Lessons worth learning

What's the most important lesson training has taught you? Kelly Smith asks some pub professionals how training has influenced their approach to business

CHARLIE AND CAROLE EDGELER, LICENSEES The Jubilee, Pelynt, Cornwall

The best preparation you can have as a tenant is to be a manager first, say ex-bankers Charlie and Carole Edgeler, who this year crossed the bridge from management to tenancy after seven years in the trade.

During their time managing St Austell pub the Norway Inn in Perranarworthal (and at Shepherd Neame before that) the couple clocked up, in their eyes, some of the best training and experience on offer. While their combined 52 years in finance no doubt came in useful, they needed a solid grounding in licensed retail to succeed.

Charlie says: "The best directors come from the shop floor. Starting off as a manager is a good way of working your way up and building on your knowledge before taking the bigger step of becoming a tenant, which obviously involves risks.

"When we switched from banking to pubs we did all the industry-led courses, from food hygiene to profit and loss, as well as the BII's Profitable Business Portfolio. Overall, the training was very good and gave us a chance to network."

Now at St Austell tenancy the Jubilee in Pelynt, a 400-year-old inn three miles from the coastal resort of Polperro, in Cornwall, the Edgelers want to ensure their 15-strong team are offered the same opportunities.

"We have a great belief in training our staff: it improves the quality of our offering for customers and also provides development for our people," continues Charlie.

"As soon as you invest time in them, you see that spark. They really want to do it. The next step is getting people to 'own' their training and development by coaching them - making sure they've got the will to achieve. Training teaches skills; coaching is about developing a set of behaviours."

He concludes: "If you're choosing the industry as a career, the sky's the limit. It may sound corny but the biggest lesson we've learned is that training is not a cost; it's an investment."

Sinead Murphy, manager The Banker, London

It was experience and an aptitude for the job that helped pave the way to the position of general manager for Fuller's licensee Sinead Murphy.

But learning how to navigate the legislative minefield that comes with the territory has given the 27-year-old a tighter rein on her responsibilities at the Banker in London's buzzing financial quarter.

Murphy decided to go in for the training while at another Fuller's pub, the Barrow Boy & Banker in south-east London, after four months of covering her manager's maternity leave.

It began with an intense induction day to assess her skills. Then it was on to Fuller's development programme, which involved a series of training sessions at the brewery and projects fitted around her pub shifts.

With the silver and gold levels under her belt, Murphy completed the final platinum level fairly quickly. Following a short spell working as a relief manager, she took her first managerial post, at the Fleetwood in London's Moorgate.

"I really enjoyed the business course, which I had covered to some extent at college while doing an HND in leisure and tourism - but I didn't get the chance to put it into practice there," she says.

"The training made sense, as you're able to apply what you learn immediately; you have your own pub and you're controlling your own finances.

"There is a lot of legal stuff to take on board - health and safety, for example. A lot of it is common sense, but there are so many nooks and crannies, it's easy to get confused."

But the hardest part for Murphy to get her head around was disciplinary and harassment procedure.

"It's so sensitive. It can start off as playground stuff that escalates and before you know it you have a tribunal on your hands. You're trained to be diplomatic and professional, but it's also essential to be observant," she warns.

"Sometimes the manager can end up being negligent - even when they don't know anything about it."

In essence, it's all about being a responsible manager. Murphy is in charge of the development of 16 staff - that's some responsibility.

"There's great satisfaction in training someone, particularly when you see them running their own pub. And the relationship with your manager is important as they are your main source of support," she says.

Charlotte Deamer-Fawkes & mark fawkes, Licensees The Air Hostess, Tollerton, Nottingham

Running their own pub was always in the pipeline for first-time tenants Charlotte Deamer-Fawkes and Mark Fawkes. It was just a case of right place, right time.

In June they took on the Everards-owned Air Hostess in Tollerton, a quarter of a mile from Nottingham's original airport.

Charlotte had worked in customer-facing roles at big firms such as British Gas and Siemens, while Mark built trucks for a living, so they jumped at the prospect of working alongside experienced licensees for a weekend.

"The first thing we did was the Try-Before- You-Buy scheme. When you're totally new, you only see it from the customer's side of the bar, so this gave us a real insight into what we were in for," explains Charlotte.

"It also gave the company a chance to see if we were right for the trade."

Among the various ensuing courses the couple completed, Charlotte reckons it was Everards' cellar and catering programmes that proved the key to success at an early stage of their tenure.

"At the end of the day, we're running a pub, and our main business is beer and food. You can be a fantastic cook at home but in the trade you're catering for lots of different people at different times, serving up different dishes. If I hadn't learned in a working kitchen, I'd have been terrified," she says.

This practical focus continued as the pair discovered the real rigours of running a first-class cellar.

"The training was very thorough and instilled a passion in us," Charlotte recalls.

"Because of the quality of our beer, trade really picked up. People who haven't been in the pub for 18 months say it's in the best condition they've ever known."

To maintain high standards, Charlotte recognises that learning must be ongoing.

"Even now, if we're not sure about something, because the company is small, we feel we can ask for help and also look to other licensees in the estate for support. Having only been in the trade for six months we have so much to learn," she says.

"We all want to improve. Eventually, we want as many people on the premises as possible to get their personal licences. As well as something to aim for, it will give them a better understanding of how things should be run and also demonstrate our confidence in them."

Gary Smith, head chef The Crown, Islington

Like many pub chefs, Gary Smith began his catering career washing pots. At 17, he moved to London and took on part-time jobs at gastropubs, restaurants and the local Café Rouge - and even a stint at a retirement home - while studying graphic design at university.

After finishing his studies, though, Smith plumped for a full-time position at a Fuller's pub. It wasn't long before he worked his way up, with the help of various courses and

on-the-job training, to sous chef and then to his first head-chef appointment, at the Banker on London's Cannon Street.

He recalls: "When I joined the company I decided to get serious about what I was doing and concentrate on making a career out of it."

Smith, now 29, was one of the first people to go through Fuller's chef-development course, which at the time comprised six days covering the basics - including how to get the best from ingredients, butchery, fishmongery, health and safety, and management training.

"I learned things I'd never thought about trying, such as making different types of pastry, and new ways of preparing food," Smith says.

The fact that there was no formal qualific