Putting apprenticeships firmly on the menu

YOUNG people taking cookery and hospitality apprenticeships at a Yorkshire hotel were recognised at a special event yesterday.

Park Plaza Hotel, in Leeds, put on the Come Dine With Me-style event with the Wakefield office of Smart Training and Recruitment.

Apprentices cooked and served a three-course meal to civic leaders in Leeds and were graded on certain aspects of their work, such as speed of service, at the end of the session.

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The event was part of National Apprenticeship Week, which runs until Friday.

Agnieszka Dubek, one of the appentices who took part, said: “Choosing my apprenticeship in customer service was an import decision in developing my future education and career prospects.

“The apprenticeship is really flexible as I can learn while I am working.”

Vince Cable, the business secretary, has urged employers to drive economic growth by creating a new generation of skilled workers. British Airways has agreed to expand its apprenticeship scheme.

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Smart is a national training firm, backed by the State, which was set up in 2001.

It places young people in apprenticeships. It specialises in the hospitality, management, business administration, retail and customer service sectors and 16 staff at its Yorkshire office.