Duty Manager Review

As a Duty Manager I am responsible for leading my team during a shift. As a Duty Manager I must ensure my team are aware of their responsibilities throughout the shift. I am also responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the hotel throughout my shift.

My apprenticeship helped to give me a greater understanding of many different aspects of the business and helped me expand and consolidate my existing knowledge. One skill it really helped me to work on was my leadership abilities, giving me greater confidence when leading a team.

For the most part I enjoyed the meetings with my tutor, however the apprenticeship started at a very stressful time for me and it was therefor clouded by that. I found the topics repetitive and often the questions were more like statements than questions. The apprenticeship did little to target gaps in my existing knowledge and instead focused on a set structured programme.

The apprenticeship was very structured and my tutor did a good job organising what work I had to cover. I did find that perhaps it was a little too structured, it lacked in flexibility, meaning that topics I had covered through previous qualifications had to be repeated and topics more suitable to my learning could not be covered.

My employer was very good at ensuring I had the time on shift to complete work for my apprenticeship and made allowances that allowed me to do this. My line managers were very supportive and made sure that I was supported, both were always available to help and to provide feedback when required.

My trainer was very professional and made sure I had the support I needed when we met for our monthly meetings. At times they could be quite slow to respond to queries via email, however they always made sure to provide a response. At times it was necessary to rearrange meetings due to either personal or work related issues and they were always very supportive when changes needed to be made.

As someone who has already achieved higher qualifications I do not feel like the apprenticeship qualification went far enough to target existing gaps in my knowledge for my job role or for the role I could progress into. It did help to improve some existing knowledge and provide me with the opportunity to assess different work place scenarios.

Not that I am aware of. We do have an internal social media and there are various groups that we can join through that, but nothing in person that would meet. Some areas within the business do hold career progression days that allow team looking to progress within the company to meet other team from different sites and discuss their experiences and next steps.

Yes

Whitbread is a fantastic company to work for, as a business you have the sense that you are cared for. The opportunities for advancement are also really good for those that want them and there are many different routes to progression. Whitbread has done a grate job at creating a positive culture within hospitality and sets an example as a big business that cares about its workers.

My best advice would be to open yourself up to all the opportunities whitbread has to offer. If you are looking to start a career then progression within the company is more than possible and there is always something available to improve your skills and widen your experience within the business.