Bakers Delight is currently on the lookout for 100 candidates to take part in its Manage to Own training program, which equips participants with the skills they need to eventually run their own bakery.

Bakers Delight general manager, Gerry Gerrard, told Franchising the move was prompted by an increase in sales for the bakery franchise.

“We’ve found our sales performance has started to increase, and historically when we’ve had an uplift in sales its means we’ve got to get our plans in place.

“We can see down the track that we are going to need people because as our sales start to increase we open new stores, and existing franchisees will also want to sell,” he explains.

While the Manage to Own program is not in itself new, Bakers Delight typically recruits between 15 and 20 candidates each year rather than 100 – which signals the brand means business.

“Our Manage to Own program is a great opportunity for people who have got the potential to manage and eventually own their own bakery,” he says.

“People come into the business at the ground level and are nurtured by us – we give them the information they need to run a bakery and there is the view that within 12 months they would want to own their own bakery and become a franchisee.”

Gerrard likens the program to a traineeship, where rather than simply work in the store as an employee, participants have a real goal to aspire to.

“It’s a more targeted and pinpointed approach. Rather than just having an employee and then one day asking them if they would like to own their own bakery, we are saying right from the get-go that they are going to manage a bakery and will have one at the end of the 12 months if they want to buy one.”

Bakers Delight is seeking candidates that have the skills, or capacity to acquire the skills required to run a bakery.

“We want someone who is enthusiastic, who has a passion for retail, enjoys working in the retail side and of course has a passion and enjoyment for bread and baking,” says Gerrard.

People who take part in the Manage to Own program ideally intend to stay with the brand for the long-term.

“We are after people that are enthusiastic and want a career; it’s not necessarily someone who just wants a job,” says Gerrard.

“Rather than just coming on board and being a staff member they’ve come on board with the view that in time they will own their own bakery.”

Candidates don’t necessarily need experience in baking or running a business, as the whole premise of the Manage to Own program is to equip them with the skills required to run a successful bakery business.

“We work with them to make sure they have the right skills and background.

“They are supported by the franchisor to make sure they’ve been given everything they can be given to manage their own business down the track,” he explains.

Bakers Delight plans to open 12 new stores this year, which equates to a two-and-a-half to three percent growth, Gerrard says.

• UPDATED June 2016: Bakers Delight is in the process of launching a new program under the Kick Start Franchise banner. The new program will launch on 1 July 2016 and replace the existing MTO program.