Starring role for Mitchells & Butlers’ Apprentices - as company aspires to recruit 5000 over the next three years

Dedicated to opening doors for young people, Mitchells & Butlers plc - the company behind leading pub and restaurant brands such as All Bar One, Harvester, Miller & Carter, Toby Carveryand Browns - is harnessing National Apprenticeship Week to shine the light on the real stars of its businesses, young apprentices.

Looking to appeal to a new pool of young talent, Mitchells & Butlers is bucking the trend by recruiting apprentices outside of its current businesses, while also supporting and developing its current workforce to maximise its approach. Driven by a campaign centred around ‘Sharing our Rising Stars’, the company is showcasing how its high-quality apprenticeships give young people a firm foot on the career ladder.

Jan Smallbone, Director of Learning & Talent Development at Mitchells & Butlers comments: “Apprenticeships give young people a genuine alternative to academic study, and a real path to a long-term career in hospitality. Since National Apprenticeship Week last year, 49% of our 560 recruited apprentices are in the 16-18 category – showing that young people are really beginning to engage with alternative ways to get their career moving forward.”

The ‘Sharing our Rising Stars’ campaign, which kicked off this week, has seen the company work with its General Managers across the UK to invite its hard-working apprentices to an exclusive celebration meal, which will also see their parents join them to see and experience their place of work. This activity has been pivotal to a host of activity around National Apprenticeship Week, and cements Mitchells & Butlers’ mission to develop and nurture raw talent in young people.

Jan Smallbone continues; “National Apprenticeship Week allows us to reach out to those thinking about starting an apprenticeship and help to make the right decision for them. Our mixture of apprenticeships ensures that there’s something for everyone who is interested in a career in hospitality and supports those that want to improve on their academic results too. Our aspiration is to grow our current population of 1800 apprentices to 5000 over the next 3 years, maintaining a strong focus on high quality programmes which really grow young talent”.

There are currently four different apprenticeships open to all school leavers. The company’s Bar & Waiting Apprenticeship, Chef, and Culinary Apprenticeships see young people gain a Level 2 qualification within their chosen field within the first 12 months – they are also offered the opportunity to progress onto higher level apprenticeships up to level 5. Mitchells & Butlers Hospitality Management Development Apprenticeship is a three-year programme designed to FastTrack apprentices into supervisory and management roles. It is also one of the first schemes in the industry to offer a combined programme that ensures apprentices gain experience working in customer facing roles alongside learning in the kitchen. Apprentices can then decide which role best suits their career aspirations whilst being provided with the opportunity to take on new challenges.

For more information on the Mitchells & Butlers Apprentice Scheme, how to apply and variety of roles available visit www.mbapprenticeships.co.uk.

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