Hospitality employees from Almarose Hotels & Resorts celebrate graduation success

Hospitality employees from Almarose Hotels & Resorts celebrate graduation success
Ten hotel employees have graduated with Foundation Degrees in Professional Hospitality Operations Management, following a two-year Management Trainee Programme ran by Almarose Hotels & Resorts.
The students worked across brands managed by Almarose Hotels and Resorts, which included QHotels and DoubleTree by Hilton.
The bespoke hospitality degree, awarded by University College Birmingham, has given employees a hands-on education whilst in operational, managerial and sales roles.
The course provides a varied experience, with the ten employees undertaking a number of professional assessments, including a series of written reports, which have been graded by the hotel group’s Educational Development team and validated by University College Birmingham.
Starting their degree in September 2017, the graduates have all been promoted at least once during their time working for the company. Three of the students are now in Manager or Assistant Manager roles, one in Food and Beverage and two in Spa and Leisure. Each is well-placed to progress their career in hotel management, and all will be continuing full-time roles within the group.
Sarah Abercrombie, Talent Development Manager at Almarose Hotels and Resorts, said: “Our bespoke programme has been running since 2013, seeing 62 students in total graduate. The degrees give employees an excellent opportunity to earn while they learn, furthering their skills and benefiting our business at the same time.
“Many of our graduates have joined us straight from school and their ambitious flare and professionalism has really impressed us. It’s also been extremely refreshing to see our graduates really embrace our values, such as putting customers front of mind.
“One of our graduates, Jenna Appleby, has also recently been promoted to Leisure and Spa Manager at Chesford Grange in Warwick, which shows the lasting effects of the programme. We are looking forward to continuing to nurture the talent of those who have graduated this year and watch them progress through their careers with us.”
Jenna Appleby, Leisure and Spa Manager at Chesford Grange that graduated this year, added: “Being able to work at the same time as gaining a degree has played a significant role in helping my career progress at Chesford Grange and my promotion to Leisure and Spa Manager. The Management Trainee Programme was brilliant and gave me the opportunity to not only learn about the spa and leisure sector, which is a particular passion of mine, but to gain insight into all of the elements of the hospitality industry.
“The hands-on aspect of the course really helped give perspective into the company and its values, including how to deliver a high-quality service to our customers.”
The ten students who graduated were: Jordan Collins, Jenna Appleby, Adam Hennell, Shannon DeCourcey, Emily Pollard, Liam Brown, Sophie Myers, Jasmine Neale, Danielle Hill and Laura Slatem.

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