Our Placement Students

Barons has taught me more about the business industry, teamwork and myself than I ever thought it would. To work with such an encouraging and supportive team is such an important experience. They have taught me so many valuable lessons to use in industry and interpersonal skills that I will carry through to my future career and my everyday life. I owe a lot of thanks to the Barons team for making me a stronger person and making me feel valued in what I have to offer. So far, I have worked operationally at the Jovial Sailor, as a recruitment assistant, marketing assistant and I will soon be going into my final rotation with the learning and development team. Already I have learned so much and what I am most grateful for is how I was really made to feel part of the Barons family. Particularly, with the amazing team I worked with at the Jovial sailor in my first three months. Thank you to Barons for an unforgettable year!

Shaya Rose, Bournemouth University 2022-2023

My Barons journey so far has been amazing! I have been lucky enough to be a part of the Barons placement scheme which has allowed me to learn so many new things about business. I’m only 3 months in and just finished my first operational rotation working at the Star. I received so much love from the team and felt part of the group almost straight away. Now I am part of the Learning and Development team and already have received so much training and guidance. I have had the opportunity to attend courses and workshops, such as health and safety, DM workshops, complaints handling etc, to help develop me personally and improve my skills. Having no previous hospitality experience, I feel incredibly privileged to have had this opportunity and have so much time and effort invested into me, it has really helped prepare me for my final year of university and the working world beyond that. I am looking forward to the opportunities my final 2 rotations will offer and working with the team across Barons.

Zak Genovese, Bournemouth University 2022-2023

I have really enjoyed working with the team at The Cricketers in my first rotation in operations this gave me the chance to work closely with the General Manager Stefan, who everyday involved me in every aspect of decision making and problem resolution that would arise in the pub. I went into this operation without any hospitality experience and after 3 months had the confidence to manage and influence the peers I worked with and have the confidence to question and challenge when appropriate and raise any concerns. I have now transferred into working with the purchasing department where within the first three weeks of this rotation I have been given great responsibility, given the independence to compete my own analysis which I have presented to our managing director Clive which has allowed us to change multiple product lines we had in use.

Tom Harrison, Bournemouth University 2022-2023

My journey with Barons started last July when I successfully received an offer letter from the company accepting me onto their placement scheme. I was so excited to start, knowing I had the opportunity to gain experience within a variety of departments within the industry. I started my placement working in operations which was new to me having no previous experience in hospitality.

However, through working within a friendly and caring team I was made to feel part of the Barons family. I received a plethora of training and was given multiple opportunities to attend workshops and courses to help broaden my knowledge and enhance my skills. I look forward to what future opportunities Barons has in store for me.

Darcy Paul, Bournemouth University 2021-2022

Barons’ placement scheme has provided me with the perfect opportunity to learn the whole operation of a business, through working in a variety of different departments. It has only been 6 months and indeed I have learnt so much! From working as a front-of-house team member, to working in Marketing, and Recruitment departments. Along this journey, it has been thrilling to be able to learn and progress so much! I found Barons during one of the world job crises that was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to economy depression. While every company were trying to not employ anyone, Barons was the one company that were still actively recruiting talents.

I have always wanted to do something relevant to business operations, as my dream is to run my own business one day. With my previous 4 years of hospitality experience, it was the perfect opportunity for me to learn and prepare myself to step into the world of work.

I am looking forward to my next rotation to acquire more skills during my time with Barons.

Sharon Wong, Bournemouth University 2021-2022

I have been given the amazing opportunity to undergo my placement with Barons Pub Company – a very well regarded and professional business that cares and thrives in their ability to develop anyone. The values that Barons believes in creates a culture that is everything I could ever imagine for a workplace; everybody is treated with the utmost respect and the opportunities are endless. I feel beyond lucky to have been given the chance to work with such an incredible and welcoming team and I genuinely look forward to coming to work.
My placement experience has consisted of working alongside the Head Office, Senior Management, Training and Compliance and Operations team to develop competencies and broaden my knowledge on how a business is run efficiently, professionally, profitably and compliantly. I have had the responsibility to create training documents as well as managing the use of them across the company. I have had the chance to work with many functions of the business, including: finance, marketing, legal compliance, training and development, operations, product development and purchasing. Having the opportunity to work in so many areas is an excellent way to learn about all areas of a business and highlight my strengths as well as areas of improvement.
I attend regular team meetings and feel I am able to fully participate and have a voice. I move around 10 different sites, all with varied teams and therefore must ensure I adapt my communication skills and management approach to suit their needs. I am so grateful for everything Barons has provided for me and my placement experience has made me exhilarated for the future and the next chapter after university.

Elena Newton, Bournemouth University 2020-2021

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