The Grand continues to close skill gaps

The Grand is consistently creating versatility amongst their employees in all areas of the business. Now their chefs, front of house and management staff are all thriving within apprenticeship programmes, The Grand are seeing a streamlined performance across all their departments.

The company is a reputable hotel in the South-East of England. They provide accommodation, food and beverage service, and function rooms to their guests and clients. The business operates 24/7, and their customer base covers everything from large parties to hotel and dinner guests.

The picturesque venue overlooking the English Channel employs around 40 members of staff. Currently, six of their team members are undertaking apprenticeships at Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE), Advanced (equivalent to A Level) and Higher levels (equivalent to foundation degree and above).

The Grand has a large number of employees that have provided their services on a long term basis. It was important to the management team to keep these individuals engaged, give back to the whole team through education and become a more attractive employer in the process.

The business has a fantastic reputation amongst customers locally and nationally. As a venue with multiple functions in hospitality, it was their goal to give this reputation consistency across all service areas.

The Grand achieved their goals by offering training opportunities to all departments including front of house, back of house and operations. This approach empowers employees with vast knowledge, and creates a consistent, positive reputation across their accommodation, food, beverage and venue hire services.

In addition to this, The Grand are able to give back to their many long serving employees and provide extra incentives for prospective employees.

It’s common practice for The Grand to encourage the career progression of their staff and this starts with taking advantage of in-house training opportunities available to them. The Grand provides multiple functions across hospitality, and are able to rely on HIT Training’s large team of specialists to develop their team members in all specific areas.

The apprenticeships running at The Grand so far include – Level 2 Commis Chef, Level 3 Senior Production Chef, Level 2 Hospitality Team Member, and more recently – Level 5 Operations Management. This provides staff with valuable insight and skills taught to them in their workplace, at their own pace, by people of experience.

Through the use of the funding The Grand has been able to create additional opportunities to maximise training across all departments, leaving no one behind and giving back to the entire team.

“Despite the pandemic, we have made sure that training continues and that our team is supported 24/7. Whilst the world came to a grinding halt over a 3 month period, we did not feel a gap in our training thanks to the commitment of the trainers.”

Ewa stated: “The chefs on apprenticeships in particular are seen practicing their own recipes, as well as developing our current recipes and menus. All of our apprentices are seen focusing on new ideas to achieve their desired results, and this has really helped us develop as a business.”

“Upskilling our existing staff resulted in having more capable personnel, reduced recruitment costs, improved overall productivity and developed skills relevant to our business. Employees joining the apprenticeship programmes ensured that we close skills gaps, as well as source future leaders from within. The apprentices are very supportive, and they regard their job as a career staying with us long-term which has increased our job retention”

The management team at The Grand regularly consults with staff regarding the many opportunities for training and development. The hotel has collectively committed to give time and consideration to team members needing or wishing to complete training where possible.