M&B chain Browns to spend £150,000 on new apprenticeship scheme
Sixty apprentices will initially be recruited for the 12-month scheme, and the long term aim is to offer 100 places per year. Browns said places have already been filled with front of house team members and chefs who will ultimately gain the Level 2 Food & Beverage Apprenticeship and Level 2 Professional Cookery Apprenticeship respectively.
Assessment will be carried out by “mentor assessors” - general managers and head chefs - and training will involve five e-learning modules including Management Information System, Learner Management System, Electronic Learner Portfolio, Functional Skills Management and Recruitment & Employer Engagement.
Vanessa Hall, brand operations director for Browns, said: “Browns has a fantastic track record in developing in our people and offering career progression. We our proud of our loyal and highly skilled work force and the launch of the apprentice scheme can only enhance this.
“A career in catering is sometimes overlooked but we’re looking to change those perceptions by offering a really high level of training. We are offering extremely competitive rates of pay which are the equivalent to the full rate for the jobs being performed, plus they receive training and nationally recognised qualification at the end of the 12-month training period.”
David Way, chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service, said: “The launch of Mitchells & Butlers/Browns Apprenticeship programme shows the importance that leading employers are placing on Apprenticeships to help recruit and train talented young people to become the high quality chefs and hospitality professionals they need for their growing business.
“By working together with employers to offer high quality Apprenticeship programmes, we can show young people and their parents that there are clear opportunities to climb the ladder right to the top through taking up Apprenticeships.
“Our long term aim is to offer 100 apprentice places each year and take on all trainees on a full time contract. Well trained front of house teams and chefs are critical to the success of our business and the standards of the apprenticeship course reflect this.”
