Over 200 team members from Stonegate Pub Company have enrolled in the company’s own apprenticeship scheme since its launch in October 2013.

The pub company has introduced a series of company own apprenticeship schemes for employees that not only match the national apprenticeship framework but offer added extra training and knowledge specific to the company.

The pub company, whose bespoke online training platform and intranet system has already won several awards, created its first company-specific apprenticeship scheme entitled ‘Food Production and Cooking Level 2’ in October 2013. Forty-two kitchen team employees are currently on the course which runs for twelve months and includes, within its qualifications, ‘Induction Modules’, ‘Practical Demonstration and Knowledge’ and ‘Level 1 Functional Skills’ in both Maths and English. This Level 2 course is the equivalent to 5 GCSE’s (A* – C) .

A second Stonegate apprenticeship, based around the national framework scheme ‘Hospitality and Service Level 2’ has subsequently been launched with a third ‘Team Leader’ scheme being introduced company-wide in March 2014. A total of 208 learners are engaged on the combined programmes.

In a further development Stonegate Pub Company has announced that it will map its existing training schemes for all levels of employees against the national framework.

Jeannette Partington, a member of the kitchen team at Yates’ in Wolverhampton recently joined the Food Production and Cooking scheme, also known as Albert’s Kitchen Apprenticeship. Commenting on course she said, “When I first heard about the Albert’s Kitchen Apprenticeship I was unsure if I would be able to sign up for it due to my age. When I enquired and got further information it was clear to me that is was possible to complete the course at work and gain qualifications at the end of it. It’s still early stages but the help and support I have received at both work and from the Assessor from Babcock has been great in helping me to start completing the workbook which I have found easily to follow.”

Lee Woolley, Head of Learning and Development at Stonegate Pub Company said, “We are committed to ensuring our employees get the very best training and opportunities within the sector, which is why we have introduced our own Albert Apprenticeship schemes that sit within our training and development framework, Albert’s Pathway, but also include all aspects of the national framework, making it a recognisable qualification industry-wide.”

Stonegate Pub Company, named as the ‘Best Pub Employer 50+ sites’ at the Publican Awards 2013, was presented last month with ‘Distinction in Innovative Use of Technology’ award at HR Distinction Awards 2014.

To find out more about careers at Stonegate Pub Company visit http://www.stonegateonline.net/careers