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Invest in Your Greatest Asset: People

Make the most of the big events in 2014 by focusing on skills.

Date : 25/02/2014

As a small country in a global market the people that work in the tourism sector are on the front line of customer services.

The international events throughout 2014 offer excellent opportunities to showcase Scotland’s assets – the landscape, the history, arts, culture, food and drink and arguably the greatest asset, its people.

Why people matter

To develop your business you need to develop your people. Investing in people can seem like a daunting and costly process, especially when the return may not be immediately apparent. In a 2010 survey, the most commonly reported skills gaps were team working and customer handling.

Tourism skills web portal

In response to those concerns, Skills Development Scotland has developed a new tourism industry hub within the Our Skillsforce website. 

On it you’ll find information on a range of services to support you and your business in training opportunities, funding, as well as advice on recruitment, workforce development and improving management skills. It takes the anxiety out of creating a staff development plan to make sure your business is customer-centric and competitive.

Skills Investment Plan (SIP)

The portal sprang from the Skills Investment Plan. It identifies areas where innovation and continuous development can ensure our customers’ experience of Scotland is a high quality, value for money and memorable.

It lays out the four priorities for the future:

  • Improving management, leadership and enterprise in the sector.

  • Ensuring staff have the skills to deliver a high quality visitor experience.

  • Raising the attractiveness of the sector to new entrants. 

  • Ensuring appropriate and high quality training is available to the sector.

Even if you don’t want to read the whole strategy it’s important to be aware of these key areas of focus so that you know where opportunities are likely to be concentrated.

Whether you need to assess your training requirements for the first time or you’re looking to develop an existing training plan, make the tourism hub your go-to website and maximise your returns from investment in your team.

Further reading

Skills Development Scotland Tourism Hub

Tourism Strategy 

Scottish Enterprise Leadership Essentials resources

UKSP skills websites: 

Hospitality skills and training - Hospitality Guild 

Transport and travel skills - Careers that Move 

Skills Development Scotland

 

Image copyright: Skills Development Scotland