An apprentice working at The Ritz London, Holly Langan was presented with the Purple Umbrella Award at a high-profile ceremony held in London last week.
Langan, who is a hospitality team member apprentice, was one of six major winners at the awards. She was commended for the impact she has made on the Ritz and how she has embraced the opportunities her apprenticeship has offered her.
In it’s third year, this is the first time the awards have been held as a formal dinner, with leading luxury hotels brands, restaurants and foodservice management companies all recognising their talented apprentices.
Marking the end of National Apprenticeship Week, the awards were presented to talented chefs, team members, supervisors and managers for their commitment to lifelong learning and their achievements over the past 12-18 months.
Categories in the Umbrella Training awards include chef apprentice of the year, hospitality team member apprentice of the year, hospitality supervisor apprentice of the year, hospitality manager apprentice of the year and alumni apprentice of the year.
Winners were presented their awards by Brian Turner CBE and Adele Oxberry, founder and managing director of Umbrella Training.
Oxberry said, “Apprentices make a major contribution to the success of the hospitality sector. We are incredibly proud of each and every one of our winners and are delighted to see the impact they are making within their businesses.”
Oxberry added, “Holly brings a cheer and spark to all she does. Not only does she want to continually learn she also provides support and encouragement to her colleagues – an amazing attribute in a young person. She also has identified areas of improvement which have been implemented and have proved to be successful with The Ritz London.”
Langan, who was also graded distinction level at her end point assessment for the hospitality team member apprentice award, said, “I’m so proud to win the award. The team have all been so supportive. It has been amazing and I really didn’t expect this. It will be great for my career and help me push onto the next level.”
Umbrella Training currently has more than 300 apprentices across levels 2, 3, 4 and 5 on hospitality and management apprenticeship programmes.
From the apprentices who have historically completed their programmes, 84% have moved into aspirational positions or have been promoted in the last six months.
Latest figures from UK Hospitality state that hospitality sector has the potential and ambition to create tens of thousands of new jobs and up to 200,000 new apprenticeships over the next five years.
With skills shortages expected to be exasperated by Britain’s potential exit from the EU, apprenticeships provide a real opportunity to tackle the growing recruitment challenges the hospitality sector faces.