People that know me are always shocked to hear that I suffered with lack of confidence when I was a younger. It was while doing a culinary course at college that I won pastry chef of the year, and I discovered I loved the kitchen! I still love baking today but being host in FOH was when my confidence blossomed. I always remember one of my college professors saying, “you should be earning your age!”, so I made it my target to do just that and landed a role at Mitchell & Butlers. I was very lucky, I had a great manager, who coached me to be the best me, and always said “Lisa be a grabber!”. She volunteered me for everything, and I soon was attending all the courses I could, supporting other business and really gaining exposure; this rocketed my career. My first promotion came after my first year to Assistant Manager, then Deputy Manager the following year. From then, I started putting myself forward for cover roles and heading to other business to provide cover.

Lisa is S4labour’s Customer Training Manager. She has a lifetimes experience in the hospitality sector, having been, amongst other roles, a general manager of a premium country pub for Mitchells & Butlers.

After a successful 6-month maternity hold, I got the keys for my very first business. I will never forget the excitement of hanging my brass licensee plaque, and how proud my family were of me; I was only 23! I had achieved so much in the 4 years since leaving college and grown into such a different person. This was all down to being a grabber, and making the most of every opportunity I could. I even featured in the Career Mail for having such a successful career at my age. I loved being a landlady and continued to grab every opportunity I could. I really wanted to drive my career into a full time learning and development role and started seeking additional roles such as district trainer or people champion; I also did a foundation degree in managing in service industries. My career has been propelled by training at every opportunity. I’m still a grabber and will put my hand up for any additional training that’s available.