Tourism and Hospitality Talent Development Programme

2021 Happy Scholars

700 businesses from all over Scotland took part in the THTDP in 2021, from a wide range of sectors within the tourism and hospitality industry, from hotels and restaurants, to visitor attractions and the travel trade. We caught up with the team from The Scotch Whisky Experience to find out their thoughts on the programme.

Angela Dineen, Operations Director

“The HIT programme came at the perfect time for our team, after a lengthy period on furlough they all agreed that the course got them back in the frame of mind for returning to work and they felt motivated and engaged with our business again.  The unanimous feedback from all participants was how useful it was to meet with their peers from other businesses and discuss common issues.  Our team returned to work full of great ideas and suggestions for how we could do things differently which was much needed as we adapted to the post COVID environment.”

Claire Crerand , Visitor Experience Manager

“I really think the tourism and hospitality talent development programme was a brilliant course, especially during a lockdown. The course gave me the confidence to go back to work - having been off for several months due to the pandemic - armed with new and refreshed skills, and reinforced management strategies, that enabled me to excel in my role. At a time when we are still not fully recovered from the effects of the pandemic, being able to use your staff to their full potential, using coaching skills and understanding the ‘zones of change’ learned in the course, allowed me to become a leader for my team and to help them excel in their jobs. I genuinely feel the course has made me a better, more confident and engaged member of the management team, helped me to build a culture of trust with my staff and to help build their resilience and well-being at a time when it has never been more important. My coaching conversations are now more focused to help develop the team and a culture of feedback means we can constantly do better and bring in changes that will make our business more resilient. Our trainer, Zoe, was also brilliant at facilitating not only the training, but the conversations and advice from other members of the course. It was extremely valuable to be part of such a diverse group within an industry and to get feedback and ideas from your peers. Would thoroughly recommend this course to anyone hoping to gain or expand not only knowledge, but also practical advice and experience from a great group of people.”

Elsa Hare, Visitor Experience Manager

“The THTDP Management course was really valuable for me. It gave me a focus during lockdown and made me excited to get back to work with my team. It gave me confidence in the skills I already had as a manager, while still giving me areas to work on and develop. I’ve kept what I learnt from this course with me over the last 6 months and have made a real conscious effort to inject it into how I manage my team daily. There have been many useful bits of information from coaching conversations, which have helped me to coach my team through a busy and trying summer, to understanding the ‘Golden Circle’ of a business and the importance of knowing the ‘why’ at the centre of it all. Ultimately, I feel that the course has helped me become a more compassionate manager and given me the understanding of how to help my team progress and develop, even if this involves difficult conversations, which previously I would have been uncomfortable having. As my trainer Margaret said a few times over the 10 weeks we were together, ‘nothing grows in the comfort zone!’”

Liam Parr –Whisky Advisor and Restaurant Team Lead

“I so enjoyed my HIT Scotland training, the timing of which was perfect, giving me purpose, motivation, focus and structure during the worries and uncertainties of lockdown. For this alone, I cannot thank you enough. The course was excellent and perfectly balanced.”

Phil Lister – Restaurant Manager

“What an absolutely amazing experience, both on a personal and professional level. The opportunity to meet like-minded people from similar hospitality backgrounds was priceless. The simple exercise of sharing our stories, journeys and experiences, gave me added drive, energy and determination to hit the ground running on my return to work - something which I have done with gusto, testing new ideas and business practices.”

Find out more about the programme for 2022 and how to apply here