The Bakery Franchise Self Raising Franchisees

The Bakery Franchise, Bakers Delight, has announced a new year's resolution to recruit 100 employees to its Fresh Franchisee program.

Franchisee recruitment has been tipped to be the biggest challenge faced by franchisors in 2011 according to industry experts, with 97 per cent of franchise systems claiming it’s currently the biggest issue they face.

The recent PWC Franchise Sector Indicator Survey also advised that for franchisors to increase the pool of suitable franchisees they would need to provide a diverse and rewarding career for candidates of all ages, particularly through the engagement of Generation Y. However, over 62 per cent of franchisors have not adopted any specific initiatives to attract this demographic.

In response to this challenge and to support business growth in 2011, Bakers Delight has stepped up its recruitment through an innovative career development opportunity that enables young people within the network an opportunity to conduct structured franchise training to work towards business ownership.

In 2011 Bakers Delight has set strong targets to recruit 100 ambitious employees to what is known as the Fresh Franchisee program.

Chris Gurney, General Manager at Bakers Delight, said: “The program will assist in injecting fresh energy and motivation into our network of 630 bakeries across Australia.

“Innovative programs such as the Fresh Franchisee initiative, not only fosters young talent within our network but enables us to respond to recruitment challenges faced by the industry.

“This initiative is ideal for those young, keen and motivated individuals who may not have the experience and capital to purchase a bakery. We provide them with the knowledge, education and tools to fuel career growth while working in a bakery environment.”

In FY10/11 to date, Bakers Delight has successfully recruited 38 Fresh Franchisees who are well on their way to business ownership.