BALMORAL Castle & Estate opened its doors to all Aberdeenshire pupils in December during a two-day event created to showcase job opportunities in the hospitality sector and to highlight the career paths available.
‘The Balmoral Hospitality Event’ was spearheaded by Sylvia Halkerston, an experienced industry consultant and Non-Executive Director and supported by Aberdeenshire Council, Entier and Balmoral Castle & Estate.
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The two-day informative and interactive event saw pupils from schools across Aberdeenshire have access to successful people already working within the hospitality sector including Entier’s team comprising of:
- Peter Bruce, CEO
- Orry Shand, Executive Chef
- Shane Pirie, Operations Director & graduate from Entier’s Culinary Fresh Olive Apprenticeship programme
- Nicole Webster, Operations Manager & graduate from Entier’s Culinary Fresh Olive Apprenticeship programme
- Dean Davidson, graduate of the Entier Fresh Olive culinary apprenticeship programme
- Glen Christie, Fresh Olive culinary apprentice at Entier
Sylvia Halkerston commented: “This successful event was borne out of His Majesty The King’s concern around not having a workforce to support the incredible hospitality sector we have in this area of Scotland. I had the pleasure on working on a project to raise awareness of opportunities for young people in the hospitality sector and creating better linkages between business and education, with the real task of engaging employers more to address the school leaver pipeline and to ensure clarity around the availability of real jobs for young people.”
Sylvia concluded: “With the continued Royal interest in mind, it seemed fitting to approach Balmoral Estate as the location for the event who have been most accommodating, as has Peter Bruce CEO of Entier and the wider team. We hope this event has opened the eyes of pupils who may have an interest in the sector or aspire to a full-time career in hospitality. The speakers from the Entier team gave the pupils motivation, real-life stories about their own experiences and hands-on experience so they have lots to take away and consider.”
Orry Shand, Executive Chef at Entier gave a fine dining demonstration using venison from the Balmoral Estate and he went on to take the young people through preparation of their own venison burgers, which were cooked outside.
James Hamilton-Goddard, Visitor Enterprise Manager at Balmoral Estate, said: “This was an amazing opportunity to help get the message out to the next generation about hospitality opportunities within the shire and the city and be able to demonstrate what a rewarding career choice it can be.”
For further information on career opportunities in the hospitality sector in relation to this event, contact DYW North East, visit www.dyw.org.uk or Skills Development Scotland, visitwww.myworldofwork.co.uk or www.apprenticships.scot
