A Master Class in Backing Britain

BURY ST EDMUNDS, England, November 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Marco Pierre White to Launch Greene King's Apprenticeship Programme

With youth unemployment having broken 1 million today, celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has taken time out of his own kitchen to back a major initiative by Greene King which has almost 700 apprentices working in its pubs and restaurants across the UK.

Pierre White, a former apprentice himself, will tomorrow help launch the pub retailer and brewer's own Discovery Apprenticeship programme at a master class cookery demonstration at its brewery and headquarters in Suffolk to celebrate the achievements of some of the first apprentices to qualify.

With over 250 employees already having completed Apprenticeships, 425 currently in training and with plans to extend the programme to over 1300 further employees in 2012, Greene King is set to become one of the largest providers of hospitality based Apprenticeships in the UK.

Jonathan Webster, managing director of Greene King's Destination Pubs and Restaurants division at Greene King, explained that the company was committed to helping young people to gain qualifications and to progress their careers in a variety of roles within the hospitality sector.

"Our aim is not to just provide a 'pub job' but to offer a clear career path for our employees. Our Discovery Apprenticeship programme allows our employees to gain qualifications while gaining hands-on experience on the job.

"We hope our current apprentices will become our house managers, regional managers, development chefs and even directors of the future, and we might even have a future Michelin star rated chef among this crop of apprentices," he said.

The programme has been introduced to train and develop employees across the pub company's 2,400 pubs, including its Hungry Horse and Old English Inn pub chains, Loch Fyne Restaurants and its main brewery site.

For more information about Greene King's Discovery Apprenticeship programme visit: http://www.greenekingcareers.co.uk

Notes to editors

• Greene King was founded in 1799 and is headquartered in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. It currently employs 18,500 people across its main trading divisions: Retail, Pub Partners, Brewing Company and Belhaven.
• It operates c.2400 pubs and restaurants across England, Wales and Scotland, of which c.900 are retail pubs and restaurants and c.1500 are tenanted or leased pubs. Its leading retail brands are Hungry Horse, Old English Inns, Loch Fyne Restaurants and Eating Inn. 95% of the estate is either freehold or long leasehold.
• Greene King also brews quality ale brands from its Bury St. Edmunds and Dunbar breweries. Its leading ale brands are Greene King IPA, the No.1 cask ale in the UK, Old Speckled Hen, the No.1 premium ale in the UK and Belhaven Best, the No.1 ale brand in Scotland.