VisitScotland and Springboard Scotland have teamed up to launch a new initiative aimed at persuading young people in Scotland to take up a career in the £4bn Scottish tourist industry.

The initiative features an interactive CD-Rom presenting real-life movie clips of people actively working in the tourism and leisure industry, including submissions from Hilton Hotels, easyJet and David Lloyd Leisure.

The CD-Rom also contains information on a range of job opportunities in the Scottish tourism industry, which employs around 200,000 people in 20,000 different businesses – supporting around 9 per cent of employment in Scotland (13 per cent in the Highlands).

The initiative has been designed to complement the national curriculum in schools as well as college courses following the Travel and Tourism Programme (TTP) from intermediate 1 to higher level.

Springboard and the TTP are supported by leading organisations and companies across the industry sector and by the British Travel Education Trust. Details: www.visitscotland.co.uk

Photograph: Tourism Minister Patricia Ferguson at Dunfermline High School in Fife