The newly accredited BTEC Level 2 Intermediate and Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeships - Foundation Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship in Wales - in Craft Cuisine, which were launched on November 28, have been exclusively designed and developed by Pearson Work Based Learning in association with the Applied Ability Awards (AAA) National Committee.
For the first time, learners can now combine the AAA assessment with a full Apprenticeship programme and have their practical skills independently endorsed by senior professional chefs.
Learners will be supported in a nationally recognised, structured and accredited programme, which will prepare them to successfully undertake their AAA appraisal and reach the gold standard of professional cookery.
The AAA programme, which benchmarks the skills of chefs, was piloted in Wales in 2008 and nearly 200 learners achieved Foundation or Chef level awards within two years. Seventy mentors and around 100 companies registered with the programme, which was co-funded by the Welsh Government.
A driving force behind the pilot programme and the development of the new Apprenticeships is Arwyn Watkins, managing director of award-winning Cambrian Training Company, based in Welshpool and a member of the AAA National Committee.
He is proud of what has been achieved and is looking forward to chefs sharing equal status with other craft-led Apprenticeships. “It was a pioneering award in Wales and now it’s the first time that qualifications have been developed from the ground up rather than the top down. They are directly based on the needs and interests of those working in the catering and hospitality industry.
“The new Apprenticeships have the credibility of having an external examination, independent of the delivery, at the end of the programme, so that chefs must demonstrate their skills in a pressurised environment.
“These new qualifications will identify a clear career pathway for chefs and put them on an equal footing with engineers and other technically led craft Apprenticeships. They are being targeted at the best chefs and designed to raise skills to the highest level.
“When we brought the Applied Ability Awards to Wales, I recognised that it was a powerful product because it was in the ownership of a committee representing all the chef associations in the UK. Now we are reaping the rewards of this pioneering work in Wales.”
He commended the chefs, employers, mentors, Welsh Government, People 1st and the Welsh Culinary Association for their contribution to the pilot project, which represented a partnership solution to the skills and labour needs of the Welsh catering and hospitality industry.