Compass Group UK & Ireland has committed over £1.6m of its Apprenticeship Levy funds to support over 100 small and medium sized enterprises, charities, and social enterprises to invest in and develop their staff.
Compass is helping organisations across the UK, including Go Beyond, the charity giving children and young people breaks and the charity, St Ann’s Hospice based in Greater Manchester.
So far Compass has committed to support around 133 apprenticeships including courses such as Commis Chef, Production Chef, Hospitality Supervisor, Finance and Management.
Large employers that pay the Apprenticeship Levy can choose to transfer up to 25% of their levy funds each year to other organisations, to pay for their apprenticeship training and assessment.
The transfers contribute to Compass Group UK & Ireland’s Mission to a Million pledge, which was launched earlier this year and promises to provide support to one million people, from both within and outside the organisation, by 2030.
It aims to enhance opportunities and change lives through job creation, education, training, community, and charitable engagement.
Jonathan Foot, Head of Apprenticeships and Early Careers at Compass Group UK & Ireland, commented, “Investing in and developing talent has a big impact on people’s lives. Creating opportunities for learning is important to me and a cornerstone of Compass Group UK & Ireland’s approach as a people business.
'That’s why we have been working with our partners, charities, and SMEs to make funds available and in some cases share expertise and best practice. Never has this been so important as now, as we recover from the pandemic and strive to attract the best people back into our industry.”
“As a large organisation, we have a responsibility to give back to the communities we operate in, and this is a great way to do that.”
Rachel McMillan CEO St Ann’s Hospice in Greater Manchester, said, “Compass sharing these much-needed funds has allowed us to support people to further their learning and development through an apprenticeship scheme.
'This has meant we have been able to develop our organisation as well as our talent and I’d like to thank Compass for helping us navigate this opportunity.”
Compass currently has over 600 employees taking on apprenticeships, with qualifications varying from a Level 2 or 3 to a degree level higher apprenticeship, across subjects such as finance, culinary, events and leadership. In the last 12 months, Compass’ apprenticeship programmes have grown by an unprecedented 30%.