Tourism industry training programme becomes biggest mobilisation of online learning in Scotland

A new online training programme launching today to support and develop talent within Scotland’s crisis hit tourism and hospitality industries has been given a funding boost after receiving applications from thousands of employees currently on furloughed leave or experiencing redundancy.

The Tourism and Hospitality Talent Development Programme, which will be delivered by the Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland and the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) received 2000 applications for 950 places, putting the organisations in the difficult position of having to turn away more than a thousand applicants at a time when the industry is experiencing a significant mental health crisis and widespread unemployment.

Applications closed on 5th February at midnight; the Steering Group had proactively engaged Skills Development Scotland and by the closing date, the funds had been secured through the Scottish Government’s National Transition Training Fund to extend the number of places to enable every applicant to join the programme.

The transformational programme is one of the key recommendations of the Tourism Task Force which provided independent recommendations for Scottish Ministers and the UK Government on the essential actions to support tourism and hospitality recovery in Scotland, and will give the future leaders of Scotland’s tourism industry the skills, knowledge and networks to make an impact when the sector moves into recovery.

In its 27 years of providing industry training and development, HIT (Scotland) has awarded over 3000 inspirational scholarships; the next 10 weeks will see the organisation deliver a further 2000 through the Supervisor, Management and Leadership streams of the programme.

80 cohorts of 25 people from 600 tourism businesses will log on at 9am tomorrow, making the programme the largest virtual training course ever to take place in Scotland.

Quotes:

Fergus Ewing, Tourism Secretary said:
“It’s been a tough year for all but this is a really positive opportunity for tourism and hospitality staff to refresh and learn new skills in a safe way.

This is the biggest mobilisation of this type of course for tourism and hospitality staff ever seen in Scotland, with HIT receiving international requests for advice on similar activity. I’m pleased to see such an enthusiasm for enrolment and in light of demand, hopefully we can see more schemes launched in the future. This is one of the first key recommendations of the Scottish Tourism Recovery Taskforce and it is really good news to see it having such an impact already.”

David Cochrane MBE, Chief Executive of HIT Scotland said:
"The Talent Development Programme is the biggest mobilisation of online learning of this type, ever seen in Scotland. The fact that 2000 industry leaders, managers and supervisors across Scotland have stepped up to participate, demonstrates that there is a burning desire for continuous professional development. The collaboration to bring this inspirational programme to the industry has been immense and the transformational outcomes expected will give our people the skills and mental resilience to hit the ground running and positively support the recovery when it comes."

Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the STA said:

“Scotland’s tourism industry has been gradually decimated by the impact of the pandemic and morale is at an all time low, however the volume of applications is testament to the passion for learning and development within our industry and the desire within Scotland’s tourism workforce to remain within the sector.  Life has changed so much from everything we knew, our ‘new world’ will look entirely different, as will Scotland’s tourism product and the way that people choose to experience our vast and varied assets. There is one constant – our people; very few of them are doing what they should be doing and what they love to do right now but the demand for places on the programme from people within every sector of our tourism industry demonstrates that they are ready to embrace the opportunity to rebuild together.”

Gordon McGuiness – Director, Industry and Enterprise at Skills Development Scotland said:

“The Scottish Tourism Taskforce identified skills development as a priority to support sector recovery and the industry responded at pace to create this innovative online programme for developing the supervisory, management and leadership skills of rising stars across the sector in Scotland.

“SDS will continue listening to tourism businesses so we can identify the support needed to help them recover from the effects of the pandemic.

“This is in addition to the broader range of support available to businesses, such as the Flexible Workforce Development Fund and the Apprenticeship Employer Grant, which aims to help employers emerge strongly from this crisis.”