Starbucks trains 350 apprentices

Starbucks has started training 350 apprentice baristas in the UK, a boost to youth employment that has been lost in the headlines surrounding the coffee giant’s tax affairs.

The Seattle-based group was widely criticised last year for failing to pay corporation tax since 2008, even though the chain had made £413m revenue in 2011-12. Since 1998, when Starbucks started trading in the UK, the group had only handed over £8.6m in year, leading to protests at some of the chain’s cafes in December. The news overshadowed the Seattle-based group’s announcement that it planned to hire 1,000 apprentices over 24 months.

Figures seen by The Independent show Starbucks is well on course to meet this target, with a further 150 baristas expected to start serving espressos and caramel frappuccinos by the end of the year. The other 500 will be hired in 2014.