Wilson Vale launches apprenticeship programme
Contract caterer Wilson Vale has launched an apprenticeship programme with training provider Total People, to attract more people into the foodservice sector.
The programme, which will run under National Apprenticeship guidelines, will include workshops, one-to-one training sessions and peer mentoring over the course of a year.
Marion Speed, learning and development manager for Wilson Vale, said: "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."
L to R: Luke Smith, sous chef at Kellogg's; James Wood, Wilson Vale chef manager at Kellogg's; apprentice chef, Victoria Pearce; Phil Hindmarch, Wilson Vale area manager
Wilson Vale hopes to take on five new apprentices each year and has also launched the Wilson Vale 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.
Victoria Pearce, 19, is currently working with the Wilson Vale brigade at Kellogg's at Talbot Road, Manchester as part of the apprenticeship programme.
She said: "My dream is to become a chef. 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."
Wilson Vale currently employs 600 people across 85 diverse catering operations nationwide.
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