Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks business, has just launched Diageo Learning for Life, Scotland - a new, landmark training programme to help equip young, unemployed people with the skills to succeed in some of Scotland's most vibrant sectors.
The five year investment programme will provide valuable technical training and work based experiences, opening the door to a wide range of exciting career opportunities for young people.. The scheme is part of Diageo’s long-term commitment to support Scotland’s economy and to help to tackle youth unemployment.
The first phase of the programme will focus on bartending and hospitality and will then expand activity to embrace retail, manufacturing and entrepreneurship.
Learning for Life, Scotland aims to make an immediate impact by creating opportunities for at least 200 newly trained graduates from the programme to work in the hospitality sector, gaining experience in roles available as a result of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
Diageo has played a key part in bringing the Ryder Cup to Scotland through its ownership of The Gleneagles Hotel and as an Official Partner of the event with Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky.
The programme is being led for Diageo by Peter Lederer CBE, who has contributed 30 years’ service to Scottish hospitality since taking over running Gleneagles Hotel in January 1984. Peter is a Director of Diageo in Scotland and Chairman of Gleneagles.
He said, “The 2014 Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games coming to Scotland in the same year gives us a unique opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of young people and also to give a real boost to our hospitality industry.
“With Learning for Life, Scotland - Diageo is determined to play its part in seizing that opportunity and looking beyond 2014, we want to build on that by using our business in the broadest sense to help create opportunities for young people in manufacturing as well as hospitality. We also want to use the programme to encourage the kind of entrepreneurship which has made Scotch whisky a global triumph.”