£5000 OCC Trust scholarships 2024 – for future ‘change-makers’ in hospitality

 

Ben McEwen, Chair of the OCC Trust, launches this year’s scholarships, aimed at young people working or studying in the fields of hospitality and gastronomy. Scholarship winners receive a grant of £5000 and mentoring support for one year. 

 

Throughout our careers, many of us have benefited from the support of mentors, who have helped us recognise and realise our potential. We have also witnessed the ‘ripple effect’ of mentoring – the creation of organisational cultures in which nurturing the talents of others becomes the norm.

It is this personal experience that prompted us to set up the OCC Trust, with the aim of supporting the personal and professional development of young people who are working or studying in the fields of hospitality and gastronomy. As a registered charity, which supports the educational agenda of the Oxford Cultural Collective, we provide financial and mentoring support to talented young professionals, who have the potential to make significant and positive contributions to industry and society. We hope to identify future ‘changemakers’ who are aiming to have a positive impact on communities, places and the natural environment.

 

I am delighted to announce this year’s scholarships from the OCC Trust are now open for submissions. They are: the Lou Willcock Scholarship and the Golden Chopsticks Scholarship.

Our distinctive approach is designed to achieve significant and positive impact.

• Applicants are invited to propose a self-designed project, which will benefit them personally and professionally, and have a positive impact on others.
• Each scholarship winner receives a grant of £5000 and mentoring support for one year, to help them realise their project outcomes and achieve the intended impact.
• Our winners will also become members of a supportive, ever-growing community of scholars. They will provide help and encouragement to each other and work collectively to effect positive change in industry and society.
• We are keen to attract applicants from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds, including those who may not have accessed formal support in the past.

Applications are now open, and I’m hopeful we will get many high quality entries. This is also a call out to employers and educators who are aware of talented young professionals working or studying in hospitality or gastronomy, who they believe could be worthy recipients of an OCC Trust scholarship.

For more information on the Lou Willcock Scholarship – follow link.

For more information on the Golden Chopsticks Scholarship – follow link.

I want to say a huge thanks to my fellow OCC Trustees, who bring such positive energy to this initiative. Prominent players in our sector, they have dedicated much of their careers to nurturing the talents of others.

 

The OCC Trustees

From top left: Ben McEwen (Chair); Anna Klenert (Secretary); Dipti Patel (Treasurer); Ceri Butcher; Lucy Tse-Mitchell; Jane Sunley; Martin Holden White; Chris Sheppardson; Julian George