Operational Empowerment Scholarships
These scholarships help enhance and grow key skills for your role.
Before applying, make sure you have read the application guidance document (here). Please take note of what we ask you below to “tell us” in your application.
Please note - if you apply for a scholarship but don’t meet the criteria for it, you won’t be offered the chance of a different scholarship.
You can only apply for one scholarship.
Please make sure you have gained approval from a senior manager for your application.
All scholarship content specifics are subject to change. Any changes will be in keeping with the feel of the original scholarship idea.
Scholarships in this section:
Understanding Revenue / Driving F&B Profitability / Sales
Chef Craft Skills / Hub Pastry Masterclass
Drinks / Whisky Appreciation / Hub Cocktail Masterclass
Sustainability / Spa Success / AI Prompting Masterclass
Understanding Revenue
What: The importance of revenue management within hotels.
What you will learn: This is a foundation course in hotel revenue management, to give you an overview of the key elements, broken into 4 sessions. Session 1 covers the basic principles of how revenue management works within hotels (key performance indicators, benchmarking and customer segmentation). Session 2 looks at how to create an effective pricing strategy. Session 3 is about understanding and effectively managing your hotels distribution channels. And session 4 is about the importance of forecasting.
Who this is suitable for / criteria: Lots of different roles! Understanding revenue is important for many roles within hospitality. Suitable for anyone with aspirations to be an Operations or General Manager some day and hasn’t had any revenue management training. Reception personnel looking to move into a revenue position. Sales Managers looking to increase revenue knowledge to align with their sales strategies. If you already work in revenue then this is not for you. This is specific to hotels.
Where: Venue in Scotland TBC
How long: 2 days (if you are not within travelling distance we organise an overnight stay in a local hotel).
When: 2025 dates TBC.
Structure: Classroom based with some interactive sessions. This course will only be for the HIT group. This course has been created for HIT Scotland by Sarah Thompson of Octopus Revenue, an expert in hotel revenue management with over 20 years experience in the hospitality sector.
Number of scholarships: Maximum of 12, in one group.
Tell us: In your application, tell us why and how this will help your career and your business. Tell us what revenue experience you have (if any, we don’t expect you to have any for this course), what your current role involves, and your career aspirations.
Note - if there is something different within revenue that you want to focus on, please apply for a Bespoke scholarship and detail what you are looking for. Octopus Revenue have other training courses that may be more suited to you.
Driving Food & Beverage Profitability
What: The importance of controls to effectively manage the kitchen.
What you will learn: This course will cover the financial aspects of running a kitchen, including areas such as food cost, stock control, and menu engineering. You will learn how to implement, manage, and measure controls in order to drive the performance of the department.
Who this is suitable for / criteria: For those who are looking to take a step into management (or hope to in the future), so require some financial knowledge to give them an understanding of how costs and pricing affects the business. Suitable for F&B Supervisory level and upwards, and also for Chefs.
Where: Venue in Scotland TBC
How long: 1 day (if you are not within travelling distance we organise an overnight stay in a local hotel).
When: 2025 dates TBC.
Structure: Classroom based with some interactive sessions. This course will only be for the HIT group. This course has been created for HIT Scotland by Sarah Thompson of Octopus Revenue, an expert in hotel revenue management with over 20 years experience in the hospitality sector.
Number of scholarships: Maximum of 12, in one group.
Tell us: In your application, tell us why and how this will help your career and your business. Tell us what financial knowledge and experience you have (if any, we don’t expect you to have any for this course), what your current role involves, and your career aspirations.
Sales
What: Sales skills and understanding
What you will learn: This scholarship covers all areas of the sales process. It will look at exploring leads and effective communication, the importance of listening and body language, and how to present a solution. It will cover buyer types, the power of referrals, and influencing. You will learn how to negotiate, and gain skills in upselling. You will come away with a formula to win new business and retain existing clients.
Who this is suitable for / criteria: Suitable for anyone in a front facing role dealing with customers, which involves an element of selling. This course is for those who have no formal sales skills training and would like tips to help them be more useful in encouraging sales for the business. You must be able to put into practice the skills you have learned.
Where: Venue in Scotland, location TBC
How long: 2 day course (if you are not within travelling distance we organise an overnight stay in a local hotel).
When: 2025 Dates TBC
Structure: Classroom learning plus interactive exercises to try out the skills being taught. This course is only for the HIT group.
Number of scholarships: Maximum of 12, in one group.
Tell us: In your application tell us about your role and what your job involves. Tell us why you believe this scholarship will help you and your business.
Chef Craft Skills
What: Experiences for chefs to learn something new by working with others.
What you will learn: You tell us what you need to learn or experience to develop as a chef, and we will find somewhere to place you. It may be a certain area of the kitchen where you need to gain more skills, or a certain style or type of cooking. Perhaps it’s using a specific ingredient where you need new knowledge (eg fish or game), or you want to see how a fine dining restaurant works.
Who this is suitable for / criteria: Working chefs at any level in their career, looking to gain additional skills and experience. The experience you want must be useful to your current role or career development.
Where: Venues in the UK TBC (travel and accommodation are taken care of by HIT).
How long: Varies depending on the opportunity, usually 3-5 days long, including travel.
When: Dates to suit your work diary, during 2025.
Structure: Usually this involves you visiting a different restaurant for a stage, to work with their chefs and see how they prepare and present meals. This is for you only. This is very hands on as you are working in their kitchen, while learning from this.
Number of scholarships: Varies.
Tell us: In your application, tell us about your current role as a chef, what your passions are in the kitchen, your career ambitions and which chefs you look to for inspiration. Tell us exactly what you would like to learn more about, or experience, and any ideas about how that would look. The more information you give us the better.
Hub Pastry Masterclass
What: Learn some foundation skills in pastry.
What you will learn: When you master the basic building blocks of pastry and desserts, there is no limit to the creations you can design. You will learn some fundamentals and look at recipe design.
Who this is suitable for / criteria: Suitable for chefs without experience in pastry, looking to develop some useable skills in this area. Must be working in a professional kitchen, and be able to put into practice what you have learned. Not suitable for students, unless they are also working in a professional kitchen.
Where: Venue in Scotland TBC
How long: 2 day course with overnight stay, plus travelling time (if you are not within travelling distance we will also organise an overnight stay for the night before in a local hotel).
When: 2025 Dates TBC
Structure: 2 days of practical experience in a kitchen environment, this small group will be able to try out new skills. This course has been created by experienced pastry chefs Lauren ans Zoltan from Hub International for HIT Scotalnd, is only for the HIT group.
Number of scholarships: 6 (1 group)
Tell us: In your application, tell us why you are interested in learning about pastry, what your current experience is in this area, and how you plan to use the new skills at work. Tell us how long you have been a chef, and how long in your current role.
Thanks to HUB International for their support of this scholarship. Learn more about Hub at their website here.
Note - if you are already a pastry chef looking to learn more in pastry, apply for the Chef Craft Skills.
Drinks
What: New skills or product knowledge for the licensed trade.
What you will learn: You tell us what skills you want to learn, or which product you want to learn more about - tell us the one area you are most keen to learn about (the scholarship is likely to just be one area). This could be a place on a course where you learn about cocktail mixology, or wine appreciation, or whisky. Or you may want to experience service in a certain type of specialist bar. What do you want to learn or experience in the drinks category?
Who this is suitable for / criteria: Suitable for anyone working in the licensed trade, involved in serving and recommending drinks to customers, looking for the opportunity to learn new skills or gain expert product knowledge in a key area. You must be working in a role where you can put the skills into practice. Over 18s only.
Where: Location dependent on what you want to learn.
How long: Usually 2 to 3 days, sometimes split over different months (if you are not within travelling distance we organise an overnight stay in a local hotel).
When: 2025 dates to suit.
Structure: Depends on the learning opportunity you are looking for. This could be a place on a course learning about a product, or experience working in a luxury venue to help you see best practice and learn new ideas. You tell us what you would like.
Number of scholarships: Varies
Tell us: In your application tell us what your role involves, your passion for the drinks industry, and what kind of drinks training you have already had. Explain what you want to learn about, is it a specific product or skill, and tell us how the new skills you gain will help your role, and the company you work for.
Note - see the whisky and cocktail specific scholarships below before applying for this.
Thanks to the following for their support of this category.
The Maltmen - an organisation promoting charity, education and networking opportunities in the drinks and hospitality industry in Scotland. Find out more about the great work they do at their website .
The BEN (The Scottish Licensed Trade Benevolent Society) - supporting some fantastic learning experiences for those working in the trade through our scholarships. Find out more about the great work they do at their website.
Edinburgh Whisky Academy - supporting places on their whisky and gin courses to encourage product knowledge within our industry. More at their website.
Whisky Appreciation
What: Whisky Appreciation
What you will learn: You will learn how to talk about whisky with confidence, to recommend whisky to customers, and get ideas of how to run your own Whisky Tasting at work.
Who is this suitable for / criteria?: Suitable for anyone working in the licensed trade or involved in serving and recommending drinks to customers, looking for the opportunity to learn new skills or gain expert knowledge about whisky. You must be working in a role where you can put the skills into practice. Over 18s only.
Where: Edinburgh
How long: 2 days to include travel and overnight. 1 day course plus pre-work done in your own time ahead of the in-person day.
When: 2025 dates TBC
Structure: First, in your own time, you will complete the Certificate in Scotch Whisky with Edinburgh Whisky Academy. Across eight modules, this fun and accessible SQA-certified online course will enhance your appreciation of whisky. Working through a series of interactive exercises, videos and pop quizzes, you’ll discover more about the history and business of Scotch before covering the entire production process, from raw materials to distillation, maturation and bottling. You will then take part in a 1 day learning experience, created just for HIT Scotland, at the Scotch Whisky Experience. You will learn how to taste whisky, to understand the flavour, and talk about it to customers. The group will visit the Scotch Whisky Experience to experience how they talk about whisky, and run a tasting, learning how to present with flair! You will get the chance to put your new knowledge into practice with some role play, “selling” whisky to a partner. You will learn about whisky and food matching, to be able to recommend a whisky with a meal. You will start your own whisky storytelling journey, learning what you need to know and prepare to do a tasting session for customers or hotel guests, based on the whisky your business has available.
Number of scholarships: 1 group of 6 (up to a max of 12)
Tell us: In your application tell us what your role involves, your passions for the drinks industry, and what kind of drinks training you have already had. Explain why you are interested in this scholarship, what you plan to do with the new skills you gain and how this will help your role, and the company you work for.
Thanks to Scotch Whisky Experience and Edinburgh Whisky Academy for their expertise
Hub Cocktail Masterclass
What: Cocktail knowledge and service skills.
What you will learn: Professional bartending is an art form and with a combination of knowledge and flair there are endless opportunities for creativity behind the bar. This looks at the principles of flavour and balance, with some showmanship and flair.
Who this is suitable for / criteria: Suitable for those working in the licenced trade, with some basic skills, looking to build on their existing bar skills and develop their creative flair.
Where: Venue in Scotland TBC
How long: 2 day course (may be split into 2 separate days)
When: Dates TBC
Structure: This will be a mixture of teaching and practical sessions learning.
Number of scholarships: 6 (1 group)
Tell us: In your application tell us what your role involves, your passions for the drinks industry, and what kind of drinks training you have already had. Explain why you are interested in this scholarship, and how this will help you in your role.
Thanks to HUB International for their support of this scholarship. Learn more about Hub at their website here.
Sustainability
What: Helping you work towards net zero!
What you will learn: Scottish Government has set a 2045 target for net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases with a reduction of 75% by 2030 and 90% by 2040. To meet those targets, hospitality needs to play its part! This scholarship will help you with advice on taking climate action, helping you transition to a greener, more sustainable future. This learning experience is created bespoke to suit you, so you need to tell us what areas you want to learn about to help your business.
Who this is suitable for / criteria: Anyone currently working in Scottish hospitality with a particular responsibility for implementing sustainable solutions for the business.
Where: Venues in UK
How long: The scholarship will be approx 3-5 days duration
When: 2025 date agreed to suit all parties
Structure: This scholarship will be bespoke to fulfil the scholar’s learning objectives, and will be organised in conjunction with Green Tourism. You will have the opportunity to meet and learn from experts in this area of the industry who can provide you with advice and ideas to improve your sustainability.
Number of scholarships: Up to 3
Tell us: What is your current role, and your interest in this area? What specifically are your learning objectives in the sustainability area? What type of businesses do you want to learn from? How will it help you and your business?
Thanks to Green Tourism for their expertise. Find out more about them at their website here
Spa Success
What: An appreciation for what is required to develop a successful Wellness and Spa department.
What you will learn: This scholarship will give an individual responsible for developing or introducing a spa facility into a venue the knowledge to ensure best practices are instilled at all times, and that maximising revenue is at the forefront of every decision, coupled with a quality experience.
Who this is suitable for / criteria: This is suitable for managers within a resort property or a bespoke spa facility who are looking to develop their business skills within this area.
Where: The scholarship will take place within Scotland and will likely encompass visiting a bespoke property to suit the scholar’s learning outcomes.
How long: The scholarship will be a maximum of 5 days duration (probably spread over time)
When: 2025 dates agreed to suit all parties.
Structure: This scholarship will be bespoke to fulfil the scholar’s learning objectives, and will be organised in conjunction with the Scottish Spa and Wellness Collective. This is likely to involve some sessions where the team talk you through the specifics of how to best run the various business operations of a spa, and a visit to a spa.
Number of scholarships: Up to 2
Tell us: What is your current role? Why do you want to take part in this scholarship? What specifically are your learning objectives in the Spa and Wellness area? How will it help you and your business? What is your interest in this area?
Thanks to the Scottish Spa and Wellness Collective for their support of this scholarship.
AI Prompting Masterclass
What: Learning how to write good prompts (the input to initiate a response) for AI so that you can get the answers you want!
What you will learn: Generative AI models (like ChatGPT) can respond to questions and comments using the vast knowledge they have access to, but the responses are only as good as the questions you ask! This masterclass explains how this works and how to create good prompts. It looks at a variety of ways you can use AI within your business from interviews, to content creation, to customer experience and gives examples.
Who this is suitable for / criteria: Anyone who is keen to use AI to help them at work. If you have never used ChatGPT you will get a lot out of it, and if are using ChatGPT you will improve your prompting skills.
Where: Virtual (online but live)
How long: 2-3 hours
When: 2025 date TBC
Structure: This presentation has been created by AI expert Stephen Whitelaw. He will talk you through the material, explaining and doing live demos. You will be able to ask questions using the chat facility or unmuting yourself.
Number of scholarships: 1 group of 10max
Tell us: Tell us what your current role is. Tell us if and how you already use AI. Why do you want to do this scholarship, and how do you hope this will help you and your business?