West Lothian College students to benefit from new fund disbursement

Nov 26 2009 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

STUDENTS at West Lothian College could be set to benefit from a new fund.

The county college is amongst a group of higher education institutions which are in line to receive access to a £100,000 bursary fund from the Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland.

Catering students at West Lothian College have access to a new bursary scholarships programme to reward promising students plus an annual hardship fund, which has helped nearly 10,000 students over the past 16 years.

The bursary scholarships have been introduced to broaden the horizons of Scottish students.

And 30 places across Scotland are available at a bespoke course created by and delivered for HIT Scotland in Europe’s best hospitality school, the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland.

All travel costs and course fees will be covered.

The three-day course will introduce students to advanced customer care and professional development.

As well as lectures and workshops the course includes trips to vineyards, world class hotels and training on protocol to deal with diplomatic and VIP visits.

Rather than prepare students who are about to apply for work, lecturers will select penultimate year students for the course.

They will be expected to present to other students on their return and pass on what they have learnt. Two lecturers from participating colleges and universities will accompany the visit giving them an opportunity to experience teaching in an international environment.

The emergency hardship fund will be administered through course leaders and HIT Scotland.

Student applications will be assessed individually to maximise the level of support the fund can provide.

David Cochrane, Chief Executive of HIT Scotland, said: “The bursary fund was created to provide a platform for the industry to help colleges and university students progress into the professional.

“All the money raised come from the industry directly.

“The hardship fund helps keep students in higher education when they otherwise would have to leave. “The bursary scholars will take their experience back to colleagues to raise the standards and aspirations of entrants into the hospitality industry.”

*HIT Scotland are also seeking applications for their annual scholarship scheme for people working in the industry.

Visit www.hitscotland.org for more information.