison Hotel du Vin, which has pledged to take on 33 new apprentice chefs, one for each of its properties across the country.

Compass Group has also recently announced plans to recruit 1,500 apprentices a year by the end of 2017 (compared to the 500 per year it takes on already), while Pizza Hut this year became the first hospitality brand to offer a managerial degree-level apprenticeship, with Manchester Metropolitan University.

Apprenticeships have been in the spotlight in recent months, thanks to a new government levy set to come into force in 2017, which is set to impose a 0.5 per cent tax on companies spending over £3m in wages, in a bid to fund three million apprenticeships by 2020.

The scheme has been criticised by some employers who fear it could compromise training standards, but Sajid Javid MP said in March that the levy was “nothing to be afraid of”.