A hotel is the latest company to give its support to the Worcester News 100 in 100 apprentices campaign.

The Holiday Inn in Bromsgrove has enrolled 14 members of its team on to hospitality apprenticeships being delivered by HIT Training, a specialist training provider for the hospitality and catering industry. The apprenticeship scheme is an important part of the development of staff at the hotel in Kidder-minster Road.

Working with industry experts from HIT, the apprentices have been given the chance to develop their skills within the industry and further progress their careers within the company.

A real example of progression and development thro-ugh the apprenticeship scheme, has been Natalie Bedford, who started working at the hotel in July 2008. Having already achieved an intermediate apprenticeship in front of house service, she has now been given the opportunity to further develop her skills by progressing on to an advanced apprenticeship in customer service.

Miss Bedford said: “The apprenticeship has helped me refresh my knowledge and also learn new skills. During my apprenticeship, I really had to think and find out about aspects of the job I may not cover on a daily basis. I have enjoyed the challenge of undertaking the qualifications and am now passing on the skills I have learnt to my colleagues.”

Personal and training administrator at the hotel Marion Kula said that she has been really impressed with the training provided by HIT.

She said: “HIT spent time with me and the staff making sure that we understood the process and that the qualifications were correct for not only the learner’s job role, but also our business requirements.”

“I have benefited from an excellent working relationship with the assessor from HIT, who has kept me involved with the progress throughout their training. We have been really happy with the feedback we have been receiving from our clients, especially in the areas such as reception where the staff have recently completed their front of house and customer service apprenticeships.”