Our Partners
The Exmoor & Coast Centre of Excellence partners are: Butlins, Aurora Foxes, Hospitality and Hospitality education providers Bridgwater & Taunton College, Petroc College, Exmoor National Park, Brend Hotels, Somerset Council Council and Visit Exmoor.
Aurora Foxes
Aurora Foxes is a specialist college and training hotel for young people with learning disabilities, situated in the friendly seaside town of Minehead. Our aim is to help our students find sustainable employment in the hospitality sector and to live independently. We believe in changing lives by giving our students the skills, knowledge and confidence to successfully shape their own futures. Our motto is ‘work ready, life ready’.
We are a Disability Confident Leader, in recognition of our success in changing perceptions about employing people with disabilities. Aurora Foxes has also won three TripAdvisor Awards.
Petroc College
Petroc College of Further and Higher Education has three campuses across beautiful North and Mid Devon. We offer some truly exceptional facilities and spaces where students can learn, practice skills and relax. We also provide an array of enrichment opportunities to help students get the most out of college life and build knowledge, experience and friendships. We offer a huge range of training opportunities, from apprenticeships to industry short-courses, distance learning and part-time qualifications.
South West Larder
South West Larder was started in 2014, as a collaboration between local producers to provide a central food hub for all Hinkley Point C’s Catering, Vending & Mobilisation support to the project.
Since then, we have grown considerably, now recruiting over 360 colleagues at various sites within the South West, as well as training, mentoring and supporting apprentices within the hospitality sector.
Now part of the Westbury Street Holdings Group we continue to push forward within the hospitality sector, paving a way forward to nourish the community with amazing produce, to employ local people and to continue to train apprentices for future careers within the catering and hospitality sectors.
Our vision is to create a long-term business model which will benefit the West County’s food and drink sector far into the future, by helping companies of all shapes and sizes from across the region, bringing together the best west country produce, and expertise gathered locally and enjoyed globally.
Bridgwater & Taunton College
Bridgwater & Taunton College has strategically placed itself as the region’s leading provider for technical and professional training, with our recent Ofsted inspection awarding the College Outstanding in Apprenticeships. We work in collaboration with a large number of local and national employers to train the next generation of professionals, combining leading edge practice with a wealth of opportunity and development.
Exmoor National Park
First designated in 1954, Exmoor National Park has an amazing variety of landscapes within its 267 square miles – stunning coast, moorland, woodland, valleys and farmland and more than 800 miles of rights of way to enjoy. It is one of 15 National Parks in the United Kingdom and in 2011 was designated Europe’s first International Dark Sky Reserve.
Exmoor National Park Authority works in partnership with the community, local councils, businesses and other organisations to look after the National Park and promote its conservation and enjoyment.
West Coast 360
Providing support that strengthens the Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure sector through training support, upskilling, and access to funded training opportunities.
Somerset County Council
The Somerset County Council responsible for the more strategic local services within Somerset, including many children’s services, education (schools, libraries and youth services), social services, highway maintenance, waste disposal, emergency planning, and town and country planning for matters to do with minerals, waste, highways and education. We also work alongside District Councils for more focussed services in their areas, like waste collection.
Beyond these services, we play an active role in encouraging cutting-edge businesses to relocate and thrive here through the inward investment agency, Into Somerset. We also appoint eight members to the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority.
Visit Exmoor
Visit Exmoor is the leading industry body supporting and promoting tourism across the Greater Exmoor area. The area covered includes Exmoor National Park, West Somerset, the Quantock Hills and North Devon.
Every year Exmoor National Park welcomes over 2 million visitors, attracted by the wide-ranging special qualities of natural beauty, wildlife, cultural heritage and the varied recreational opportunities. Tourism accounts for approx. 60% of all employment within Exmoor National Park and 54% of the area’s GVA (Gross value added). The annual value of tourism to Exmoor’s rural economy is approx. £128m, supporting over 2,200 full-time equivalent jobs. The value for “Greater Exmoor” (inc. a10 mile radius around the National Park) is estimated to be £404m. (Exmoor STEAM survey (2018) and Rural Enterprise Exmoor research (2020)).
Butlins
Butlin’s, the home of entertainment, has launched its brand-new Chef Academy with spaces available at all three resorts – Bognor Regis, Skegness and Minehead.
The Butlin’s Chef Academy has been designed to give aspiring chefs the perfect platform to learn, grow and develop industry skills in a yearlong programme. This comprehensive apprenticeship is a year-long programme giving ambitious chefs the perfect platform to get into the industry and gain a professional qualification.
The course starts with two-weeks training in a purpose-built test kitchen close to the Minehead resort. Chefs will be introduced to practical kitchen skills by training in a professional kitchen environment.
Brend Hotels
The Brend Collection is a family run luxury hospitality business that has been a leader in the West County for over 50 years.
