Personal Licence Training in the UK

Did you realise that if you work anywhere serving alcohol in the UK, you can significantly increase your job security and chances of promotion by taking a simple exam? Personal licence training will help you to qualify for a personal licence certificate which will enable you to supervise the selling of alcohol on any licensed premises like a pub, restaurant, hr licence off-licence or even a supermarket.

First, you will have to take a 1 day NCPLH/APLH course. There are over 70 training venues around Britain where you can book a course, so there is usually one in a town near were you live. The thought of an exam can be scary but this one is fairly easy and it is not like being back at school. At the end of this one day course you will sit a 40 question exam. To pass you have to get at least 28 answers correct. The exam is to make sure you understand what you have been taught on the course.

Once you have passed this exam and you have got your certificate, all you have to do is get a basic criminal disclosure check done and submit your papers and application to your local licensing authority. They will then grant you your Personal Licence to supply alcohol.

The reason that this qualification is so useful, is that since 2003 in the UK any premises with an alcohol licence has to have at least one person on the premises that holds a personal licence. If you do bar-work or are looking for work in a pub or restaurant this will immediately increase your worth in the eyes of an employer. Even small pub mangers will think about the usefulness of having someone else with a personal licence on the premises, which will allow them to pop out and leave you in charge of the premises.

When it comes to promotion, this qualification could be the deciding factor, when there is a job of supervisor or assistant manager available. Even supermarkets have to have someone who holds a personal licence present when alcohol is being sold. Have you ever had to stand in the queue while the person serving at the till has to call over a supervisor, when a customer has beer or wine in their basket. This is because only a person who holds a personal licence can supervise the sale.

Surprisingly, if you wish to travel abroad or work in other countries, even though the qualification is not needed, it is recognised. Employers are often impressed if you hold a certificate that shows that you have been trained in a skill. The fact that you have taken the time to get a qualification also says a lot about you. Many UK bartenders have been able to pick up occasional work as they backpack around the world on their holidays.

It is widely acknowledged that people in possession of a qualification will have better career prospects. There is a noticeable change in attitude of employers towards vocational qualifications. They are now valued because employers tend to want their staff to hold a qualification that will benefit their organisation and because of this, there is a growing acceptance that vocational qualifications like the certificate obtained at a personal licence training course fulfils that criteria.