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: the impact of royal recognition on the University of York

The Princess Royal Training Awards is a new honour for employers in the UK who have created outstanding training and skills development programmes which have resulted in exceptional commercial benefits. University of York is one of the recipients from the inaugural year in 2016.

Read More

In the press: Cyfle Cymru Handed a Major Award by Princess Anne

​A peer mentoring and employment project for people in recovery from substance misuse and mental health conditions has been handed a major award for staff training by Princess Anne. EU-funded Cyfle Cymru – which is led by rehab charity CAIS – became one of only a...
Read More

In the press: Using training to respond to new challenges

If 2017 taught us anything, it’s that none of us knows what the future holds. We can make as many predictions as we like, but the reality is that life will always throw the unexpected at us. That’s true on a personal level, but it will also sound familiar to anyone...
Read More

In the press: Eyres Monsell Primary School is first in COUNTRY to win new Royal award

A primary school in Eyres Monsell has become the first in the country to be honoured with a Royal award.Eyres Monsell Primary School received a Princess Royal Training Award for their well-being and mental health programme for teachers.Head teacher, Kerry Hill, said:...
Read More

In the press: Veolia receives Princess Royal Training Award

Veolia has been awarded a Princess Royal Training Award for its recent initiative Respect at Work, which aimed to help staff “better manage potential abuse from members of the public”. The awards were presented by HRH Princess Anne, at a ceremony held at St James’s...
Read More

Case study: home-growing future managers through exceptional training opportunities at Red Carnation Hotels

This collection of family-run hotels achieved an Award in 2017 and went on to gain a revalidation in 2020. Since then it has further developed its Graduate Management programme with 53 participants commencing the training in the 3 years following, leading to the...
Read More

Case study: using skiing, snowboarding and skills development to support and empower inner-city young people at Snow-Camp

  Snow-Camp is the UK’s only charity using a unique combination of skiing, snowboarding, education and vocational opportunities to support and empower inner-city young peopleSnow-Camp Date 2019 Region South East Size 50-249 employees Sector Charity Working...
Read More

Something exciting is on its way to recipients

Something exciting is on its way to all recipients of the Princess Royal Training Awards. All of the team at the Princess Royal Training Awards hope they enjoy it! Find out more about all of the recipients in our Community of Excellence.
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

In the press: Unipart gains Princess Royal Training Award

The Unipart Leadership Gate To Great course was among 48 workplace learning programmes to receive the Princess Royal and City & Guilds Group honour. Unipart has won the award twice before for its manager accreditation programme. Established by global skills...
Read More

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

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

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

Case study: Pret A Manger

Hear about Princess Royal Training Award recipients Pret A Manger and their award-winning Pret Academy 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.