Rising stars in hospitality industry
Hotel staff, chefs, students and other hospitality workers all gathered in Glasgow's Old Fruitmarket earlier this week to find out whether they were worthy of winning a scholarship for their talents in the hospitality industry.
The annual Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland Emerging Talent Conference awards scholarships to local and international locations to improve standards in Scotland's £4.2 billion hospitality industry.
A record 200 HIT Scotland scholarships were given out to people from 80 organisations. The fully paid for scholarships are designed to help improve standards in the one in ten Scottish workers employed in the tourism, leisure, travel and the hospitality industry.
Work placements are with some of the UK's best companies, including those owned by Gordon Ramsay. Other placements are with whisky experts, high profile event organisers and other experts in their field. Some Scholars also spend time in the Jumeriah group's six and seven star resorts in Dubai.
HIT Scotland recently donated a £100,000 bursary to colleges and universities to help young Scots struggling to pay for essential equipment or suffering financial hardship.
In addition, the scholarships take people to learning institutes across the world. These include the Ecole du Hotelier in Lausanne, Europe's finest hospitality school, and to Florida to attend the Disney Institute.
According to David Cochrane, chief executive of HIT Scotland, raising standards is important for Scotland's economy: "Scotland has unique beauty and heritage. But if visitors leave with a negative perception because of poor service then it damages our reputation forever. The scholarship scheme is an industry led initiative to tackle this head on. Only by raising standards can the long term benefit of marketing campaigns, such as Homecoming 2009, be realised."
The scholarship scheme costs the charitable organisation around £250,000. It is estimated to be worth nearly £1 million in terms of training, staff retention and future income.
Words: Maria Bracken
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