The HIT Talent Conference took place last month at the Voco Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow, with 414 scholarships awarded.
These included the first Graeme Gibson Scholarship which rewarded a rising star working in management in the Greater Glasgow area with four executive coaching sessions to work on their personal and career development, in addition to their scholarship award.
This year’s winner was Graeme Walker, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Clayton Hotel Glasgow City.
The scholarship is in honour of the late Graeme Gibson, who worked in many of Scotland’s top establishments, latterly The Grand Central Hotel, Glynhill Hotel, and then Yotel Glasgow.
Natalaigh Taylor, Marketing Manager at Trump Turnberry, was the beneficiary of the Chris Rouse Scholarship, awarded in memory of the former GM of the Turnberry Hotel who was known for developing the highest standards for his guests and inspiring the best from his team. It is an annual award to someone working in the Ayrshire area, who shows the same enthusiasm for their career as he did.
HIT’s latest Andrew Fairlie Scholar was named late last year. He is Eddie Brown, Sous Chef at The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle in Dornoch. Eddie will gain industrywide recognition as an Andrew Fairlie Scholar and experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, such as a practical stage in an international kitchen and at Michelin-starred restaurants Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles and Core by Clare Smyth in London.
HIT’s scholarship programme is open to anyone in Scotland working in the industry or studying towards a career in hospitality. Scholarships offer learning experiences to help develop new skills, knowledge, best practice and fresh thinking. They focus on business, operational and inspirational empowerment and are tailored to an individual’s aspirations.