A Burton-based pub company is toasting a prestige industry award - with an accolade for its unique staff training programme.
Punch Taverns, one of the UK's largest leased pub companies, was awarded Best Training Programme at the British Institute of In-keeping Innovation and Training Awards in London, beating leading rivals including Marston's and Thwaites.
The awards, held on November 21, aim to celebrate companies who have demonstrated training excellence and innovation in the licensed retail sector.
The judging process consisted of an in-depth award submission, followed by a presentation and interviews in front of a panel of industry experts.
Over the last 17 months, 470 Punch 'publicans' and 141 managers have completed its 'Art of the Possible' training programme in full.
The training course consists of four modules; 'Retailing Excellence', 'Go for Growth', 'Path to Profit' and 'Passion for People', all designed to encourage publicans to engage their teams and increase the profitability of their pubs.
Bosses say those who have completed Art of the Possible have seen significantly higher profits than the benchmark pubs and praise from publicans and Punch team members alike.
Steve Dando, interim CEO at Punch, said: "We are delighted to receive this recognition, particularly against such stiff competition.
"At Punch we are committed to helping our publicans grow their businesses and 'Art of the Possible' has demonstrated the genuine value that publicans derive from the programme and their motivation to make continual and tangible improvements to their business.
"We are enormously proud of the programme and the feedback we have received. Well done to all involved!"
For more information, visit: www.punchtaverns.com.
