Greene King to take on 10,000 apprentices

Greene King, the country’s leading pub retailer and brewer, has today announced its pledge to take on 10,000 apprentices over the next three years. By 2019 the business expects to have supported more than 17,000 apprentices in just eight years.

The announcement follows last year’s pledge made by Greene King to hire 2,000 apprentices in the 12 months to March 2016 – a pledge that the company not only met, but exceeded.

Rooney Anand, Greene King’s chief executive, said: “We are thrilled to have exceeded our 2015 apprenticeship target. The fact that we are now aiming to hit an even higher target of 10,000 is a reflection that as a leader within the UK’s hospitality industry, we believe we have a responsibility to support young people by creating these opportunities to earn and learn.

“Not only do we want to ensure our apprentices have a great experience, we want to continue to improve the programme itself. We will provide the best advice and guidance to potential learners so they understand their commitment and ensure the qualification is best suited to their career aspirations.”

Lindsey Parr is just one of a number of apprentices who have successfully risen through the ranks at Greene King, a true manifestation of this year’s National Apprenticeship Week theme ‘rising to the top’. Having completed previous qualifications, she was highly commended by the National Apprenticeship Service for the Champion of the Year Award 2014 before starting Level 4 Management Apprenticeship which she is due to complete in May 2016. Now a general manager at Sherwood Manor, Nottingham and supporting other Greene King apprentices, Lindsey is also leading a Greene King team of nine apprentices as part of the Brathay Apprentice Challenge.

Lindsey said: “I was managing my first pub at the age of 18; it was a fantastic opportunity, which instilled within me a number of values which have led me to where I am today. Perhaps because of my own great apprenticeship experience, I have been passionate about helping young people to start and develop their careers. To date, I have actually enrolled over 30 of my team members onto apprenticeship programmes during my time as a general manager. Among them, 18 have progressed their careers to kitchen managers, team leaders and deputy managers, which is really rewarding to see. It’s great to see team members realise their potential through apprenticeships, it truly makes working in a pub so rewarding and worthwhile.”

Since its launch in 2011, the Greene King apprenticeship scheme has to date helped support over 7,400