Bar Management Course Launched

An apprenticeship in bar management has been launched to address the critical shortage of hospitality staff in Ireland.

The three-year degree course is the country's first and is backed by State and employer funding. It will be available through Griffith College in Limerick, Cork, and Dublin.

The programme is supported by the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI), Griffith College, and the State education body Solas. The organisations have come together to reverse the pub sector’s post-Covid struggle to retain staff.

A Fáilte Ireland survey released in February found that as many as nine out of 10 hospitality businesses have problems recruiting staff, with many employers linking the shortage to a lack of training.

The bar manager apprenticeship degree is a work-based programme in which apprentices will be able to work, earn, and learn to become fully qualified bar managers. Students already working in the bar trade are sponsored by their employer to develop the skills required and spend one day a week in lectures over three years. School leavers with experience in the bar trade and career changers are also eligible.