Suffolk brewer Greene King has teamed up with West Suffolk College to encourage more people to take up careers in hospitality.

The Bury St Edmunds brewer is sponsoring the college’s junior and adult chef programmes which kick off this month and offer learning alongside the college’s existing programmes for 100 of its culinary arts students.

The college’s director of business development Phil Stittle said the junior programme had run successfully for three years, with participants getting “a great insight” into what being a chef is really like.

“We have had really great feedback and ambitions to become chefs have been ignited. If we can link that enthusiasm to a potential career with employers like Greene King, then hopefully a supply chain of people coming into catering will be established. With Greene King’s support we are making it more affordable for all to participate.”

Mike Mulvihill, director of service industries at West Suffolk College, said: “With Greene King’s excellent brand name and reach within the region, we know they will offer some great placements for our students to learn valuable skills from, which puts them in a very strong position to go onto achieve full time positions or apprenticeships. It’s exactly what our education offer is all about, getting our students real life experience in exciting and well known organisations such as Greene King.”

Greene King’s HR director Andrew Bush said: “Supporting young people in developing a career in hospitality is something we are really passionate about at Greene King. From our Get into Hospitality training programme with The Prince’s Trust to the 11,000 apprentices we have already supported on our award-winning apprenticeship programme, we are always looking at new ways to help young people into work.”