Hospitality employers across the region continue to face recruitment and skills shortages. At the same time, many young people have limited awareness of the breadth of careers available within the sector and often lack opportunities to engage directly with industry professionals.
The Hospitality Skills Project aims to raise awareness of hospitality careers, develop employability skills, and provide meaningful industry experiences that help young people make informed decisions about their future education and career pathways.
Hospitality Takeover Day - Old Course Hotel, St Andrews
As part of the Hospitality Skills Project Schools Intervention Programme, Fife College partnered with Ryan Hepburn from Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) North East Fife to provide young people with an opportunity to explore careers in hospitality through practical training and employer engagement.
A total of 66 senior phase pupils from Bell Baxter High School, Madras College, and The Waid Academy took part in an interactive Hospitality Takeover Day at the Old Course Hotel, St Andrews.
The event was designed to be engaging and hands-on, giving pupils the opportunity to meet hospitality professionals, learn about career pathways within the industry, and participate in practical workshops such as food and beverage service, and mocktail making, as well as gain insight into other roles within the hotels setting.
Through direct interaction with employers and staff from different departments, pupils gained valuable insight into the diverse range of roles available across the hospitality sector and the skills required to succeed.
The initiative also strengthened relationships between schools, employers, and Fife College, creating new opportunities for future collaboration and helping to build a stronger talent pipeline for the region's hospitality sector.
An additional 50 pupils completed a combination of industry-recognised customer service training delivered by Raeburn Training and NUCO Food Hygiene training.
The training helped participants develop key employability skills, including communication, teamwork, organisation, and customer service. Pupils gained an understanding of professional customer interactions, complaint handling, and the standards required to deliver high-quality service.
"The Customer Service training was really useful for our future careers. The practical activities and role play made it engaging and helped us understand real scenarios. The instructor was funny, kept us engaged, and used real-life examples that made the learning easy to relate to."
"Overall, we felt that the day was beneficial as it gave the kids an insight into what is available within St Andrews in regard to opportunities within different areas of hospitality."
“The food hygiene course will be useful in the real world”
By providing meaningful engagement with employers and practical industry experience, the Hospitality Skills Project is helping young people to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to pursue careers within hospitality.
The project has increased awareness of career opportunities within the sector, strengthened partnerships between education and industry, and contributed to building a future talent pipeline for hospitality employers across Fife.
