Hospitality Apprenticeships Week is once again upon us, which means it’s time to shout about the benefits of working in hospitality and to raise awareness of apprenticeships as a route to success.
Truro and Penwith College are a BIIAB Centre who use end-point assessments to offer a wide range of apprenticeship pathways for hospitality job roles. From catering apprenticeship standards including the Level 2 Commis Chef and Level 3 Chef de Partie to front-of-house programmes such as the Level 2 Hospitality Team Member and Level 4 Hospitality Manager standards, the Cornwall-based college provides a variety of opportunities for learners wanting to work in this sector.
In 2021, we heard from some of the Inn Cornwall team about how apprenticeships through Truro and Penwith were advancing their careers in hospitality. This year, Vanessa Offland, Training Advisor and Lecturer at the college, got in touch to provide an update on their work to develop apprentices in Cornwall.
Providing the training that Cornwall needs
“Our provision has grown greatly over the last two years as the demand for hospitality staff has grown. Staff shortages across the county have put pressure on businesses and their staff.
“With hospitality being such a large employer across Cornwall, it became clear we needed to provide the training and development for young people in the region to succeed. We work very closely with a wide range of employers across Cornwall to design programmes to meet their needs.
“I teach on the front-of-house programmes and we have worked hard to develop options across a variety of pathways including housekeeping, concierge, food and beverage and outlet supervisor. I am also a training advisor so I go out to employers and apprentices in the workplace to provide support and guidance and ensure the apprentice is progressing and supported.”
“Over the last 12 months, BIIAB have been very supportive and open to discussions, which has been an excellent way to find solutions, so I would recommend BIIAB to our industry peers.”
Vanessa Offland, Truro and Penwith College
Vanessa also spoke positively about the college’s experience of working with BIIAB:
“I studied with BIIAB many years ago and then began working with them on end-point assessments when I joined Truro and Penwith College two years ago.
“BIIAB are one of the few End-Point Assessment Organisations who offer all the pathways, including the Level 4 Hospitality Manager pathway. We have worked closely with them over the last year to develop better ways of working and provided input into the end-point assessment process. This has led to an excellent working relationship and helps the apprentices experience a positive end-point assessment.
“We have had meetings with Richard [Ward, BIIAB Product Development Manager] to input on the new Commis Chef standards. We have a large volume of Commis Chef apprentices going through their end-point assessment, so this has helped us. BIIAB understand the pressure points and we have had discussions to help find the best solutions for all parties.
“Over the next year, we plan to continue developing our provision by launching the new Chef de Partie programme and trialling the Future Chef Manager programme. We will also investigate the Production Chef programme due to local demand.
“Over the last 12 months, BIIAB have been very supportive and open to discussions, which has been an excellent way to find solutions, so I would recommend BIIAB to our industry peers.”
Want to support hospitality training and development in your local area?
If your organisation would be interested in delivering apprenticeships through BIIAB, you can find out how to become a Centre and book a call with our team here. You can also find out more about our end-point assessments here.
BIIAB also offers a wide variety of hospitality and catering qualifications, many of which can be delivered as part of apprenticeships. Browse them on our website or download our ‘Getting into Hospitality and Catering’ brochure.
Are you a Centre that would like to highlight the work you do with BIIAB? Or do your learners have success stories to share? You can complete our case study forms in just a few minutes via the following links: Centre Case Study; Learner Case Study; End-Point Assessment Case Study. We will share your stories on our website and on social media.
Hospitality Apprenticeships Week 2022 takes place from 3-9 October. You can get involved on Twitter and LinkedIn using the hashtag #MoreThanAJob.