There are many roles within the hospitality industry, some more commonly known than others, such as front of house and chefs, but have you ever considered the roles in hospitality business head offices? From finance and marketing to IT there is a career for all interests in hospitality, and did you know some of these head office roles can be carried out as an apprenticeship?
To raise awareness of the different roles in hospitality businesses’ head offices, we recently sat down to chat with Tommy Routledge, an Assistant Management Account at Greene King and former attendee of the Hospitality Apprenticeship Showcase.
Tommy has been at Greene King for seven years, first starting out on a six-month contract as a Retail Finance Assistant after leaving college with a Business Diploma and pursuing his interests in business and finance. During his time with Greene King, he has worked his way up into different roles within the finance team and more recently completed an apprenticeship.
In July 2022 Tommy completed his AAT Level 4 Professional Accounting apprenticeship, which was a 16–18-month apprenticeship, which consisted of modules focusing on topics such as financial statements, costing methods and budgets. Exams were required in this apprenticeship, which Tommy completed at the end of each module.
Tommy said: “The opportunity to do my recent apprenticeship came at a time when I wanted to develop my skills and further my learning. It was also an appealing opportunity to me as the structure of the modules met my interests, and the support offered by the training provider and Greene King was very beneficial.
“Whilst on my apprenticeship, I was practically able to apply my learnings to my role at the time, which supported me in understanding my work better and being able to communicate better with others in the business.”
Once Tommy’s apprenticeship was coming to an end he then moved into his current role, which sees him now dealing with Greene King’s period-end cost reviews, liaising with the Business Unit Finance Director and the Analyst team on a regular basis and working on balance sheets and yearly budgets and forecasts.
Tommy continued: “I did not intend to work within the hospitality sector, but the opportunity at Greene King came about and since working here it has been a great place to work. I have always had a positive experience, being able to progress in my career and the support I have received from Greene King to do this has been amazing.
“Working in the hospitality industry is brilliant, I am such a foodie and love going out for drinks with friend, so it is great to be able to learn about different beers and current trends. I also really enjoy working in an industry I care about and take an interest in.”
We asked Tommy what advice he would give to those considering an apprenticeship in a hospitality business head office, and his top three points were:
- Commitment to completing all the modules and exams.
- Taking time to speak to all the different people in the office to learn more about the business.
- Make the most of the opportunity to develop your skills and learning.
Tommy is now continuing his learning and undertaking an Accountancy professional Level 7 apprenticeship.
So, if you are interested in a specific business role, you can explore career opportunities within hospitality, visit our employer’s page to find out more.
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