We use cookies to improve and customise your experience, for analytics and metrics, and to track any purchases you make both on this website and on others. To find out more about the cookies we use see our cookie policy
More info
- Manage licensed premises like pubs and bars
- You need leadership skills and the ability to manage staff
- You could progress to becoming a regional manager or become self-employed
As a publican, you'll be responsible for managing a premise such as a bar or pub.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Organising deliveries
- Making sure the bar is stocked and well maintained
- Making sure customers are served quickly
- Running the bar in line with health, safety and legal regulations
- Recruiting, training and supervising bar staff and kitchen staff
- Stocktaking, handling wages, book-keeping and accounts
- Building good relationships with breweries, suppliers and customers
- Carrying out plans to maximise sales
- You'll also be responsible for enforcing the law on the sale of alcohol on your premises
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
Pubs can be very noisy and busy at key times of the day, and your work would also involve carrying crates and moving barrels at times. You may be able to live above the premises rent-free.
You'll need
To be a publican, you'll need customer service skills, leadership skills, patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations, the ability to work well with others, the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure, sensitivity and understanding, business management skills, and knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses.
There are no set requirements, but experience in customer service at a supervisory level, and some experience of bar work would be helpful. You'll usually need to do the Pre-Entry Awareness Training e-learning course. You'll also need to complete the British Institute of Innkeeping Awarding Body Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders to apply for a Personal Licence.
It's possible for anybody with enough financial backing to buy a pub or bar. As a manager of a pub or bar that sells food, you'll usually need a qualification in food safety.
Some large pub chains run graduate management trainee schemes that take about a year to complete. You'll usually need relevant work experience and a degree in an area like business, marketing, hotel and catering, or hospitality management with licensed retail.
You may be able to start by doing a hospitality manager higher apprenticeship. You could then apply to become a pub landlord once you've built up your experience in the drinks trade.
You can also start out as a bar person and work your way into this role by applying for promotion when you gain experience.
You'll also need to be 18 or over, and have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
CAREER PROSPECTS
If you're employed by a chain or brewery, you could progress to becoming a regional manager. You could become self-employed and expand your business by buying additional pubs or bars.