The government-funded recognised qualification, open to over-18s (with no upper age limit), offers instruction in essential skills, such as maths and English, as well as the relevant hospitality training.
All of the practical tasks take place at the pub, in either the bar or kitchen area, depending on each associate’s role, in a two-hour monthly session. Associates must also complete workbook-based course work.
Susan Groundwater, Wetherspoon’s audit and training manager for Northern Ireland, said: “A total of 20 bar and kitchen associates is now coming to the end of the first intensive course, which has been tough, but very rewarding.
“The NVQ is tailored to the job, with all skills relevant to the work place. Those who have completed the qualification seem to have had a new lease of life, both in and out of Wetherspoon.”
Bar associate Cathal Cregan, who has completed his NVQ, is pictured at The Diamond, Derry.