DIAGEO HAS launched the Diageo Learning for Life, Scotland – a new £5 million training programme to help prepare young, unemployed people with the skills to succeed in the hospitality industry.
The five year investment programme will provide technical training as well as work based experiences to help kick-start exciting career opportunities for young people. Participants will also benefit from advice in areas such as interview preparation, teamwork, and communication.
The first phase of the programme will focus on bartending and hospitality and will then expand activity to embrace retail, manufacturing and entrepreneurship.
At least 200 newly trained graduates will be offered work experience placements in roles linked with the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
The programme is being led by Director of Diego, Peter Lederer CBE, who has worked in the hospitality industry for over 30 years.
Learning for Life is a long- term global commitment by Diageo as part of its sustainability and responsibility strategy and was first introduced in 2008 in Latin America.
Scotland is the first European country to launch the £5m programme with plans to roll it out across all markets around the world.
Diageo is backing the programme with input from key industry partners which include Skills Development Scotland (SDS), members of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association as well as from specialist training providers such as charity Springboard UK.
Damien Yeates, Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland said: “Diageo’s new Learning for Life programme is exactly the type of support Scotland’s young people need, it’s not just about giving someone a job.”
The £5m programme is a legacy of Diageo’s £1bn Scotch whisky expansion to increase the company’s distilling and warehousing capacity in Scotland which was announced in 2012.
