Tourism and hospitality trade toasts £2 million coaching enhance

The Scottish tourism and hospitality sector has celebrated a “real mark of commitment” after receiving £ 2 million in public funding for the free provision of two thousand leading industry grants.

The online training that will roll out starting today has been described as a guide to people whose prospects are badly affected by the pandemic. They also aim to improve workforce skills before the hospitality and tourism sectors re-open once coronavirus restrictions are relaxed.

Funding from the Scottish Government was secured through the joint efforts of the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) and HIT Scotland, a charity that supports young talent through its prestigious scholarship program.

Applications for the new tourism and hospitality development program came from a number of travel and hotel companies across Scotland. The seats are taken by many people who have been laid off or are still on vacation. Part of the program will equip people with the skills now needed in response to changes expected in tourism and the hospitality industry due to the pandemic.

A total of 80 cohorts with 25 people from 600 tourism companies will start the courses tomorrow at 9 a.m. Organizers say this will be the largest virtual training course ever held in Scotland and state that it underscores the “passion for learning and development” that continues to burn despite the devastation caused by Covid-19.

Marc Crothall, executive director of the STA, said the idea came from the work of the Tourism Task Force, which gave a number of recommendations to Scottish Ministers and the UK Government on how to help the tourism and hospitality sector get away from the coronavirus Pandemic recover.

An important consideration has been “to protect our emerging talent, not to lose it and keep it occupied while we are in a period of closure,” he said.

Funding was initially secured for 950 places. However, the demand was so overwhelming that STA and HIT Scotland turned to Skills Development Scotland to ensure they could accommodate all 2,000 applications. The organizations were keen to avoid dealing a blow to people who had already lost their jobs or were in danger of doing so.

Mr. Crothall told The Herald, “We didn’t want the mental health effects to be felt. But there is also a tremendous opportunity to educate and develop yourself [people]. We went back to Skills Development Scotland and the funds came up very quickly and the trainers were able to put the additional training together to deliver at the same time.

“Two thousand people … I think it’s the largest online executive education program ever held. It’s fantastic news [and] It’s really positive for the industry. It’s a real sign of the industry’s commitment to learning and developing. ”

Mr. Crothall said the fact that many companies have encouraged employees who are currently on vacation to apply is a “demonstration that companies care about their teams”.

“And it’s not just hospitality,” he said. “We were very sure it had to be about the breadth of the sector, so people come from visitor attractions, outdoor adventure environments, travel destinations, travel agents, and the more traditional hotels.”

The courses are offered by HIT (Scotland) with training provided at the supervisor, management and executive level of the scholarship program. In 27 years, the charity has awarded more than 3,000 scholarships; Another 2,000 will be shipped over the next 10 weeks. David Cochrane, Managing Director of HIT (Scotland) said: “The Talent Development Program is the largest mobilization of online learning of its kind ever seen in Scotland.

“The fact that 2,000 industry leaders, managers and supervisors across Scotland have attended shows that there is a burning desire for continued professional development.

“The collaboration to bring this inspiring program to the industry has been immense and the expected transformation results will give our employees the skills and mental resilience to take the first steps and positively support the recovery when it comes to it.”

Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said: “It has been a tough year for everyone, but this is a really positive opportunity for tourism and hospitality workers to refresh themselves and learn new skills in a safe way.”