Scotland’s Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, Mairi Gougeon, was at Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus on Monday (10/09/18) to observe Stirling and Clackmannanshire secondary school pupils take part in an innovative Hospitality, Food and Tourism Takeover Day.
More than 180 high school pupils from ten schools attended the event organised by Springboard UK, who arranged for several different workshops on the day for groups of 18 children to get a feel for the hospitality industry.
FVC’s Vice Principal Learning and Teaching Fiona Brown welcomed the Minister to the Campus and FVC’s Hospitality Business Development Manager Craig Anderson officially set the scene for the purpose of the activities and workshops, which were aimed at encouraging secondary school pupils to consider thinking about a career in the industry.
The day engaged industry partners, such as Historic Environment Scotland, Cromlix Hotel, Caledonian Produce, Forth Valley College, as well as representation from the events sector and local tourist attractions and smaller businesses (such private Chef Mark Heirs), to host these workshops. Over the course of the day, pupils experienced how it feels to be both a guest and a hospitality professional and were very hands-on during the event taking part in a series of skills challenges – including an Omelette Challenge.
FVC’s Vice Principal Learning and Quality Fiona Brown, said: “We are delighted that the Minister could come along to see at first hand, how these experiences can inspire our future hospitality professionals. This is always a fantastic event to help give secondary school pupils a taste of what the hospitality industry has to offer and we were delighted to host it once again at our Stirling Campus, which offers state-of-the-art facilities in relation to this sector.
“We are passionate about events like these and we will be looking to hold similar events in the future to allow pupils to sample these excellent experiences of the hospitality industry.”
Vicki Sutherland, Head of East Region – Springboard Scotland, said: “Springboard Takeover Days are proving to be a fantastic way to raise the profile of an exciting and varied industry with real job prospects. These events bring together future potential recruits with industry employers. Events like these also draw pupils’ attention to the many local opportunities that exist in the sector.”
Jen Henderson, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Forth Valley, Programme Manager, said: “This is the fourth time the Hospitality, Food and Tourism Takeover Day has run in partnership with Forth Valley College and Springboard. It continues to be an excellent opportunity for young people to gain an insight into a diverse range of career opportunities that they may not have previously been aware of and to begin to develop the skills they need in order to succeed within the sector. For those who are inspired, there are also various opportunities for further insights into the sector with DYW partners from Forth Valley College and business partners from across Forth Valley.”
