Wilson Vale launches apprenticeship programme
Ashby-based catering company, Wilson Vale, has launched the Wilson Vale Apprenticeship Programme.
Running in conjunction with national training providers, Total People, the programme is run under National Apprenticeship guidelines and has been created to attract people into the foodservice sector.
Marion Speed, learning and development manager for Wilson Vale, explained:” Our goal is to develop talent by providing candidates with the necessary craft skills, confidence and self-belief to maximise their potential within this sector.
”We view it as a wonderful opportunity to give people that first step into hospitality but also as a way of immersing people into our culture and our way of doing things in the hope that they will stay with us and grow.”
The programme includes workshops, one-to-one training sessions and peer mentoring over the course of a year, and it has attracted two candidates to date. Wilson Vale hopes to take on five new apprentices each year.
Victoria Pearce, a nineteen-year-old from Burnage in Manchester is currently working with the Wilson Vale brigade at Kellogg’s at Talbot Road, Manchester. Before joining the programme, she had completed a BTEC Level 3 in Uniform Public Services at Xaverian College in Manchester, graduating with a triple star distinction.
Currently working towards her NVQ Level 2 in professional cookery, she is now learning craft skills in all sections of the busy kitchen where the Wilson Vale team caters for approximately 650 people each day.
”My dream is to become a chef,” she said. “Thanks to Wilson Vale, I am now on my chosen career path and I love the fact that I am learning something new every day, from knife skills to making soups, breads, cakes and salads for the deli. What is great is that we all work together as a team and support each other.”
Michal Chycimski, 31, originally from Poland but now living in Leicester, is working with the Wilson Vale team at College Court Conference Centre in Leicester. He joined the team as a kitchen porter in 2015 and showed a real passion for food. He is now thriving on the apprenticeship programme, with on-the-job training and one-to-one mentoring from members of the brigade.
Marion Speed said: “We have always said that attitude, a warm personality and a willingness to learn are what we value most. Regardless of what previous experience they have, we can give them the necessary craft and life skills to develop.”
Recognising that one of the most important drivers of employee engagement, job satisfaction and staff loyalty is the development of people’s existing skills, Wilson Vale has also launched The Wilson Vale’s Chef Managers Academy in association with Babcock Training.
This initiative offers every chef within the business the opportunity to step up to a managerial level through NVQ Level 3 training.
“They already have the craft skills so we support their goals by providing training in everything from life and communication skills to book keeping and people management skills”, said Marion Speed.
Wilson Vale currently employs 600 people across 85 diverse catering operations nationwide. For information on joining the Wilson Vale Apprenticeship Programme, telephone Marion Speed on 01530 563100.
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Copylines PR. Tel: 00 353 21 435 8517. Email: patkinson@copylinespr.com
Wilson Vale is an independently owned catering company, established by Andrew Wilson and his wife, Carolyne Vale, in 2002. The company specialises in high quality catering services, mainly within the business & industry, conferencing and independent schools sectors. Porjected annual turnover for 2016 is £23 million and Wilson Vale employs 600 people nationwide. www.wilsonvale.co.uk
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