Castle Rock introduces licensee training course

The course, accredited by the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), will be hosted in a mock cellar at its site in Queen’s Bridge Road to host the lessons in keeping ale and running a pub.

The first personal licence holders course will be hosted on 29 January at the Vat and Fiddle pub by the brewery’s training and development manager Sarah Halpin.

'Increasing demands'​

Halpin, who has managed pubs throughout England but been based in Nottinghamshire since 2005, told the Nottingham Post​: “This accreditation is very important for us and it comes at a time when there are increasing demands from many people looking for a proper career in the pub industry. I believe that being a pub operating company makes us uniquely qualified to help train the of publicans and retailers.

“We appreciate the need for first class, well trained staff; people at the sharp end who understand the issues, difficulties, and joys of running a good pub. Too many badly run pubs are closing, and it’s my aim to help turn this round by helping to create a career path that will benefit the course student, the pub goer, and the industry at large. We will also be running courses on drug awareness, food safety, beer and cellar quality and conflict management."

'Not an easy industry'​

Denise Thompson, director of quality and compliance, at the BII said: “It’s an absolute plus. Working with the sector is always something really positive. Any of their learners will not just be attending a course they are actually achieving a qualification.

“It’s not an easy industry to operate in and you need to understand many things around employing staff, being able to balance your books and you’ve got to have lots of knowledge.”