The Restaurants Association of Ireland Benevolent Fund has launched the WSET Ireland Bursary Programme, funding wine and spirits qualifications for hospitality workers facing long term financial hardship, a scheme that matters to institute professionals as training investment becomes a retention tool at a moment when the sector is losing staff faster than it can replace them. Up to 20 successful applicants will receive funding to complete WSET Level 1 and Level 2 awards through participating Irish course providers.

The fund is a registered charity linked to the Restaurants Association of Ireland, which represents more than 3,000 members including full service restaurants, gastropubs and cookery schools. As a charity, it does not publish commercial financials.

WSET is a London headquartered global awarding body for wine, spirits and sake qualifications, delivering courses through approved providers internationally.

The bursary responds to a structural staffing crisis in Irish hospitality rather than a routine training initiative.

Food led hospitality employment fell by almost 20,000 jobs over the past year, a 14.7 per cent drop once accommodation is excluded, with 56 per cent of businesses reporting labour costs above 40 per cent of turnover, according to Hospitality Ireland.

Restaurants Association of Ireland chief executive Adrian Cummins said, "Hospitality is built on people, and investing in people is one of the best investments we can make as an industry." He added that the fund is proud to partner with WSET to provide internationally recognised qualifications to individuals who may not otherwise have the opportunity to access them.

WSET global business director Rachel Webster said, "This partnership reflects something we care about deeply, removing barriers, not just providing qualifications."

For the sector, funding recognised qualifications for financially struggling workers offers a low cost route to improving retention at a time when raising wages or cutting hours further is not viable for many operators. For the sector's talent pipeline, internationally recognised credentials also give hospitality workers a portable career asset that survives closures and job changes within a volatile industry.

Whether 20 bursaries expand into a recurring, larger scheme will depend on whether the fund can demonstrate measurable retention gains from this first cohort.

Source: Hospitality Ireland