Kildare apprentices complete Diageo course
Diageo graduates celebrate
OVER the course of three weeks in the Clanard Hotel in Athy 21 local apprentices recently graduated from Diageo’s hospitality skills training programme, Learning for Life.
This is the first time the Learning for Life programme has been run in Kildare, with pupils from across the county taking part, and was set up in tangent with for their new brewery in Newbridge.
The programme aims to support people who may have faced barriers to employment and help them gain the necessary skills, training and confidence to pursue a career in hospitality.
The programme recently marked its tenth anniversary in Ireland, with over 2,000 people from disadvantaged and minority communities having graduated in that time.
Over 500 businesses have provided work placements for the participants – 50 per cent of which have been female, and 85 per cent of graduates then moving into employment.
Over the course of three-weeks, the training covered key tourism and hospitality skills including, Mixology, Barista Training, Bar and Service Skills, Customer Service Excellence, Tourism Site Visits and One-to-One Coaching, and on successful completion of the programme, leaners also received a Level 4 QQI certification in tourism.
This investment in Kildare talent comes as Diageo continues its construction on its €200 million brewery in Littleconnell, which will be the first of its kind on the island of Ireland. The brewery will be powered with 100 per cent renewable energy and will harness the latest process technology to minimise overall energy and water consumption.
It will be the second largest brewing operation in Ireland after St James’s Gate and will create 1,000 jobs during construction, and a further 70 jobs in the brewery.
