RISING hospitality stars who earned a place on a new apprenticeship scheme run by Tennent Caledonian Breweries got down to work last week.
Twenty five talented youngsters from across Scotland’s hospitality industry were selected for a place on TCB’s Modern Apprenticeship Plus (MAP) programme.
Launched in August, it aims to help candidates sharpen their skills and boost their career prospects through a combination of training and mentoring.
The scheme, which is funded and managed by the brewer with support from Skills Development Scotland, sought applications from 16 to 24 year olds working in pubs, hotels and restaurants.
The successful apprentices, chosen from venues in Ayrshire, the Borders, Dumfries, Glasgow and Edinburgh, got started on the 27-day, year-long programme with an induction day at the Tennent’s Training Academy, which included blind tastings, timed cookery challenges and a series of bartending sessions.
The programme is designed to build on the Scottish Government’s standard Modern Apprenticeship framework, covering hospitality, food hygiene, health and safety, customer service and licensing.
The MAP scheme also includes trade visits and the opportunity to work with leading industry figures, both within TCB and partner businesses.
Tennent’s managing director John Gilligan said the new initiative underlines the brewer’s “ongoing commitment to building a strong and dynamic hospitality industry for Scotland”.
“We’re really pleased to be in a position to help these young Scots to further their careers as they are the future of our industry and business,” he said.
“The Scottish hospitality sector is packed with ambitious young people and our 25 apprentices are proof of this.
“Having been an apprentice joiner myself back in the day, it will be a pleasure to work closely with them over the year ahead to develop their skills to suit whatever part of our business they’d like to work in.”
Mark Williams, a 20 year old food and beverage assistant at De Vere Cameron House at Loch Lomond, is one of the 25 apprentices.
“After I applied for MAP I went online to search for similar programmes and could not find a single one that offered the content of MAP or the funding,” he said.
Image – Tennent’s boss John Gilligan (centre) with the young hospitality apprentices.
