Licensing authorities and publicans to job swap for National Licensing Week
The second edition of the week-long initiative will take place on 19-23 June and aims to “let the public know that licensing involves everyday life and thus how important it is,” a spokesperson for the institute said.
Pubcos committed
Last year's inaugural National Licensing Week saw operators and licensing officials switch jobs for the day, with the head of alcohol at the Home Office, Andrew Johnson, completing a shift at the Somers Town Coffee House in central London.
How to get involved
Operators interested in getting involved in National Licensing Week can contact the Institute of Licensing.
The Institute of Licensing has confirmed that job swaps will once again be a central part of the initiative in June.
Beds & Bars and The Yummy Pub Co have already both committed to give general managers experience of behind-the-scenes licensing by signing up.
The licensing authorities will then have the opportunity to experience life behind the bar.
“We are aiming to show licensing authorities how hard people in bars work. It will give them a better chance to realise that people who work in pubs do so much,” a spokesperson for the Institute of Licensing said.
A ‘rare opportunity’
To increase awareness of licensing to the wider public, North Somerset Council has already agreed to have a bus driving around the area for National Licensing Week to engage members of the public in licensing.
CPL Training Group CEO Daniel Davies voiced his support of the initiative, saying that it is a “rare opportunity” to highlight the importance of licensing.
“Despite its role in everyday life, licensing often goes unnoticed. The aim of this campaign is to change this perception,” Davies added.
