At the beginning of Scottish Apprenticeship Week Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, visited Novotel Edinburgh Park Hotel to hear about their apprenticeship scheme.
Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2020, organised by Skills Development Scotland, is being marked 2nd-6th March across Scotland both through social media and events which highlight some of the apprentice schemes available to young people
This year the campaign, which has the theme of ‘Talent Without Limits’, is celebrating the benefits that having diverse, work-based learning opportunities brings to individuals, employers and the economy.
Novotel Edinburgh Park Hotel has had 23 hospitality Modern Apprentices over the past year and currently have 8 in training. On his visit, Mr Balfour was able to meet some of the current apprentices and hear about their experiences of an apprenticeship within the hospitality industry.
The Scottish Conservative MSP said:
“Apprenticeships are an important starting point for young people’s futures and can often get forgotten about or treated like a second choice, this needs to change.
“Through apprenticeships young people are given the opportunity to grow in confidence, develop their skills and learn about a business or trade in a practical way. Schools have a responsibility to show young people that there are a large number of diverse opportunities available to them through apprenticeship schemes.
We do not tend to think about the possibility of apprenticeships in the hospitality industry but my visit to Novotel highlighted to me that these opportunities are available and are proving to be a very positive experience for young people pursuing a career in hospitality.”