Guoman Hotels has launched its very own Food & Beverage Academy  investing more than £300k as part of Guoman Hotel's training and development strategy. 

Based at the Tower hotel, St Katherine's Dock, the objective is to provide staff from Charing Cross, The Cumberland and The Tower - the hotels which form the Guoman collection - with the best possible training from product knowledge ‘master classes' featuring producers and suppliers, to soft skills training such as building rapport with customers.

All staff working in Guoman Hotels' restaurants, bars and kitchens will undergo intensive, interactive and hands-on specialist training across all levels of expertise. The Academy will boast its own fully equipped training restaurant and a spacious training room offering a safe and supportive learning environment, sponsored and supported by some of the group's key suppliers. Training programmes will be supervised by the Food & Beverage Academy manager and specialist trainers.

Food & Beverage Academy manager, Sarah Williams, commented: "The Academy will offer our staff specialist training to evoke their passion for service and product. It is our objective to focus on staff growth and development to enable them to provide each guest with a positive, superior experience during their stay."

The Food & Beverage Academy will offer carefully designed and tailored training activities, comprising of three levels and 30 different sessions. Each new team member has an Academy induction of four days upon arrival.

The levels of training include the following:

Level 1: Initial job training
The "Initial job training level" is designed for staff who are new to Guoman and those who have no previous service experience. There are a total of fifteen training sessions ranging from food hygiene and licensing laws to sales essentials. Creating your future is the last course in Level 1 which provides staff with the opportunity to plan their individual career development at Guoman Hotels and discuss their aims and aspirations for the future.

Level 2: Product knowledge
This level focuses on drinks training over eight training sessions, from wine to cocktails as well as specialist training on tea and coffee. Basic, intermediate and advanced wine training is offered plus wine and spirit master classes. Visits to local markets such as Borough market are organised for training sessions on seasonality.

Level 3: Leadership development
Leadership development is the main focus for the third level with seven training sessions. Tools and tips are given to maximise communication within a team and to boost management skills. The level also includes a focus on recruitment and selling skills.

Guoman Hotels also has a Front Office Academy and a Meetings and Events Academy providing staff with tailor-made training opportunities.