A WORCESTERSHIRE café is set to employ an apprentice for the first time as it takes part in the Worcester News-backed 100 in 100 apprentices scheme.

The Priory Café in Stoke Prior, near Bromsgrove, will benefit from an extra pair of hands after hearing about it at a breakfast meeting of Finditinworcestershire, an online business community.

Co-owner of the café and catering business Faye Hanks saw the opportunity when she heard Karen Woodward, from the National Apprenticeship Service, talk at the event.

Mrs Hanks approached the NAS stand during the networking session and found the information and contacts she needed to get the ball rolling.

The new recruit will join Mrs Hanks and her business partner Colette Hims serving locally sourced fresh food to local businesses and passing trade from the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.

The Priory Café also caters for private functions and businesses, offers a cake delivery service and can be hired as a venue for private parties.

“We’re planning to take on our apprentice to coincide with the new academic year,” said Mrs Hanks. “We’ll provide on-the-job training here and we’re also hoping to arrange apprentice training off-site for one day a week, so there’s a change of environment. We’re exploring the options of working with NEW College or HIT (Hospitality Industry Training).”

The new apprentice will get a great head start at serving the public, cooking, maintaining the business’s distinctive environment and even seeking out new catering contracts.

Mrs Hanks said: “We want our employees to feel valued and nurtured while receiving training that will enhance their future.

“In such a small company, this is a real challenge and the modern apprenticeship scheme has ticked all these boxes.”

For more information, visit worcesternews.co.uk/100