180 Years of Weston College - Thatchers Q&A

This year marks 180 years of Weston College, and to celebrate, we want to highlight our journey alongside an employer who has partnered with us for many years, playing a vital role in the success of many of our students.

We spoke with Sophie, Talent Development Executive at Thatchers, to explore how Thatchers have worked with the college over the years.

In what ways do you work with Weston College?

Weston College deliver training for our Level 3 Business Admin & Customer Services apprentices, as well as our Level 2 Commis Chef apprentices at our onsite pub, The Railway Inn. We also partner with the college as a proud member of the Careers Excellence Hub, and have utilised additional training offerings in the form of short courses, such as managing money training for our apprentices.

For how long have Thatchers been working with/had a relationship with Weston College?

We have worked with Weston College since we began our apprenticeship programme over 8 years ago. They have played a fundamental role not only as a training provider, but as a champion of apprenticeships at Thatchers, actively supporting our Careers Open Day events as well as being a part of our apprenticeship recruitment process.

What has the Thatchers and Weston College journey looked like over the years? 

Since we began the programme, Weston College have helped us support over 35 learners, across many different areas of our business, from commis chefs in our pub, to customer service specialists and engineers, achieving an incredible 84.6% pass rate across the board (above the national benchmark of 60.5%)! It's been amazing to see the careers they have now developed into: from Marketing Executives to Demi Chef de Parties, Customer Service Team Leaders to Ledger Assistants and even Quality Coordinators!

Are there any standout success stories Thatchers have had with Weston College over the years?

Yes, many! It's impossible to choose one standout as all of our apprentices who have completed their studies have stood-out, for various reasons whether it be their own personal development and growth or the careers and results they are achieving in their roles now- they're all stars!

Here are some of our brilliant past and current apprentices: 

How have Weston College been able to benefit Thatchers as a business over the years?

Weston College have been a huge asset to Thatchers since we began the Talent Programme, their tailored approach to how they can support our business with our goals and visions for the programme & working as a real partnership, has been really important to our growth of apprenticeship offerings at Thatchers and our approach to continuous development. 

The college recently supported our idea for developing personal skills for our apprentices further, by organising and delivering a 'Money Management' training session for our new apprentice cohort, arming them with essential life skills when it comes to dealing with money and what it encompasses, of which we've received such positive feedback from our apprentices. What's great about working with Weston is the support not only we receive as a business, but also the level of face-to-face support our apprentices studying with the college, receive too!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We're looking forward to continuing our partnership with Weston College, and excited for the future!