Leading catering and hospitality employers agree: apprenticeships can serve up a high standard of skills, professionalism and customer service. With funding available for training right now, investing in apprenticeships is a smart move.

Apprenticeships deliver real returns to your bottom line. Because they are designed specifically to meet your needs as an employer, they ensure your staff have the skills and qualifications you now need. At a time when many catering and hospitality employers find it hard to recruit-and especially to maintain-an auditable qualified workforce, investing in apprenticeships makes sense, business sense. They can harness fresh talent, improve jobs satisfaction and reduce staff turnover. In recent surveys, a majority of employers reported that training apprentices was more cost effective than hiring skilled staff, leading to lower spending on training and recruitment overall.

Apprentices are widely regarded as eager, motivated, flexible and loyal to their organisation. In an industry where excellent customer service is essential, the training they received from Lakes College will increase their confidence, reliability and enthusiasm. Their broader skills such as literacy, numeracy and communication-along with their knowledge of employment rights and responsibilities-will also be improved.

“Apprenticeships will help give our employees the confidence and competence to do their jobs to the best of their ability. It is not just our people and our business that will benefit. Apprenticeships are also good news for the wider community.”
David Fairhurst, McDonald Uk

1. Apprenticeships help secure a supply of skilled young recruits - especially important for the replacement of an ageing workforce;

2. Even if external recruitment was possible, Apprenticeships are less expensive to recruit and train than experienced workers hired on the external labour market because of high recruitment costs plus the costs of induction and any necessary training;

3. Apprenticeships contribute to a pool of skilled and certificated employees for the sector from which a company might recruit in the future;

4. They ensure that the supply-chain (i.e. sub-contractors) have a sufficiently skilled workforce;

5. Apprentices tend to stay with the organisation and labor turnover is lower;

6. Apprentices provide a cadre of employees from which to future managers could be selected;

7. Apprenticeship training could increase interest in training amongst other employees;

8. Apprenticeships demonstrate company's commitment to the employee;

9. Apprenticeships are more practical and job-related than other forms of learning;

10. Apprentices can bring new ideas and innovation to the business;

11. A good Apprenticeship scheme could be reflected in an enhanced reputation for the business both within the industry and in the local community.

80% of those employers who employ apprentices agree they make their workplace more productive. Companies that don't invest in their business during a recession are 2.5 times more likely to fail than those that do. Expand your business with a apprentice - improve your odds, and your bottom line!

Be one of the first to find out more about our apprenticeships; the funding and delivery options available.

Lakes College can offer you the opportunity to grow and develop an individual and mould them into your corporate culture. We will support you every step of the way, building upon experience and knowledge, accrediting technical certificates to enhance your staff’s potential, ultimately strengthening your businesses development.

Our apprenticeship programme offers you skilled staff, guided carefully by our experienced tutors, to the highest standard. The training is free and the only commitment employers must offer is a training wage.

How Do I Apply?

If you are an employer looking for Apprenticeship training for a member of staff, please contact one of our Business and Community Account Managers on 01946 839 300, why not?  Meet the Team.