To mark Scottish Apprenticeship Week last month the Cobbs hospitality group joined forces with rewilding project, Highlands Rewilding to introduce an optional environmental tip for visitors to help fund the next generation of nature apprentices.
Visitors to the group’s six hotels and seven holiday homes along the Great Glen Way, running from Fort William to Inverness, will be invited to add a £2 discretionary payment to their stay, with the funds going directly to neighbouring Highlands Rewilding’s Bunloit Estate.
The money raised will allow the Highlands Rewilding team to employ a steady stream of rural apprenticeships to support the estate’s 22 local staff members to develop rural skills as they take their nature recovery work to scale.
Drumnadrochit-based, the Cobbs Group employs 440 people across its businesses and supports two trainee tourism ambassadors, though they are looking to expand the number of trainees they support each year.
Fraser Campbell, founder and managing director of the Cobbs Group, said, “We’re delighted to partner with Highlands Rewilding to support their environmental efforts and encourage others to do the same, all while developing much-needed local rural skills. We already support several apprentices each year, so the idea of helping a local project that’s helping future proof our environment and young local people is a win-win.
“We live in an amazing part of the country with wide open spaces. We want to do what we can to help, protect and restore biodiversity and tackle climate change. This new partnership provides a great platform for our group to play their part in supporting the future of our local community.”
Fraser continued, “Our visitors want to know that their money is being fed back into the local economy. This is a tangible way for us and our guests to help future proof our wonderful surroundings.”