The Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland Emerging Talent Scholarships scheme is open to the 184,000 Scots employed in hospitality, tourism, travel, leisure or catering. Over £100,000 is available to fund around 100 Scholarship during 2011. Organisers believe the scholarship scheme could return over a £1 million a year to Scotland £4.1 billion tourism and hospitality sector through new skills, promoting best practice, improving staff retention and raising aspirations to encourage professional development. The free scholarships place recipients on money can't-buy learning-experiences or on courses at the world's best hospitality schools. Placements range from working in Michelin starred kitchens, behind the scenes of prestigious event and business in the UK or learning how six-starred resorts in Dubai maintain their high standards. Scholars can also take courses at the Disney Institute in Florida, Europe's top hospitality school in Lausanne, Switzerland, or at the Ivy League Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in the New York State. Applicants come from to all levels in the industry, from trainees to general managers, and from people set in all career paths, including chefs, HR, administration, marketing and front of house. Scholarships are also offered to students studying towards a related qualification. The latest research from People 1st, the sector skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, shows the skills gap in the Scottish industry appears to be growing. A quarter of businesses have reported that they employ people without the skills to do their own job and only 63% of companies claimed to offer training for staff. David Cochrane, chief executive of the Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland said, "The scholarship scheme is about more that training staff for the here and now. We have refined the scholarship over the years to provide long term benefits for the individuals involved, their employers and the industry." "The experiences are about broadening horizons and raising the levels of what people think they can achieve. They come back from the scholarship having seen a new way of managing or organizing their business and their career. Long term it is about establishing a culture of lifelong learning and ambition for the industry." Applications close on the 31st of October. Visit www.hitscotland.org for more details.