Thursday 19th August 2021

Portavadie celebrated the achievement of a number of the Leadership and Management Crew who received their Continual Personal Development Awards at Higher National Diploma level from Argyll College`s Principal Martin Jones.

The award is a culmination of a 2 year programme which included being immersed in workshops delivered by exemplars of industry coordinated and developed by Jackie Cannon of the WayAhead People with input from Iain Jurgensen, Portavadie`s Managing Director. The cohort completed a series of workshops focussed on critical areas of the business including Financial Management, Sales and Marketing, Talent and Retention, Emotional Intelligence and Developing Networks and Partnerships. The cohort where then split into two teams to research and deliver on business critical projects.

The partnership and recognition by Argyll College that the work the candidates undertook was indeed of a level that would be consistent with Academic achievement was always a critically positive outcome and represented one of the key aims of the course. Vocational pathways supported and recognised by academic achievement underpin the future of hospitality going forward.

Martin Jones commented, “Argyll College, as part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, is proud to have worked hand-in-hand with the team at Portavadie in developing this CPD award for the hospitality sector. Employer partnerships, and investment in industry-led curriculum development in key sectors such as tourism, is critical to our mission to remain Argyll’s foremost Higher Education Provider. We are grateful to the management of Portavadie for their unwavering commitment to the professional development of their staff.  These young professionals, who are the first cohort to have gained this Leadership Award, should be rightfully proud of their achievement.”

Iain Jurgensen commented, “Today is the culmination of a lot of effort from all those involved. It`s truly great to see all the smiles and sense of pride and achievement form the "graduates", our first cohort of what we hope, going forward will become an integral part of the achievement and opportunity for our continued partnership and collaboration with education. Continual career development and recognition across the industry is critical to attracting and retaining talent in tourism and hospitality. We have such and array of talent within our industry with diverse skills already on rewarding career pathways, it’s great to see that recognised by our academic partners.”