Punch Taverns has turned to apprenticeships to develop hospitality talent of the future.

The pub company has introduced six-month flexible courses designed to help teams focus on developing specific areas of their job, from team leadership and business administration to customer service skills.

Five team members from Punch’s Contact Centre were the first to successfully complete apprenticeships in team leadership with a further 20 team members starting courses in July.  A drop-in session has also seen further team members sign up.

Punch’s HR director Karen Caddick says: “The apprenticeship schemes are closely aligned with our own internal learning and development offer and build on the on-the-job learning of our teams. Our managers place a heavy emphasis on supporting teams through vocational training opportunities like apprenticeships.”