Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus hosted an innovative Hospitality and Tourism Takeover day for Stirling and Clackmannanshire school pupils on Monday 11 September.
Principal Dr Ken Thomson welcomed everyone on the day including Fiona Hyslop Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs guest speakers Gary McLean, Masterchef The professionals winner 2017 and Fergus Wood from Great Time Scotland. Dr Thomson, Gary McLean and Fergus Wood officially set the scene for the purpose of the activities and workshops, which were aimed at encouraging S2 and S3 secondary school pupils to consider thinking about a career in the industry.
Organisers Springboard UK, arranged for nine different workshops on the day for groups of 20 children from the local high schools to get a feel for the hospitality industry.
The day engages industry partners, such as Gather and Gather, Historic Environment Scotland, Gleneagles Hotel and The Highland Hotel, Forth Valley College, as well as representation from the events sector and local tourist attractions and smaller businesses, to host these workshops. Over the course of the day pupils experience how it feels to be both a guest and a hospitality professional and are very hands-on during the event taking part in a series of skills challenges.
FVC Principal Dr Ken Thomson, said: “This was a fantastic event to help give early secondary school pupils a taste of what the hospitality industry has to offer and we were delighted to host it at our Stirling Campus, which offers state-of-the-art facilities in relation to this sector.
“We are passionate about events like these and the feedback we have already received has shown this to have been a successful event and we will be looking to hold similar events in the future to allow pupils to sample these excellent experiences of the hospitality industry.”
Jen Henderson, Programme Manager, from Developing the Young Workforce Forth Valley, said: “We are delighted to be involved in offering young people in Forth Valley the opportunity to have an insight into a wide range of careers in the hospitality and tourism industry. It was great to see them engage directly with employers and industry experts to hear more about the opportunities available and the routes into a career in this sector.”
Vicki Sutherland, Operations Manager at Springboard, said: “Pupils were very hands-on during the event taking part in a series of skills challenges including: practical cookery; leisure services, customer service, ‘mocktail’ making and nutrition to name but a few.
“The event did not only showcase the industry at its very best but was also linked directly to Curriculum for Excellence and in particular the Developing the Young Workforce, agenda which exists to bring together education and industry. It was a fantastic chance for us to demonstrate the breadth of opportunities the hospitality industry has to offer in Scotland.”
Stirling Council’s Education Vice-Convenor Margaret Brisley said: “It’s been a fantastic day and it’s great to see pupils from all seven of our secondary schools being given a chance to get a real feel for the hospitality and tourism industry. Events like this are crucial in giving our young people as many opportunities as possible to choose their future careers and move on to positive destinations in later life.”
Clackmannanshire Council’s Education Spokesperson Cllr Graham Lindsay said: “I’d like to thank Forth Valley College for offering this opportunity to Clackmannanshire school pupils. These valuable opportunities help to raise young people’s aspirations and widen their knowledge of specific industries.”
