Hospitality Jobs In Scotland

The hospitality industry is what is termed as a service industry. A service industry is defined as an industry which provides services to other businesses as well as a final customer.
The Hospitality industries consist of various sub categories which include tourism, leisure, event management, eating out and other industry types such as the cruise line business and holiday parks. Subsequently there is an array of companies and organisations which employs around 210,000 people in Scotland. This has grown and the likelihood of further investment from leading Hospitality organisations as Scotland continues to attract tourists not only from abroad but also from around the United Kingdom. It is estimated that the tourism and hospitality industry generates over £6 billion into the Scottish economy coffers annually, around 5% of GDP

Scotland hospitality industry looks like continuing to develop and prosper and become a leading employer in the next twenty years. This could amount to around a further 100,000 new jobs.
The Hospitality industry within Scotland is centred on the main cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen. But as Scotland’s natural attractions and countryside are a pivotal reason for the continued growth in tourism the hospitality industry flourishes in more rural parts as well, such as the Highlands and Islands, Borders and also in the South West of Scotland.

Despite the recession in Scotland the Hospitality and tourism, sectors has seen employment opportunities remain strong, employing both part time and full time positions. Entry into the sector can vary .Senior skilled positions within Hotels, Leisure parks and positions such as event planning would normally require a qualification or degree in Hospitality Management and several years of experience combined with training/promotion. In contrast there are also unskilled jobs which are in all sub sectors .These witness a high turnover of staff due to the nature of the roles such as seasonal and contact work. School leavers make up a large percentage of entry level staff into the industry as a whole, with around a fifth of all organisations taking on a job seeker fresh from school. Many will look to hold City and Guilds such as a certificate in Hospitality and Catering or similar.

Examples of senior roles within the tourism and hospitality industries include a General Manager of a hotel who will oversee the running of all departments of the hotel, a Holiday Park Manager who again will cover all responsibilities of a leisure park from the management of staff, catering, attractions to the health and safety issues. Senior positions command good salaries and can range from £25,000 up to £100,000 for more senior roles.

Unskilled and seasonal work cover a range of hospitality jobs and can include cleaners, bar staff ,catering assistants ,domestic staff and security staff (who will have to hold a recognised security licence).Part time staff fill many of these roles and make up approximately 60% of all people employed in Scotland’s hospitality and tourism industry. Wages and salaries can range from minimum wage to around £16,000 per year.