Mayor Richard Parker visits the Aston Villa Foundation’s Catering Club

Mayor Richard Parker paid a visit to Villa Park to witness the delivery of the Aston Villa Foundation’s Catering Club programme.

The Catering Club initiative was established to address the local skills gap in the hospitality industry. It consists of an eight-week course with two full days per week where participants receive theory classroom-based work in the morning and practical kitchen-based sessions in the afternoon, making use of the hospitality spaces at Villa Park. The aim is to provide a platform for learners to gain valuable insight and experience needed for a career within the catering and hospitality industry.

The initiative is funded by West Midlands Combined Authority through South and City College, who provide a specialised tutor to deliver the course. Digbeth Dining Club CIC and Levy provide practical work experience to those who complete the course both at Villa Park on matchdays and externally.

The theory sessions focus on the fundamentals of running a catering business such as kitchen hygiene, health and safety and general employability skills, in addition to basic theories behind a range of cooking methods. The participants are working towards completing the Level 2 (RQF) in Hospitality and Catering and a range of NCASS awards such as the Level 2 Food Hygiene, LPG Gas Safety, Allergen Awareness and Health and Safety, to help build and develop transferrable skillsets.

Catering Club is now in its fourth year, with 66 participants having completed the course and gaining 183 qualifications in total.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been a key partner to the programme, supporting co-design with the Aston Villa Foundation who have led this initiative alongside other partners such as South and City College.  At the same time as undertaking this work in partnership, DWP have positively promoted the programme region-wide to DWP customers to gain work ready skills and ultimately gain employment.

Case Study

Andrew is a graphic designer who lives a 10-minute walk away from Villa Park. He has a huge passion for catering and wants to further enhance his skills and knowledge. He came across the leaflet through social media and applied to join to gain industry led catering qualifications. 

Andrew thoroughly enjoyed the course, with 100% attendance. Aquib Mohammed, the Community and Education Coordinator stated, “Andrew was a fantastic participant on the course. He was always ready and always ahead when it came to his work. Andrew even became the assistant chef in the kitchen to help the tutor and help the other learners.”

During the course, the participants including Andrew were told about work placement opportunities with Digbeth Dining Club. After the course finished Andrew was one of those who contacted Digbeth to arrange a placement on Aston Villa Foundation’s very own street food truck ‘Kerbside Cobs’. Andrew’s first shift was the Europa Conference League Semi Final vs Olympiacos. Andrew thoroughly impressed Digbeth Dining Club CIC with his willingness to learn, his attitude and his confidence.

Sarah Venture, the Digbeth Dining Club CIC Director stated, “From his first shift, Andrew was thrown in at the deep end, with such a huge fixture for the club! He was absolutely brilliant and since then we have hired Andrew as a staff member on Kerbside Cobs! This shows the natural progression the Catering Club has to offer as it leads to employment, with Andrew being a great example of that!”

Andrew wants to progress further within the catering industry through his experiences and knowledge gained through the course and Digbeth Dining Club. Finally, Andrew stated, “The course has been fantastic for me. Without it I would not have gained the experience with Digbeth and Sarah and gained all these new skills and opportunities. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am grateful for coming across the course! I can’t wait to see what the future holds now for me!”

Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA Chair, Richard Parker, said: “Andrew has been able to turn his passion for cooking into a new career thanks to our training courses.

“And what a place to work, Villa Park is absolutely buzzing this season and I’m sure the atmosphere on match days will be electric.

“Andrew is a great example of how we are giving people the training they need to land their dream jobs while helping to plug the skills gap in industries like hospitality and catering.

“My priority as Mayor is to give people, and especially young people like Andrew, the opportunity to realise their full potential and enjoy the best possible start to their careers.”

There are currently 10 participants enrolled in the course, with the next course cycle to begin in January 2025. The current aim for the 2024/25 season is to have 30 learners complete the course.

For further information about the Aston Villa Foundation visit their website: Aston Villa Foundation | Aston Villa or email general enquiries at foundation@avfc.co.uk