Parkdean Resorts unveils plan for 200 apprenticeships

A holiday park operator has announced plans to deliver up to 200 apprenticeships nationwide.

Parkdean Resorts has revealed its vision after being awarded Employer Provider Status by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

The business is now an official apprenticeship training provider and will be subject to Ofsted inspections across its 67 UK holiday parks and central support office in Gosforth, Newcastle.

The company will deliver a number of apprenticeships, including roles such as hospitality team member, hospitality supervisor, team leader/supervisor and senior production chef.

The 200 vacancies will be spread across the country over the next two years, with roles in the North East, the Lake District, Devon and Cornwall. Apprentices will join the business from the autumn.

Maggie Pavlou, human resources director at Parkdean Resorts, said: “We’re delighted to be recognised as an official training provider of apprenticeships.

“Our success has been built on the basis that our people’s primary focus is delivery of excellent customer service. We are therefore very clear our apprenticeships will be sector-leading programmes.

“This year we have invested heavily in delivering bespoke training and development programmes across our estate, so this announcement enhances our planned people investment. It will provide a robust framework upon which we can plan our future strategies.”

Alyson Robson, apprenticeship programme manager, added: “The seasonality of our business and peak activity periods occurring at weekends mean that we had to look internally to ensure that we could offer bespoke apprenticeships and programme delivery that would help our people shine.

“We spend a lot of time listening to the needs of our business, and the people development team already has an excellent reputation for designing and delivering programmes which have led to a significant number of well-earned promotions. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our first intake later this year.”

The announcement follows Parkdean Resorts being awarded the Investors in People Gold Standard Award for the second time, marking it as one of the UK’s best people businesses and recognising its ongoing commitment to people development and investment.