The winners of Hospitality NZ/SKY Future Leader Scholarships have been announced.
The eight scholarships have a value of up to $3000 each, and include $2000 towards fees for studying the National Diploma in Hospitality Level 5 (Operational Management), and up to $1000 reimbursement of costs to attend the Future Leaders Day in 2018.
“Each year we have great people entering the hospitality industry who are going to be our future leaders. Developing these people is vital to the industry’s ongoing sustainability and its ability to respond to the ever-changing business environment”, says Hospitality New Zealand, CEO Ms Vicki Lee.
The applicants represented the breadth of the hospitality industry and were open to anyone working in the sector.
“SKY enjoys a long association with the hospitality industry and has seen it go from strength to strength” says Grant McKenzie GM for SKY Business. “It is vital we continue to attract good people to the industry and providing clear career pathways and upskilling opportunities is a great way to do this. The scholarships are designed to offer those pathways.”
Ms Lee said, “The calibre of applications this year was the best we have seen yet, but in the end, it always has to come down to how they scored across these four key areas:
- Firstly, they had to have demonstrated strong leadership potential in their workplace by inspiring the people around them.
- Have demonstrated a strong progression and commitment within their hospitality career to date ?
- Have an ability to ‘make things happen’ within a hospitality environment ?
- Have a clear idea about what they hope to achieve and how they would contribute to the hospitality industry?
Hospitality NZ/SKY Future Leader Scholarships 2017 winners are (including judges’ comments):
- Aimee Hancock, The Keg Room and Eatery, Hamilton – has well thought out career plans and is currently furthering herself with on-line training courses.
- Dawn Veridiano, Westshore Beach Inn, Hawkes Bay – already has a proven track record in hospitality and she will only benefit from additional knowledge in the operational side of business.
- Connor Nicoll-Hardie, James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington – sees the theory in the qualification as vital to underpin the 3 years practical learning he already has from working in the industry.
- Emma Mckinnon, Chateau Marlborough Hotel, Blenheim – a very strong work ethic underpinned by 12 years in the industry and well thought out future goals and plans.
- Pilate Neame, Beechwoods Café, Nelson – an impressive industry professional who knows what she wants and is planning for it, not just waiting around for it to happen for her.
- Angus Baddeley, Bolton Hotel, Wellington – investigated the Diploma fully to make sure he could commit to the 2 years it requires to attain this qualification – this is a candidate who is planning his future career path carefully.
- Benjamin Winter, Dusted and Delicious, Wellington – extremely hard working and impressive outlook on building a personal brand centred around customer service principles.
- Liana Johnston, Frankie’s Sports Bar and Grill, Thames – very committed to improving on her skills and knowledge in hospitality.
“With the ongoing issue of needing to continuously attract skilled hospitality professionals to the industry it is vital we develop our sector from within. By offering these scholarships our aim is to grow our own talent by investing in people who already work in and love the industry,” Lee said.
