The Scottish Apprenticeship in Hospitality (SAH) programme is a great industry-led project giving 17-24 year olds a start in the hospitality business. Several top Scottish hotels are involved. This is Rosie’s experience of being an apprentice at The Torridon.

The three words I would use to sum up my experience so far would be: challenging, exciting and confidence.

I joined the Scottish Apprenticeship in Hospitality because I decided that a career in hospitality was something that I wanted to pursue. I think the turning point for me in making this decision was working at The Torridon Hotel and being offered this amazing opportunity,

I had never really thought about hospitality as a career before. Then I realised that most of my previous jobs had led to this and I love to travel. In the end it just clicked for me.

I have really enjoyed the challenge of learning how each department works and I am really excited to move onto my next department.

My favourite moment was probably working over Christmas and Hogmanay. It was really hard work and I was spending my time between housekeeping and food and beverage. But there was such a nice atmosphere between the whole team that the work didn’t seem much like work at all. The guests were all so lovely as well and it was such a nice feeling to know that we made the guests so happy.

My worst moment was probably when I first started in food and beverage and I didn’t really have much experience. I felt a little lost and useless but my team made me feel very welcome and everybody helped me learn how to do the job.

This apprenticeship provides so many opportunities. I have made so many new friends who are all going through the same experience as I am and I know that they will support me when the work is difficult.

I was able to attend the HIT scholarship emerging talent conference where we had lots of workshops and presentations from people, like the head chef of Buckingham Palace, which were really interesting and I was awarded and HIT scholarship which involves a trip to London with my group of apprentices. I am really looking forward to it.

I have also had the chance to attend training days and conferences and learnt a lot of new things and made a lot of connections within the industry.

My favourite training day was the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) wine education training. I learnt so much about wine and how to serve it and how to pair it with food. The training was easy to follow and has really helped me at work. I may also end up with a qualification if I have passed the exam, which is excellent to put on my CV.

This opportunity has really opened a lot of doors for me and I have definitely made the right decision, I really enjoy working at the Torridon Hotel. I work with an amazing team and each department have been very welcoming and really helped me to do my best.

Everybody is so supportive of everyone else and we really work well as team because we all share the same goal, making our guests happy. I really enjoy going to work everyday as there is always something different. Some days it can be very challenging but that is what makes it exciting.

I would highly recommend the opportunity of joining the Scottish Apprenticeship in Hospitality because it is the best place to start on this sort of career. It is a nice alternative to studying at university because there is so much to learn from the work experience.

There aren’t many apprenticeships that allow you to work through all of the different departments and this lets you to decide what you like best and to find the right path for you.

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