Up to 1400 hospitality jobs are waiting be filled for this year’s Aintree Grand National

Up to 1400 hospitality jobs are waiting be filled for this year’s Aintree Grand National and there’s no need for applicants to have any previous experience.

As one of the biggest sporting events in the world, attracting well over 100,000 racegoers across three days, Aintree needs a huge amount of staff to keep its bars and restaurants running smoothly.

That means hundreds of front-of-house positions are currently being recruited covering everything from chefs and kitchen assistants to wine waiters, cellar porters and bar staff.

The roles are open to all ages, there’s even a limited number for under 18s, and on-site training ahead of the event is given to everyone who joins the team.

Around 2,000 staff work each day over the Grand National weekend, which this year runs from April 13 to 15.

Most managerial and chef roles have already been filled, but there are still lots of others up for grabs for anyone looking to give their CV an impressive boost.

And, because Aintree is part of a group of three racecourses along with Haydock and Carlisle, there’ll be ongoing opportunities to work at all kinds of events, including live music nights, there too. A coach is laid on from the city centre and/or Aintree to take people to and from those courses.

Nina Lundy, who’s responsible for recruitment, says they attract a wide range of applicants including sixth form and university students, as well as those who just love the racecourse atmosphere and come back year after year.

Anyone who has previously worked at Aintree, Haydock or Carlisle is contacted first to see if they’re available again, and then the remaining vacancies are open for anyone to apply.

Nina explains: “We do get a lot of students and young people who want to have it on their CV because it’s such a massive event, but then obviously they might not be able or want to work every future event. They may finish their course, get a full-time job or move on, so we always have opportunities every year.

“This year we are recruiting mostly for front-of-house and we’re actively looking for between 1,200 and 1,400 people between now and the cut-off of March 25.”

Nina says the process of applying is simple and although under-18s have restrictions on the number of hours they can work, they’re still eligible.

“Once people apply, we bring them in for an interview with our hospitality managers, a very informal chat, and find out what experience they’ve got. The managers will look at each person, take into account their individual skills, and place them within a department on the day where they think they’ll best fit.

“They’ll do online training covering health and safety, which takes about an hour, and we pay them for that. Then we bring them in for a training day and that is paid too. The training takes four hours per person and they can pick their own slot to come in. We give them a tour of the site so they can get to know it and they meet their managers. 

“If they’re waiting on we’ll teach them exactly what they’ll be doing on the day, and if they’re behind the bar we have pumps set up so they’ll pour pints and use tills. Their role won’t change for the three days so we concentrate on showing them everything they need to make sure they’re comfortable with where they are.”

On the actual race days, staff who are over 18 will work from around 8.30am until between 6pm and 7pm.

Everyone will be given a uniform of shirt, tie and apron to wear along with their own black trousers and black shoes, and they’ll get food and drink during the day.

Interviews have already started, and Nina says it’s an amazing opportunity to be part of one of the big highlights of Liverpool’s year.

“The atmosphere is amazing, everyone’s there to have a great time and that’s what it’s all about,” she adds. “It’s just a really good environment and I think if you’ve worked behind a bar at Aintree racecourse on Grand National day you can work behind any bar in the world and be fine!”

Apply here.