Big changes afoot for Scottish tourism and hospitality
Scottish tourism and hospitality is in good shape for recovery but faces testing times in the next five years as skills requirements adapt to the economy, says People 1st.
The skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism in Scotland predicts that while more change is inevitable, it is confident of a positive outlook as leading bodies within Scottish travel and hospitality enter a new era of collaboration with employers.
To establish the scale of the challenges businesses face, People 1st and the Scottish Tourism Forum are launching a major employer consultation roadshow throughout Scotland. Employers can hear about the changes taking place within the skills landscape across Scotland and explore how they can capitalise on the new opportunities created by these changes. The events will take place in:
Dundee Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Inverness Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Glasgow Thursday, 13 August 2009
Edinburgh Friday, 14 August 2009
David Allen, head of Scotland for People 1st said: “The hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industry in Scotland is going through many changes and it’s vital that collectively we secure the long term sustainability of skills development for the industry. We want to engage more widely with businesses large and small and encourage more employers to become actively involved in shaping and developing the skills needed and take ownership for the skills challenges that lie ahead.â€
“In turn, we will provide a strong voice for the industry to the Scottish Government and other decision-makers, and provide authoritative industry intelligence on the labour and skills market.â€
Iain Herbert, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Forum added:
‘The most important asset that the tourism & hospitality sector has are its employees. Developing and retaining the workforce in our sector is not just a good thing to do, it’s vital; coupled with high calibre leadership development it provides real, measureable, commercial advantage for the future. Future success will come through clearly articulated needs from industry on skills development and we support People 1st in its key partnership role.’
In its recent report ‘ State of the Nation 2009’, People 1st found that despite the recession, the travel and hospitality industry in Scotland has seen a steady seven per cent growth since 2003/4 and envisages the creation of a further 14,800 jobs between 2007 and 2017 including 4,300 managers and 6,700 support staff. It currently employs 201,290 workers, 10 per cent of the UK’s hospitality and travel workforce. The report concludes that while, along with the rest of the economy, trading will be tough in the short term, in the long term the sector is still predicted to grow and remain an important contributor to the Scottish economy.
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