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.
While Tragus has employed apprentices in the past, 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.
Sara Edwards added: “We’re really pleased with the results so far, and we’ve found that the online learning approach Apprentice 1st uses fit well with our business. It’s flexible, so apprentices can plan their time much better with a lower impact on the business, and the fact that we can easily monitor apprentices’ progress through the online portal is a real bonus.”
Michaela Habrovanská, team member at Café Rouge Oxford, was the 50th apprentice to sign up to the apprenticeship programme. She said: “Doing an apprenticeship means that I can get the qualifications I need to move up the career ladder while I’m still working, so I get the best of both worlds. I think it’s brilliant that Tragus is investing in our development and the fact that I don’t have to take time off for college, because everything I need is online, means I can carry on working as usual. I can’t wait to get started!
“If anyone is thinking about joining the Apprentice 1st scheme, I would say just go for it. You are going to do for yourself and your future.”
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.”
