“I can remember vividly saying to my parents that I will never use maths. Oh how I was wrong!”
Meet Connor, Bar Manager at Adam Handling’s Ugly Butterfly in Carbis Bay. As a teenager, Connor thought he would never have a need or use for maths in his adult life. He now recognises that we use maths everyday and tells us how achieving a maths qualification has enabled him to progress in his career.
Connor started in hospitality about nine years ago. He began his career as a bartender, quickly moved up to head bartender and then eventually up to Bar Manager. He is responsible for stocktaking, creating the rotas, all back of house operations.
Adam Handling, chef and owner of the AH Restaurant group was impressed by Connor’s hunger and constant love for learning. This drive helped him to progress to the position he’s in now.
Connor’s dream was to go to college and study photography and then hopefully on to university. Unfortunately, Connor found education a challenge and finished school without many GCSEs, which meant he had to consider alternative options.
From the moment he wakes up Connor is using maths. He must remember who’s in at what time, their drinks are made using a spec and each spec is broken down into millilitres. Getting these simple measurements correct and accurately reading scales (maths) is the difference between creating a great cocktail and a complete mess.
Connor believes that if he hadn’t gone back to Truro and Penwith College to achieve his maths qualification, and a better understanding of maths, he would not be able to do his job. He encourages anyone looking to upskill their maths to engage with Multiply stating “Multiply are lucky to have Asun on their team! Her passion and encouragement helped me to pass my GCSE maths.”
From a business perspective, Adam recognises the importance of Connor’s mathematical skills and knowledge in his role as a manager which requires him to regularly deal with finance, and says “If it’s not quite right, it could really fracture the balance of how a business operates, so maths is probably the most important skill to have”.
An ambitious Connor thoroughly enjoys working with Adam and the fantastic team at AH Restaurant Group / Ugly Butterly and feels that they have instilled him with the confidence to aim high. Connor acknowledges that he will need, and use, his maths to progress concluding “I would say that maths is a key skill. There is so much that I depend on with my knowledge of maths when it comes to this job.”
Watch Connor’s video below: