Etherington’s arm the next generation of hospitality workers with key industry skills.

The Brian Etherington Meat Company, The Victoria Inn and Truro and Penwith College have joined forces to arm the next generation of hospitality workers with key industry skills.

Nine students who already experience the day-to-day running of the Victoria Inn Pub at Threemilestone and Roche, have broadened their knowledge and experience with days spent at Etherington’s Farm Shop near Scorrier this week.

The students who are undertaking hospitality and catering apprenticeships covering levels 2-4 in hospitality management were tasked with a number of duties – from providing great customer service, putting together shop displays and pricing – to understanding an implementing fire and risk assessment regulations.

The Farm Shop which opened its doors in 2012, has previously run its own apprenticeship scheme within its on-site butchery academy, and are proud to have many of their graduates in fulltime butchery roles. Managing Director, Mark Etherington said: “We passionately believe that we need to engage Cornwall’s future workforce and equip them with the skills to exceed, whilst promoting the message that you don’t have to leave Cornwall to build career and Etherington’s are delighted to offer this opportunity to young people.”

Adele Bull, Programme Team Leader at Truro and Penwith College Business commented: “We are really pleased to see that Etherington’s and the Victoria Inn are going above and beyond to provide this opportunity for Apprenticeship learners. Initiatives such as this offer learners a broad understanding of the industry which improves their performance at work. The Victoria Inn was recently recognised as one of our Outstanding Apprenticeship Employers and this initiative is a perfect example of why they deserve this recognition.”

Mark Holden, of the Victoria Inn said: “Having our team experience working with such an exceptional company like the Etherington’s Farm Shop is a great accolade. We are excited to see how our team gets on with this next challenge which will further enhance their product knowledge and customer service skills.”