Royal Lancaster London has launched its own Apprenticeship Academy, allowing employees to gain nationally recognised qualifications while in employment without the burden of debt.
Staff at Royal Lancaster London are now able to ‘earn while they learn’, become more confident in their roles, and gain skills that are both valuable to the hotel and to the individual, during their studies. All this is done through a fully-funded Apprenticeship.
Since April 2017, companies with a payroll of over £3m per year pay an apprenticeship levy to the government. The company can then use this levy to fund apprenticeship training. The government backed scheme provides a great opportunity for individuals who wish to further their career development, whilst remaining in a stable job – with the bonus of having zero debt upon completing their course.
Royal Lancaster London has partnered with Remit Training, for a variety of level 2.3 and 4 apprenticeships including Hospitality manager, supervisor and team member and in customer service. At Level 2 and 3, the courses take 12 months to complete; and Level 4 is generally completed in c.18 months. During this time the apprentices learn the tailored content of the programme on the job. They are given support from Royal Lancaster London, and time to study as part of their working day.
Kirsty Williams, who was initially hired as a Reservation Supervisor at Royal Lancaster London was encouraged by her manager to embark on the Level 3 Apprenticeship hospitality supervisor. After successfully completing this course, and being awarded with a distinction, she immediately commenced the Level 4 Apprenticeship for hospitality manager. Williams has since been promoted to business development manager.
Williams said: “It has been a fantastic experience for me. I have had amazing support from Royal Lancaster London and Remit development coaches throughout my studies. What I am learning in the programme coincides well with my role and is helping me develop and implement new strategies. I have gained more confidence in my position as I have learned so much during the process. I would wholeheartedly recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who wishes to develop their career in the hospitality arena.”
Hannah Backhaus, Royal Lancaster’s training manager added: “We chose to partner with Remit because they are a very experienced apprenticeship training provider, with a strong commitment to high quality delivery, innovative learning platforms and a forward-thinking approach that puts the apprentice at the heart of what they do. As testament to that, we are really pleased today to celebrate one of our Team Leader Supervisor apprentices who has passed their apprenticeship with flying colours and received a distinction in their End Point Assessment”.
