Newcomers: Getting qualified

The lease on the pub can only be signed when the license is transferred, in order that the license can be transferred we needed to qualify as a licensee and convince the police that we were both fit and proper people.

There are a number of courses available so we consulted the Pubco rep and also the licensing company that is handling the transfer of the license.

We eventually settled on the ServeWise course offered through Alcohol Focus Scotland. ServeWise is the largest training provider of its kind in Scotland and courses are well respected within the licensed trade. They are accepted by all licensing boards in Scotland with training requirements and are recommended by the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, BEDA, the Scottish Beer and Pub Association and Scottish Grocer's Federation.

The course took the best part of a day, was delivered by Steve Wadlick of Belendon Hospitality and covered the following areas

• Licensing Law, Alcohol and People Skills
• The legal responsibilities
• The social responsibilities
• Laws surrounding children
• Sensible promotion of drinks and drinking behaviour
• Best practice and standard setting
• Refusals of service
• Prevention of conflict
• Customer care

Steve was an excellent tutor with an amazing track record within hospitality services and we would both highly recommend him. He had the ability to make us feel at ease whilst explaining the serious business regarding the law, our responsibilities as a licensee etc and gave us the confidence to sit the exam without too many fears.

We received our results a few days later and it was good news, we passed. Its one step closer to gaining approval from the licensing committee and we are sure the exam has provided us with enough information to convince the police that we are fit and proper people.