5th June 2025
Written by Rachel Wallace
We recently caught up with one of our outstanding Aspire graduates, Beth, who has thrived during her time with us - rising from Aspire apprentice to Duty Manager at The Airport Pub. We asked Beth a few questions about what she enjoys most in her role and what she loved about being part of our Aspire apprenticeship programme - and what’s kept her with us for over eight years!
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
"I’ve been at The Airport Pub for 8 years now, and my job is Duty Manager, but I first started off as bar staff - which was around 3 years ago, then I moved onto the Floor and now into a Duty manager."
What do you enjoy the most about your job?
"I enjoy it when it’s busy, the day goes so quickly and on the weekends I'll still do serving because that's one thing that I really love doing! I do the Duty Manager role in the week, with the extra responsibilities that come with it, and then I serve on the weekends and that's a great balance - I have to keep the serving bit to balance it out a bit!"
So, you joined Aspire pre-COVID, what made you want to join that all those years ago?
"I didn't know what I wanted to do in life. I’d just dropped out of university and then I as I was working here, I loved it and knew I wanted to stay here; but didn’t know what I want to do long term so I did Aspire so I’d have something to fall back on. It was great knowing that if I wanted to go higher then I could go higher when I was ready. Whilst on Aspire and after graduating I stayed serving for a couple of years. Then when I felt I was ready to take on more responsibility, that’s what I did."
And did you enjoy the extra responsibility?
"Most of the time, yes. I liked having a bit more to do and having the skills I learnt on Aspire made it easier."
What skills do you think you learnt on Aspire?
"I’ve certainly learnt to be a lot more confident because before completing Aspire apprenticeship, my manager would ask me “Do you want to go any higher” and I was initially sceptical because I just didn't think that I wanted to do it, or could do it, and then after the Aspire course I got more confident and I clearly can do it because I am doing it!"
And now that you’ve finished Aspire and are in your Duty manager role, what kind of additional skills of you continue to learn?
"I keep getting better at customer service! But also dealing with customer complaints because I never used to do it. It used to make me feel awkward, and I would shy away from it and get someone else to do it, but now I feel fine doing it straight away on my own. In the last 12 months, I’ve had to take on extra responsibilities at work and I certainly delegate jobs a lot better now so I can manage my own time better."
And what are your long term goals and masterplan?
"I actually don’t know, I know I love working here and want to stay here, and I love serving and hospitality. I had a goal of being a Duty Manager and now I’m doing it, I love it. I’m happy to come into work every day and have a good work-life balance so at the moment I’ve got no plans to change!"
Beth’s story is a perfect example of how the Aspire programme can help people grow and build their careers. She’s gone from bar staff to Duty Manager, gaining confidence and new skills along the way. It’s clear she loves what she does, and we’re proud to have her as part of the team. We’re excited to see where her journey takes her next!
