[S]ourcing good, reliable chefs has always been a battle within the hospitality industry, it’s a challenging occupation with high staff turnover and a shortage of talented young chefs on the horizon. According to the skills development agency ‘People 1st’ 51% of catering colleges have seen enrolments drop, in an industry which, by 2020, will need a predicted 11,000 new chefs.
With the worry that fine dining could become a thing of the past, Lake District Hotels Ltd have launched their own ‘Hotel Academy’ where they plan to put a number of aspiring chefs through their paces, in their AA Rosette kitchens, working closely with the hotel group Executive Head Chef.
Maria Boyd, HR Manager at Lake District Hotels has been working hard, along with the groups directors to put the building blocks in place for a successful ‘Hotel Academy’, which includes a one year programme with a guaranteed employment offer at the end, kitchen career progression, quarterly incentives, monthly visits to local suppliers, accredited professional qualifications and certificates, with the option to earn up to £21,000 after just 2 years at Chef de Partie level.
Maria commented: “The aim of our academy, is to help attract new talented employees, to earn their loyalty and to bring their skills in line with modern workplace standards, as well as offering progression from Commis Chef, to Chef de Partie, to Sous Chef, to one day become our future Head Chefs.
“Our apprenticeship is open to any age group, offers a salary based on the individuals age, and offers an abundance of incentives, from your first knife set and full set of chef’s whites, £1,000 bonus on completion of training, one night’s dinner, bed and breakfast for 2 in one of our seven hotels, 2 weeks work experience abroad in Malta or Austria and much more.”
The candidates selected to join Lake District Hotels ‘Hotel Academy’ will be based at the 2AA Rosette Lodore Falls Hotel in Borrowdale, the 2AA Rosette George Hotel in Penrith, the AA Rosette Borrowdale Hotel, the AA Rosette Inn on the Square in Keswick and the 2AA Rosette Inn on the Lake in Ullswater. To apply for a place in the ‘Hotel Academy’, or for further information contact careers@lakedistricthotels.net
