A new bursary scheme has been launched by Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, designed to give employees the opportunity to take their talents to the next level via further education or vocational training.

Chivas Brothers SIET donation

The Chivas Brothers Bursary has been launched by joining forces with the Scottish International Education Trust (SIET), a body which provides talented men and women with grants to complete further study, helping them to fulfil their aspirations. The bursary will make it easier for employees and their families to apply for support from the SIET, with up to £5,000 a year on offer over three years.

The bursary is open to the 1,600 employees of Chivas Brothers spread throughout the country at 32 sites in Orkney, Speyside, Central Scotland, Ayrshire, London and Plymouth, as well as direct family members.

Anthony Schofield, Public Affairs Director at Chivas Brothers commented: “The Chivas Brothers Bursary is a truly exciting initiative which we hope will help and inspire employees, or a member of their family, to pursue further education and open up future opportunities.

“At Chivas Brothers we are connected to so many Scottish communities through our employees; this is just one way for us to support and nurture those that live and work in these communities.”

Michael Ewart, Director of SIET, said: “Chivas Brothers’ gift to SIET enables us to make many more awards to talented young Scots over the three years of our relationship. I am pleased that Chivas Brothers employees and their families will also have the opportunity to benefit from the Bursary scheme.”

Chivas Brothers previously donated £100,000 to the SIET, which was set up in 1971 by celebrated Scots Sir Sean Connery and Sir Jackie Stewart, who both remain Trustees.

The impact of the donation to SIET has been wide-ranging and remarkable:

  • Georgia Murray, a lecturer at the University of Dundee, has been given the chance to take part in an Arctic Circle Residency, working with climate change researchers to create poignant landscape paintings of the remote locale
  • Kelly Provan of Kilmacolm is one step closer to realising her ambition of working for the United Nations, through funding which has supported her Masters in International Relations
  • Yvonne Laird, a champion triathlete originally from Denny, has secured funding to complete her thesis, which makes up the final phase of her PhD on “Physical Activity in Girls”
  • Mezzo-soprano Fiona Joice has been supported in her move from Glasgow to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she is pursuing a Masters in Performance