Warning!

Employers must exercise caution and thoroughly verify a candidate's credentials before hiring anyone. Certain placement agencies have been sending candidates to their clients, falsely claiming that these candidates received training from our esteemed Academy when they have not.

Equally significant, prospective Students should exercise utmost diligence by meticulously researching their options before investing their hard-earned money. It is vital not to be swayed by flashy websites and vast social media exposure. The amount of deception and misinformation in this beautiful profession is alarmingly high.

Regrettably, we are compelled to inform the public about certain unpleasant matters. There are "trained butlers" who face difficulty securing jobs. They spent a vast amount of money on a subpar butler training program, hoping it would create job opportunities for them. Sadly, they are mistaken. They did not receive quality training and are not getting proper support. Even if they would find employment on their own, their tenure is often short-lived, lasting only a few weeks, or at best, a few months, before being dismissed.

Over the past 10 to 15 years, there has been an overwhelming surge in new butler schools, founded mainly by individuals and their compadres, who had never worked in private service before and are driven solely by monetary motives. Their aim seems to be replicating the remarkable success and growth of The International Butler Academy, not through hard work and delivering superior education, but rather by deceiving prospective students, lying to potential employers, and stealing training information from our academy.

No, our warning is not driven by envy or a desire for more business. The International Butler Academy is doing very well, thank you very much. However, when an entire class of butler graduates from a nearby school visit us and beg our assistance in pursuing legal action against the same institution they recently graduated from, it prompts us to contemplate taking action.

One butler school owner worked for so many employers that his age must be over 200. Another butler school owner claims his school's legitimacy is based on its supposed founding in the nineteenth century simply because his grandfather worked as a waiter. Yet another butler school owner, a simple-minded electrician, claims 30 years of butling experience where there is none. One butler school owner is a tour guide on a holiday bus. Upon questioning his past, he summarizes his 20 years of experience as a tour guide as "practically the same work as that of a butler." There are many more.

In the past many of these individuals applied for a job through our recruitment division, sending us their CVs containing zero butling experience. We declined to work with them. Now they run a school for butlers, and suddenly their website details twenty or thirty years of butler employment where there was none before. 

Dear reader, we implore you to conduct thorough research, delving deep into the background and credibility of any school you might be considering. Pose questions, and if possible, please visit the school in person to assess its authenticity and quality.

We wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of proper training and education.

The International Butler Academy opened its doors in the year 1999. At that time, there were two schools in the world.

• One was the Starkey Institute for Household Management in Denver, Colorado, USA. They are a reputable school that trains American-style household managers service and household management. It is a high-quality and valuable education. They have a different approach to private service and service standards than us, not good or bad, just different. They have been around now for more than 40 years. Mrs. Starkey recently retired, but the school is going strong.

• The other school was the Ivor Spencer International School for Butlers and the Professional School for Toastmasters. This school opened up in 1981. Mr. Spencer passed away in 2009. The school closed. According to graduates, the training left much to be desired. The training was done in a rundown hotel in London. The program was six weeks, six hours a day, five days per week, and focussed entirely on theory with zero practical training. Students had to find their own room and board. One person, Mr. Donald Weedon, did almost all the training.

In 1999, drawing upon sixteen years as a butler and four years as a private service (recruitment) consultant, Mr. (Prof.) Robert Wennekes (1958) took the bold step of establishing The International Butler Academy. He needed top-quality butlers for clients of his placement agency. Over the years, The International Butler Academy earned a reputation for its exceptional training program and outstanding butlers. Today, Mr. Wennekes has been in the private service profession for over 44 years, and The International Butler Academy is the finest butler school in the world. Simple facts. We invite you to visit us and experience the Academy firsthand. Spend a day with us and discover the excellence that sets us apart.

Our independent Board of Governors is responsible for determining the mission of The International Butler Academy, oversight of its activities and the efficient use of resources, planning the strategic objectives of the school and ensuring its financial health, governing the syllabus, and that the school conforms to legal requirements. The two primary rewards for governors are that they have an enormous sense of achievement when our school does well, and secondly, they extend their range of skills. Our governors come from a range of backgrounds. They are figures in the local community, professionals, and retired people with relevant experience. Several have an educational background and offer independent knowledge acquired over a lifetime in schools.