London Apprenticeship Company

Thursday 7th April 2011

London Apprenticeship Company (LAC) invites employers from across the hospitality and catering industry to “Come Dine with an Apprentice” at The Vincent Rooms next month. The evening will be a celebration of the achievements of 12 budding young chefs, waiters and waitresses! And, will mark the end of a 6 week pre-apprenticeship training programme for young Westminster residents, who formerly fell into the “not in education employment or training” (NEET) category. LAC has invited head chefs and top restaurateurs from the industry to come along, providing the group with an excellent opportunity to showcase their newly developed service and cheffing skills to potential employers.

LAC works with some of the most disengaged and disadvantaged young people throughout the capital, offering support to over 1000 young people to date, including the creation of 350 jobs for young Londoners, and placing over 200 young people into a wide variety of apprenticeships. In addition to offering pre-employment support, LAC is committed to securing sustained employment for all of those entering a pre-apprenticeship programme. Over the next 6-8 weeks, alongside the pre-apprenticeship training programme, LAC will run a campaign aimed at securing apprenticeships or employment for every young person on the hospitality and catering programme, which will of course include this exciting “Come Dine with an apprentice” event whereby the group will have the opportunity to meet with employers face to face.

Thanks to the exceptional staff at Westminster Kingsway College, recently commended for their culinary skills in the “Going Global 2011” competition, LAC’s pre-apprenticeship candidates will have the privilege of working at the renowned Vincent Rooms training facility. The evening will include an awards ceremony- dedicated to the group’s individual and collective achievements over the duration of the course – in addition to providing an excellent opportunity for the aspiring chefs and waitresses to meet with employers, impress them with their skills and enthusiasm and get a job! LAC’s pre-apprentices will design and serve a menu of canapés and champagne to potential future employers, some of whom include Compass group, Hoxton Hotel and Gaucho Grill.

LAC works with more than 250 employers across every sector and feedback has always been positive:
“We have worked closely with London Apprenticeship Company over the last few months; we have taken four apprentices through their hosting model, which supports us to recruit local people on short term projects because LAC facilitates the employment process. The pre-employment support they offer to their apprentices, such as their Pre-apprenticeship courses, means you get an apprentice that is well informed and ready for work.” Louise Williams, Lakehouse

Part of the reason for this feedback is the extensive work that goes into ensuring the work readiness of LAC’s apprentices. For instance, for the current hospitality and catering pre-apprenticeship training programme, each candidate had to undergo a testing selection process including a ‘tasting quiz’ and a lengthy interview. By the end of the programme the participants will have:  

• met with employers and persuaded them to give them an opportunity to gain work experience
• improved their basic skills in literacy, numeracy and communication
• applied their new skills to budgeting and menu planning
• learned how to serve and manage a dining environment
• improved their practical cooking skills to the standard that the Vincent Rooms (who have a 100 year history of training some of the top chefs in the country) are happy to allow them to serve the public

And this is all in just six weeks…

Come Dine with an Apprentice at the Vincent Rooms next month...there will be canapés and champagne, and who knows you may find your future head chef!

For further details on how to book contact Emma on 020 7963 8548 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Notes to Editor

1. The London Apprenticeship Company is a not for profit organisation dedicated to increasing the number of apprenticeships in London and reducing youth unemployment.  In the past, apprenticeship schemes have been a good idea in principle but in practice very hard to administer, the LAC ‘Hosting’ model is so simple you wonder why it was ever done any other way. The LAC employs the apprentice on behalf of a host company and as a result, takes away all the hassles of recruitment. They organise the training element, offer a full mentoring service for the apprentices and get them prepared for the job they are interested in doing.

2. The London Apprenticeship Company is supported by: London Development Agency, National Apprenticeship service, Westminster City Council, Westminster Kingsway College, City of Westminster College, Central West Group Australia, Vital Regeneration and the Paddington Development Trust. For further information go to www.londonapprenticeship.co.uk

3. * The Learning and Skills Improvement Service is the sector-owned body that aims to accelerate the drive for excellence in the learning and skills sector, building the sector’s own capacity to design commission and deliver improvement and strategic change.
4. As a result of significant work across the Greater London Authority Group and with its public sector partners' real progress in the recruitment of apprentices is being made. The London Apprenticeship Task Force has delivered a number of focused actions plans in key sectors such as retail, IT, and transport and these are currently being delivered in partnership by employers, the National Apprenticeship Service and Sector Skills Councils.

5. Photographs and a release will be available after the event

6. For press enquiries please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
020 7963 8548