Inside Greene King's partnership with The Prince's Trust

When we last heard​ from Jed Hussein, he had just been chosen for Greene King’s Get into Hospitality scheme – a partnership that the pub company is running along with the Prince’s Trust in an attempt to get 150 young people into employment in the pub industry. When we spoke to him in October, the 18-year-old said he “couldn’t wait to get on board and start learning some new skills”. Here is his update from the last month

The course

I arrived at the George, a pub in Southwark, south London, for the first day of the two-week programme. There were 15 people in my group and our time was split between learning on the job and working with coaches to understand the key areas of the business, including food hygiene, licensing and alcohol safety.

Before joining the programme, the only job I had was working for my brother on our family market stall. The programme encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people and it was great to be able to share the experience together. At the end of the course, there was a completion event where we were each awarded a certificate and celebrated the achievement with our friends and family. 

A few days after completing the programme, I got a call from Greene King. I’d got a job! The sense of achievement I felt when I heard those words was amazing, it felt like a fresh start for me. 

I was told that I would be working at the George as a member of the front-of-house team. I couldn’t wait to get started.

First week

I arrived at the George on the first day of my new job. I spent the first day meeting everyone else who worked at the pub, and also learning the ins and outs of my role and how the pub operated. I had a ‘buddy’, who helped me with everything during the first few days. Everyone was really helpful and approachable, which made everything much easier.

The George served food so I waited on tables, collected glasses and made sure that everything was running smoothly. At first, I was so surprised by how busy the pub was, and by how much there was to do – especially during mealtimes. Luckily my colleagues helped me along. I found the customer service side of things easiest, probably because of my previous job on the family market stall.

It felt really good to be back in work, doing something I love while earning money at the same time. I’m so glad that I took the leap to sign up to the programme. If it wasn’t for the programme, the helpful team and the insightful courses, I wouldn’t be working in this sector. 

The programme has encouraged me to further my understanding of the hospitality industry. It just goes to show, that if I could put in the hard work now and succeed at the George, then I could definitely have a long successful career doing what I love.