Adam Ainsworth - Conference and Banqueting Manager

Adam, 23, is conference and banqueting manager at the Donnington Valley Hotel in Newbury, Berkshire. He started work as a porter at the hotel group’s flagship five-star hotel in 2010 and did a Customer Service (Level 2) NVQ with HIT.

Adam then moved to Donnington Valley in 2011 and was promoted to conference and banqueting supervisor. The following year he was made conference and banqueting manager.

Alongside his career journey, Adam has continued his learning, gaining an Apprenticeship in Team Leading (Level 2) and currently working towards a Hospitality Supervision & Leadership (Level 3) with trainer assessor Claude Heudi.

Explaining why he embarked on the apprenticeship road, he said: “I wanted to further my skills and knowledge whilst continuing to work. The apprenticeship gave me the flexibility to learn whilst I work.”

The training has helped Adam develop his leadership skills and he now heads a team of six. “I’m a lot more confident when communicating with other senior managers and also my team.

“I’ve also learnt to deal with the individual team members’ personal progression here at the hotel and delegating tasks to their individual strengths.

“The Team Leading Apprenticeship helped me into my supervisor role, which has led to the conference and banqueting manager job. Not being a manager before, the Hospitality Supervision & Leadership (Level 3) has helped me adjust to the transition between the roles. “I was lucky as I was able to grow into the manager position with the help of the apprenticeship.”

Father of one Adam has made many improvements and changes to the conference and banqueting operation at the hotel. “I’ve put my own procedures and processes in place as well as managing the performance and training of my team,” he explains.

And his vision for the future? “I see myself moving into an operations manager position,” he says.