Ei Group has expanded its programme that aims to inspire young people to enter the pub trade in England and Wales. Pub Pros, now in its second year, is a work-readiness programme run by education enrichment organisation Stride Learning. It aims to inform and inspire school leavers about careers in the pub trade while building employability skills such as teamwork, leadership, assertiveness and critical thinking.
The number of schools and pubs taking part this year has doubled to 12 with the programme’s geographical reach also growing, with pubs from Hull to Exeter taking part. For the first time, Ei Group head office will also take part in Pub Pros, in partnership with Solihull College. The programme sees up to 30 pupils from each school take part in a series of three half-day workshops including a meet-the-publican session followed by an in-pub taster day this summer. Also new for this year is an alternative programme, Pub Pathways, which is a one-day workshop.
Ei Group commercial director Paul Harbottle said: “Working in a pub or the wider hospitality sector is often overlooked as a potential career choice for young people. However, following last year’s successful Pub Pros programme, I am confident this will continue to change perceptions with even more students and publicans getting involved this year.” British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) chief executive Brigid Simmonds added: “Ei Group pioneered work with Stride, which is a great example of partnership work at a local level and it is good to see this continue. The BBPA is working with Stride too, which we see as the sort of initiative we need to develop further for the skills element of the tourism sector deal that has been announced in principle by the government.”
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