Tennent Caledonian today unveiled the talented young Scots who successfully secured one of the coveted positions on their new Modern Apprenticeship Plus Programme (MAP). The twenty five candidates will each be given the opportunity to sharpen their skills and boost their careers courtesy of Scotland’s leading brewer.

The MAP initiative was launched in August 2012 to offer twenty five of the hospitality industry’s talented young Scots a unique training and mentoring programme as part of the brewer’s ongoing investment across the Scottish on-trade. Funded and managed by Tennent Caledonian with support from Skills Development Scotland, applications were invited from candidates between the age of 16 and 24 working across Scotland’s pubs, hotels and restaurants.

The successful team of apprentices was selected by an assessment panel from 23 Scottish hotels, pubs and restaurants across Scotland, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Dumfries and the Borders. Their year of training started this week, with a lively induction day that included blind tastings, timed cookery challenges and a series of spirited bartending sessions.

The 27 day year-long programme will build on the Scottish Government’s standard Modern Apprenticeship framework and cover Hospitality, Food Hygiene, Health & Safety, Customer Service and Licensing. However it is the MAP’s unique range of specialist courses and prestigious opportunities that set it apart, such as enhanced course options, trade visits, rigorous testing and the unique opportunity to work closely with leading industry figures, both within Tennent Caledonian and with a range of their partner businesses.

The new initiative, which will be managed from the Tennent’s Training Academy, underlines Tennent’s ongoing commitment to building a strong and dynamic hospitality industry for Scotland.