The Pret Apprenticeship will comprise three stages of progression, between which candidates can take breaks after completing their first year.
The scheme aims to offer an alternative to traditional education routes, and candidates will be selected based on their personalities and qualities as opposed to their qualifications.
The first two stages of the qualification will see apprentices work in the 250-strong company’s branches and attend company events, gaining Hospitality Team Member Level Two Apprenticeship Standard and Hospitality Supervisor Level Three Apprenticeship Standard qualifications to allow them to become assistant managers or general managers.
The third stage will comprise a two to four year programme in which apprentices will become manages of their own Pret shop and achieve the fourth and fifth levels of the Apprenticeship Standard qualification.
The candidates will then be offered the opportunity to complete a BA in business management at Manchester Metropolitan University.
The launch of the apprenticeship scheme follows warnings from director of people at Pret Andrea Wareham that Pret would struggle to find enough staff if it was unable to employ EU nationals after Brexit, due to British workers’ negative perception of the hospitality industry.
“We are delighted to launch a new apprenticeship programme which focuses on building management skills, helping those involved to grow their careers and take advantage of the many opportunities we offer to become business leaders of the future,” says Andrea Wareham, Director of People at Pret, comments,
“As well as gaining a lot of knowledge, our apprentices will become part of a community, making new friends in a supportive and fun environment.”
The scheme is similar to McDonalds’ Archways to Opportunity program, launched in the US in 2015, which helps its employees further their education with $21 million awarded in high school and college tuition assistance. The fast-food giant also operates Hamburger University, its Chicago-based training facility.