Tragus Group, the operator of major restaurant brands including Café Rouge, Strada and Bella Italia, has announced its 50th employee to join its new apprenticeship programme.
The organisation has been working in partnership with hospitality apprenticeship provider, Apprentice 1st, to train a number of kitchen and front of house staff on level 2 apprenticeship programmes. This is the first time that the organisation has implemented a company-wide apprenticeship programme approach. It forms part of Tragus’ wider commitment to professionalising the workforce, which also includes working with skills and workforce development charity, People 1st, to recruit unemployed people using pre-employment programmes.
A number of people who have been recruited via pre-employment training are among those who have signed up to the Apprentice 1st programme.
Tragus’ commitment to promoting apprenticeships and skills development extends across the industry, with the company a member of the recently announced trailblazer group for the hospitality industry, which will develop new apprenticeship standards for two roles in the sector*.
Sara Edwards, group human resources director at Tragus, commented: “As a business, we are committed to developing our staff and providing them with excellent career pathways, and apprenticeships play a key role in this. We’re delighted to have our first 50 staff members signed up to the programme.
“This is just the beginning for us; we’re looking forward to employing a lot more apprentices on our programme. We want to lead the way with apprenticeships and, through our work with the apprenticeship trailblazer group, ensure that the whole industry has access to robust programmes that will develop the skilled staff it needs.”
Tragus’ apprenticeship provider, Apprentice 1st, ensures that this commitment extends to apprentices themselves, giving them access to a unique portal that allows apprentices to complete all their learning and training exercises online. This means that the apprentice can complete coursework at their convenience and eliminates much of the paperwork associated with traditional hospitality apprenticeships.
Andrew Wallbank, programme delivery manager for Apprentice 1st, said: “Lots of employers are now seeing the benefits of using online learning for apprenticeships, from the ability to track apprentices’ progress to improved completion rates. We’re delighted that Tragus Group is seeing a positive impact from using the Apprentice 1st system and look forward to continuing our work with them in the future.”
*The employer trailblazer group is led by Hilton Worldwide, and includes a wide range of other leading hospitality and tourism organisations. With support from People 1st, it will develop new apprenticeship standards for professional chefs and hospitality and tourism supervisors and managers.
About Tragus Group
Tragus Group operates some of the UK’s favourite restaurant brands, including Café Rouge, Bella Italia and Strada. It is one of the UK’s largest casual dining groups, employing over 7,300 people and serving more than 21 million meals in over 295 restaurants.
For more information about Tragus Group click here
About Apprentice 1st
Apprentice 1st is an innovative way to deliver apprenticeships in hospitality businesses. Using a unique online portal, it eliminates the paperwork and administration associated with hospitality apprenticeships.
It gives apprentices access to all the learning materials and support they need, without having to take time out of the business for classroom learning. It hosts all the materials and information in one place, so employers can access real-time information on their apprentices’ progress at the click of a button.
Apprentice 1st is available in England, Scotland and Wales and currently offers the following industry-recognised apprenticeship frameworks:
- Level 2 Professional Cookery
- Level 2 Food and Beverage Service
- Level 2 Food Production and Cooking
- Level 3 Hospitality Supervision and Leadership
- Level 4 Hospitality Management
- Level 5 Leadership and Management
For more information about Apprentice 1st click here