Evaluation of Tourism Training Scotland: final report

Tourism Training Scotland (TTS), a joint industry / public sector forum, aimed to: create a training culture among tourism businesses and their staff; enhance professional standards and the status of jobs in the industry; and improve access to quality training. The evaluation aimed to: assess the economic impact and value for money of these activities; identify areas of best practice; make recommendations for the future needs of the Scottish sector; establish whether the rationale of TTS remains valid; and investigate how far the TTS initiatives are contributing to the correction of market failures.

The methodology consisted of: a survey of 300 organisations who had used TTS training and a matched sample of 100 who had not; a survey of 200 tourism employees who had attended TTS courses; and discussions with tourism representatives of the LECs, Area Tourist Boards (ATBs), and others in the Scottish tourism industry.

Finds that TTS has made a significant contribution to the development of training among tourism businesses, but that it is now time to change its focus. Attending TTS courses does encourage a minority of businesses to consider in-depth training. Bigger firms are more prevalent among users and they often suggest that TTS training is non-additional. Suggests that the desire to progress to more substantial training is often frustrated by a lack of knowledge and availability at the right price. Concludes that too many smaller tourism businesses are not involved in training and development at any level.

Recommends that the TTS should ensure that local structures are in place to engage with businesses by: shifting the agenda to assist the mass of small tourist businesses; establishing networks; providing a basis for closer involvement of ATBs; and devolving more responsibility to the businesses themselves. Recommends various possible functions for the future role of TTS, including awareness and lobbying, promotion of training, provision of training, setting standards, accreditation of courses, and monitoring and research.