Bradford bar workers will be learning how to pull the perfect pint and shake the best pina colada as part of the city's first course for bar staff.

And the two-day course will not be held in a college but in a pub where students will be taught basic bar skills including drugs awareness, customer care and hygiene.

The idea is the brainchild of BICLA -Bradford Inner City Licensing Association - which felt there was a lack of training for bar staff and is believed to be one of the only courses of its kind in the country.

Sue Watson, a former landlady, will be running the course, sponsored by Bradford Training and Enterprise Council, which will turn bar staff into expert drinks-mixers like Tom Cruise in the film Cocktail.

"Bar work is a career like any other so why shouldn't bar staff be able to get qualifications?" she said.

"We'll be teaching the basic skills such as what drinks are what, how to pull a pint and serve the perfect gin and tonic.

"We might also have a fun session on cocktails and how to make them.

"Another important element is customer care which a lot of bar staff don't realise the importance of.

"Making the customer feel special is one of the main aims of the job.

"The course is definitely needed because a lot of landlords felt they just didn't have the time to train their staff properly. We've had an extremely positive reaction and already half the places on the first course have been filled.

"We think that this is the first licensee's association in the country to be involved in running its own bar staff training courses."

Delegates who complete the course will have the opportunity to go on and take an NVQ in hospitality.

The first course for 15 people will start on September 3 with a second planned for October.

David Haigh, chairman of BICLA and landlord at Haigys in Bradford, said: "It's an idea that we've been looking at for a while.

"Bar work is more than just a part time job, it's a career for a lot of people.

"Many landlords are sending their staff on the course and we're hoping it will be an on-going thing.

"It's a basic introduction to the job and will look at what happens in a pub, how to spot people on drugs and important issues such as health and safety.

"It's something new and different and there's nothing else like it that I've heard of .

"Hopefully it will give workers a better insight into all aspects of the job.

"They will get a certificate to show they've been on the course and can go on to do an NVQ.

"Up until now there's been no formal training. It's just a case of learning on the job."

The course costs £25 per person and all BICLA members are entitled to one free place. For more information contact Sue Watson on (0113) 2893414.

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