Whiting & Hammond, the Award Winning pub business located across the South East of England are passionate about bringing in young talent to their pubs.
In 2012, they embarked upon a programme of recruiting young people into the company and with funding from the National Apprenticeship Service, they were able to select industry experts in the form of Straight A Training, to help set and run The Whiting & Hammond Apprenticeship Scheme in Professional Cookery.
The scheme is aimed at building the future generation of Head Chefs for both Whiting & Hammond and the pub and bar industry. Apprentices are coached and supported on the job by their Head Chef in each of the pubs, resulting in a Diploma in Professional Cookery.
Take Craig Hawkes, pictured above with his brother Alex, also a chef. Craig started his career as an apprentice at the the Cricketers Inn, Meopham and is now a talented young demi chef de partie.
“It’s all been good fun, I’ve learnt so many valuable new skills during my apprenticeship and was able to move up to my current position within 6 months,” said Craig.
There are currently 12 apprentices across the group and Whiting & Hammond are actively recruiting to ensure that they maintain two apprentices in each location.
Brian Whiting, Owner of Whiting & Hammond said: “Bringing in young Apprentices to our business is a key part of our Talent development. By establishing our own Apprenticeship scheme, we are able to customise the training to suit our style of menu at the same time as creating a career pathway within our business. These Apprentices are our next generation of Chefs.”
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