Free Food Tourism Workshop in St Andrews: Breakfasts

Wednesday 11th November is the date for your diaries for the first of this year’s free food tourism workshops in St Andrews. A repeat of the very successful 2008 workshop about breakfast food, this event will be held in the Garden Suite at Rufflets Hotel, from 10.30am-1.30pm. For more information, download the invitation by clicking here, or to register for this event, contact Sheena Kitchin on info@foodtourismscotland.com or phone 01475 650718.

Another event will be running later on this season, focussing on cooking traditional Scottish dishes with a modern twist. Keep checking back for more information on that as it develops.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Service Feedback

Have you, or one of your members of staff, been in contact with the St Andrews Skills Academy recently? How did you find your experience with us?

Perhaps we did a good job, but we could have changed one thing to make it a great experience for you? Let us know.

On the other hand, maybe you were disappointed with us? We’d really like to hear about that too.

Thanks again for all of your responses – they’re what help us succeed.

Course Feedback

Have you, or one of your members of staff, been on a St Andrews Skills Academy course recently?  If so, you’ll have already been offered a few feedback mechanisms, but if there is anything else that you’d like us to know, please comment below.

Perhaps we did a good job, but we could have changed one thing to make it a fantastic experience for you? Let us know.

Or maybe the course has motivated you to attend other training? Tell us what you’re interested in here.

Maybe, the course you attended was so good, you want to tell other people about it? That’s great news! Leave comments here too.

Thanks again for your responses – they’re what help us succeed.

Individual Learning Accounts

Laura Mason, of Quest (Scotland) Ltd noticed that our shiny new website was lacking information about the government funded Individual Learning Accounts (or ILAs). She’s kindly sent us an article originally published in their newsletter about ILAs and the benefits of signing up for one:

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Receive free money towards training using an Individual Learning Account. (ILA)

Unsure what an ILA is? ILA Scotland is a Scottish Government scheme whereby you can apply for up to £200 a year towards learning something new. If you are aged 16 or over, live in Scotland and your annual income is £22,000 or under, or if you’re on benefits, then you are eligible to apply for an application pack at www.ilascotland.org.uk or phone 0808 100 1090.

ILA Scotland also offers up to £500 towards part-time higher and professional qualifications courses when you study 40 Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework credits.

That means that you can now book a place on a training workshop for free if you have an ILA account, while the money can also go towards gaining a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) or another professional qualification.

You can undertake training with any ILA Scotland approved learning provider, including private training companies, colleges, universities and learning centres. The £200 learning token will completely cover the cost of some courses, or can go some way towards making others more affordable.

There’s no catch – you don’t need to pay the money back; there’s no hidden costs. The Scottish Government wants you to have the opportunity to learn something new that will benefit you in either your personal or work life.

For many people, ILA funding has been the incentive needed to learn a new skill or get back into learning. Don’t break your New Year’s resolution already – apply for an ILA account today and you can learn something new.

5 good reasons to apply for an ILA:

1. Using your ILA is now FREE!
2. As a resident of Scotland you’re legally entitled to use the ILA money!
3. You can use your ILA to learn something new that will benefit your job, for example there are workshops out there like Train the Trainer that can help you improve your working practices.
4. Use your ILA for something fun!
5. Did we say it was TOTALLY FREE to book a workshop if you have an ILA?

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Thanks Laura!

St Andrews Skills Academy website is now live!

The day you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived: the St Andrews Skills Academy website is now launched and ready for your visits!

On our one-stop-shop, you can search for and book training courses, check out quality training providers, and browse advice and tourism resources.

If you have any trouble using the site, please just ask for help, by commenting below, or by using the website’s contact form.

We look forward to seeing you at the virtual Skills Academy!

Website Feedback

So, the St Andrews Skills Academy website is finally up and running! I hope you’ve taken a chance to have a look around. If so, we’d love to hear what you think of the site.  Please post comments here to give us some feedback.

Some questions you might want to consider when constructing your feedback:

• What aspects of the site have pleasantly surprised you?
• What features were you hoping to see on the site, but cannot find?
• If we could change one thing about – or add one thing to – the website, what would that one thing be?