David Cochrane, CEO of HIT Scotland, announced at last week’s tourism industry conference that, following the success of last year’s Tourism and Hospitality Talent Development Programme (THTDP), it has been funded for a second year.
The Scottish Government funded programme was launched in January 2021 to combat the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality & tourism industries. 700 tourism and hospitality businesses took part in the virtual training course with 78% agreeing that it has improved their career prospects.
The programme, run jointly by Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland and the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), was designed to support and develop talent at leadership, management, and supervisory levels. The first round of the programme received over 2000 applications from employees on furloughed leave or experiencing redundancy.
David Cochrane MBE, Chief Executive, HIT Scotland, commented, “We are absolutely delighted that the Talent Development Programme has been renewed for phase two. The huge success of the first showed the desire for those in the hospitality and tourism industries to continue their professional development and help get the sectors back up and running after a difficult two years. We are dedicated to supporting our industry through this inspirational programme and thank our partner organisations for their continuing support in doing so.”
Jane Rennie, Founder & CEO, The Extraordinary Training Company, who designed the programme, added, “I am delighted that the second THTDP is scheduled to run again in early 2022. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that investment in people is key. There are strong links between an upbeat working environment, happy staff, loyal customers and increased footfall. Put simply, the capability and upskilling of all employees has never mattered more.”
Full details of the new version of the programme and how to enter will be released in early this month. Check the HIT Scotland website for updates: hitscotland.co.uk