In the press: Mitchells & Butlers’ kitchen programme gains royal seal of approval

by Nov 1, 2019Alumni news

Mitchells & Butlers has received a royal accolade for its efforts in recruiting and nurturing chefs to work in its kitchens.

The 1,700-strong pub and restaurant chain set up a ‘Chefs Academy’, offering level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, in response to a chef shortage exacerbated by Brexit.

The programme has significantly boosted kitchen staff retention rates in the business since its launch.

And this week it was presented with a Princess Royal Training Award by HRH Princess Anne in London after being recognised as one of 44 UK-wide organisations delivering outstanding workplace training.
 
Mitchells & Butlers credits the culinary programme, which includes masterclasses with award-winning chefs, with helping it achieve a 70% retention rate, compared to 12% for chefs in the business not undertaking the programme.
 

Other news stories

Case study: providing media training opportunities to disadvantaged young people at Reprezent Radio

This video shows a look behind the scenes at Reprezent Radio, a South London radio station and social enterprise. Reprezent created the Sounds of Young London scheme to provide media training opportunities to disadvantaged young people. The practical training programme has seen an impressive number of young people into employment and gained commercial interest from some of the world’s biggest brands. Reprezent received a Princess Royal Training Award in 2018.

Read More

Case study: leadership in The Donkey Sanctuary – making a difference!

Since it was founded in 1969 The Donkey Sanctuary has successfully evolved from modest beginnings to be an employer of over 600 staff and 650 volunteers across the UK and internationally. They also care for over 6,000 donkeys in the UK and Europe, including the...
Read More

Macmillan Caring Locally: The Ripple Effect of receiving a Princess Royal Training Award

Mandy Preece created a volunteer training programme for Macmillan Caring Locally to upskill their volunteers in communication skills and provide end of life support.

Read More

Oldham’s Barlows UK gets Royal seal of approval

Barlows and Clifford College based in Chadderton, Lancashire have been awarded the Princess Royal Training Award for the second year in succession. This prestigious award is presented at St. James’ Palace by HRH Princess Anne in her role as President of the City &...
Read More

How to get value out of workplace training

A whopping 9/10 employers struggle to recruit people with the right skills. That’s one reason companies are investing in training programmes to upskill existing staff. How do you make sure you’re getting the greatest return on that investment? Especially when you’re...
Read More

City & Guilds announces the first recipients of the Princess Royal Training Awards

Some 34 businesses ranging from prestigious car manufacturers, through healthcare organisations, to animal charities are to receive a Princess Royal Training Award in recognition of their outstanding training and skills development programmes. The City & Guilds...
Read More

Case Study: Putting people centre stage at Veolia

As a UK leader in environmental solutions, Veolia provides a range of water, energy and resource management services designed to build the circular economy and preserve scarce raw materials.VeoliaDate 2019Region UK-wideSize 5000+ employeesSector EnvironmentWorking in...
Read More

Virtual coffee: 5 ways to take care of yourself while working from home

Though working from home is common, it’s a whole different kettle of fish when you’re forced to work remotely. And for some, that kettle of fish is literal. ‘My partner cooked fish for lunch today – very inappropriate as my office area is the kitchen/dining table.’...
Read More

Royal recognition for employers who invest in training and development in the UK and Ireland

On Thursday 21 November, 52 recipients from the UK and Ireland were recognised by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal through the Princess Royal Training Awards held at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London.  Over the past nine years, The Princess Royal Training Awards,...
Read More

Case study: helping bring out the best in learners at IBM

All the recent change to the way we work makes it more challenging for new recruits and interns to reach their potential. Here I share how IBM improved their intern programme to help bring out the best in learners and make them as ‘self-sufficient’ as possible, while...
Read More

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A decade of excellence: Royal recognition for UK and Irish organisations honoured at the Princess Royal Training Awards

The Princess Royal Training Awards are the UK and Ireland’s premier awards programme for recognising training excellence. On Tuesday 2 December, in an awards ceremony at Fishmongers Hall, the City & Guilds Foundation had the honour of recognising 56 outstanding...
Read More

HRH The Princess Royal celebrates best-in-class workplace training in 10th anniversary year for Awards

HRH The Princess Royal, President of the City and Guilds of London Institute, awards employers for outstanding training and skills development programmes which have positively impacted organisations, people and wider society. 15 August 2025: City & Guilds has...
Read More

HRH The Princess Royal discusses the importance of creating aspirations for young people

n this video series, Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive of City & Guilds, talks with our president HRH The Princess Royal about the importance of skills on society, about the role we play as an organisation and about the Awards that we created in her name – The Princess Royal Training Awards – which are celebrating their tenth anniversary.

Read More

HRH The Princess Royal discusses the diverse range of Princess Royal Training Award organisations

In this video series, Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive of City & Guilds, talks with our president HRH The Princess Royal about the importance of skills on society, about the role we play as an organisation and about the Awards that we created in her name – The Princess Royal Training Awards – which are celebrating their tenth anniversary.

Read More

HRH The Princess Royal discusses the value of City & Guilds to society

In this video series, Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive of City & Guilds, talks with our president HRH The Princess Royal about the importance of skills on society, about the role we play as an organisation and about the Awards that we created in her name – The Princess Royal Training Awards – which are celebrating their tenth anniversary.

Read More

HRH The Princess Royal discusses the changing world of skills

In this video series, Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive of City & Guilds, talks with our president HRH The Princess Royal about the importance of skills on society, about the role we play as an organisation and about the Awards that we created in her name – The Princess Royal Training Awards – which are celebrating their tenth anniversary.

Read More

A decade of excellence and a room full of inspiration – Princess Royal Training Awards Skills Share 2025

On 30 April 2025, City & Guilds hosted its second-ever Skills Share event – this time at the stunning Goldsmiths’ Hall in London – marking a major milestone: 10 years of the Princess Royal Training Awards. With over 130 Award recipients in attendance, the event was not just a celebration but a forum for shared learning, inspiration and reflection on what a decade of investment in skills development really means.

Read More

Ten Years of the Princess Royal Training Awards

In the tenth year of the Princess Royal Training Awards we take a look back at some of the recipients including Balfour Beatty, Fifty Shades Greener and Pret A Manger to find out what achieving the standard means to them and their organisations.

Read More

Foundation & Friends Podcast: Celebrating a Decade of Transformative Training Excellence with Legal & General

Read More

Case study: OnSide Youth Zones

Hear about Princess Royal Training Award recipients OnSide and their award-winning youth centres in this video.

Read More

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This
Princess Royal Training Awards
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. For more information see our Privacy Policy.