There has been a lot of discussion about Pret’s Big Experience Week recently. I would like to reassure customers who may have read that Pret was going to “pay teenagers in sandwiches for work” that this was not the case.

The Big Experience Week was set up to provide work shadowing experience to 16-18 year olds interested in learning more about opportunities in the hospitality sector. It was never intended that participants would be working or interning for us. Instead they will be shadowing our teams for a week to learn about our business. It is our hope that this will encourage them to consider a career at Pret or in hospitality generally.

Having heard how passionately people feel about the initiative, I can confirm that we will be paying all participants Pret’s starting hourly rate and will of course be providing free food as well.

I recently advised the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee that only one in 50 of the applicants to our London Recruitment Centre is British. As we head towards Brexit, this statistic has generated a lot of discussion.

It raises the question: why do so few Brits apply for jobs in places like Pret?

Attracting British applicants is not exclusively a Pret problem, and is symptomatic of a wider cultural bias. British schools and parents don’t always take careers in the hospitality industry seriously, but they really ought to. The industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years and today it is strong, dynamic and growing. Around 20% of all new jobs created in the UK since 2010 have been in hospitality - a pace of growth that fuels brilliant careers and provides enormous opportunity for management, development and leadership, often from a young age.

The truth is that working in hospitality is not an easy ride. Pret’s own success story was born from the hard work of determined entrepreneurs. The company was founded in London in 1986 by two college friends, Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham, who wanted to create a new type of ‘fast food’ - fresh and handmade.

I recently advised the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee that only one in 50 of the applicants to our London Recruitment Centre is British. As we head towards Brexit, this statistic has generated a lot of discussion.

It raises the question: why do so few Brits apply for jobs in places like Pret?

Attracting British applicants is not exclusively a Pret problem, and is symptomatic of a wider cultural bias. British schools and parents don’t always take careers in the hospitality industry seriously, but they really ought to. The industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years and today it is strong, dynamic and growing. Around 20% of all new jobs created in the UK since 2010 have been in hospitality - a pace of growth that fuels brilliant careers and provides enormous opportunity for management, development and leadership, often from a young age.

The truth is that working in hospitality is not an easy ride. Pret’s own success story was born from the hard work of determined entrepreneurs. The company was founded in London in 1986 by two college friends, Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham, who wanted to create a new type of ‘fast food’ - fresh and handmade.

Far from being an overnight success, Julian and Sinclair found out that it takes energy and teamwork to open profitable shops, make quality food from scratch every day, and provide the excellent service that keeps customers returning. It took 14 years before the pair opened the first Pret shop outside of the UK in New York.

For the many thousands who embrace the work ethic of our founders, there are plenty of upsides. Here are some of the reasons people do want to work for Pret:

The pay is good and well above the National Living Wage, no matter your age or background. Someone joining Pret in London will earn annual pay and rewards of almost £18,000, plus the benefits of free food and paid breaks. After a year with us this typically rises to £20,000. It can take as little as three years to become a General Manager of a shop turning over millions of pounds and leading a team of up to fifty, with a £40,000 package.

We don’t require any previous experience whatsoever. If you have the right attitude, we’ll provide all the training you need - and we offer fast progression. Pret’s career path can take you from your very first day all the way to the top. Even the Managing Directors of our UK, US and Asia businesses all worked their way up from our shops.

Finally, with all this hard work comes plenty of play. We take friendship and connection very seriously indeed - every shop has a “Team Joy” budget to use to have fun together, and we host huge parties twice a year for the whole company (now around 8,000 people in the UK). Our teams tell us they love the sense of belonging to a family at Pret. It’s no surprise that many who join us for a few months end up staying for years.

It will take time and effort to change the hearts and minds of the British public, parents and schools. This is a long-term challenge that Pret and the wider industry must meet to ensure hospitality is seen by Brits as a serious career choice. Pret will start by increasing our recruitment advertising, sharing more of our stories on social media, doubling our School Leavers Programme intake and working with new partners like Jobcentre Plus.

We will launch a new initiative this summer - Pret’s Big Experience Week - offering 500 one week work experience placements for 16-18 year olds all over the country. Participants will get exposure to aspects of our business including food production, customer service, social responsibility (care for the homeless) and financial control. Working in hospitality won’t be for everyone, but I’m confident we could offer great careers to many more Brits than we do today.

In response to the audience member on Question Time who asked ‘Who will serve us our coffee in Pret?’ my answer is that our coffees will continue to be made by teams of passionate individuals from a variety of backgrounds... Why couldn’t that include you?

Interested in Pret’s Big Experience Week? Send us an email and we’ll be in touch with more info. Find out more about careers at Pret here.