ITC’s Students’ Stray Adventures

A number of students from ITC’s two-year International Tourism and Travel Management programme went on a four-day Stray bus tour as part of their studies.

International student Thalib Meethal was one of the students and said he had a wonderful time.

The group left Auckland on 10 April and travelled to Hahei in the Coromandel, to Raglan, then to Waitomo and across to Maketu and Rotorua before returning to Auckland four days later.

“The driver Mudd gave a great commentary,” says Thalib. “He had lots of really fun stories and helped everyone to get to know each other.  We experienced ‘speed dating’ Stray-bus-style and had five minutes to talk to each passenger and then move seats.” 

Once they got to Hahei some of the travellers were brave enough to go for a swim. The water was cold but Thalib says the sun was out and warmed them up, and later in the day they experienced the natural hot water springs on Hot Water Beach.

“We dug holes in the sand and made our own hot pools,” says Thalib. “The water was much hotter than I thought it would be. The natural spring water is really good for your skin and it’s free!” 

The group were in Raglan the next day, giving them a chance to meet other international travellers staying in the lodge and to seek out the glow worms in the fields later that evening.

There were more glow worms and some serious adventure waiting for Thalib and his fellow travellers in Waitomo the next day.

Thalib did the Hagga Honking Holes caving experience – involving abseiling, rock-climbing and caving.

“It was a long way down (80m) and was really scary!” says Thalib.  “This was my first ever abseil and I’d never been in a cave before. When we got down to the river it was in flood and the next tours were cancelled due to the high water levels.” 

As well as all the adventure, Thalib enjoyed the food on the journey as well. He says that Mudd stopped at all the good places to eat along the way and a Kiwi barbeque in the Coromandel was a favourite, but the stand out meal was at Uncle Boy’s Place in Maketu.

Uncle Boy’s is a purpose-built marae and backpackers.

“We learnt the haka and about historic weapons and the migration of Maori to New Zealand and we heard many other tales of Maori culture.  Here we had a really great dinner – fresh fish, mutton, chicken and vegetables.”

The group also had time to explore Maketu beach and visit many of the area’s kiwifruit orchards before heading off to its final stop on the tour – Rotorua.

“We had to time to wander around the city centre and explore the lake shore,” says Thalib, “and we met some friendly local ducks!”

The group headed back to Auckland that evening.
“This was four of the best days of my life,” says Thalib. “Thanks ITC and Stray!”

International Travel College Gives a Bellyful

International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) has recently become a sponsor of Bellyful NZ.

Bellyful is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers. The organisation delivers free precooked meals to families with new babies and families with a critically ill family member.

“It’s such an incredible organisation,” says ITC Account Manager Ceri Jenkins. “I met Jacqui Ritchie, the executive director, at a careers expo and was just amazed at the service they provide.”

“We have many working parents studying at ITC,” says Ceri. “Study is always a real commitment, but it is even more so when you have a family to organise as well. At ITC we love that this service offers such practical help to new parents.”

Bellyful has 16 branches around New Zealand and aims to have one in every town in the country by 2016.

“That’s an amazing goal,” says Ceri, “and we seriously hope they can achieve it. A lot of new parents entering tertiary study aren’t in the main centres.

“At ITC, for example, new parents often choose our distance learning courses, as they don’t need to uproot their family and they can organise study around their busy schedules.”

Each branch of Bellyful does its own fundraising and is supported by local donations and volunteers. Parents with babies under three months old and families struggling with illness can contact their local area coordinator via the Bellyful website: www.bellyful.co.nz

“A home-cooked meal is such a simple thing to offer,” says Ceri.“ But when you are juggling the demands of family life and work or study, it’s sometimes the simple things that make all the difference.”

Bellyful’s ambassador Pippa Wetzell agrees: ““Bellyful – it’s simple and yet when you’re struggling with the challenges that a newborn brings into your life, something like a cooked meal and someone to talk to can make a world of difference. Getting off to a good start in the first few months of your baby’s life makes a huge difference to the wellbeing of a whole family.”

The value of experience

 
Industry experience is always valuable in airline, travel and tourism jobs – wherever you might get it.

General job skills like communication and time and workload management skills will stand you in good stead whatever you do. But specific industry skills are also often transferable between different travel and tourism operations.

A number of staff from Fullers, for example, have recently used their experience to gain flight attending roles. 

Fullers handles many of the Auckland ferries and harbour cruises and Project Manager Wolfgang tells us that working at Fullers is a perfect way for young people to gain the necessary experience to become flight attendants. 

Airlines told the successful Fullers candidates that there were a number of similarities between the two types of operation such as working shifts, dealing with cancelations due to bad weather, and managing large numbers of customers in a short space of time.
 
The majority of airlines like their staff to be 21 years of age or older, so spending a couple of years with companies such as Fullers is a great way for younger graduates to hone their skills before applying for flight attending roles.

While Fullers does offer career pathways for entry-level staff, Wolfgang and other senior managers are also very conscious that some of these staff have other career aspirations. They say they are more than happy to play their part in the helping young people land their dream jobs.
 
 

Introducing Mel Verwijmeren

Mel Verwijmeren has recently started at ITC running the four short courses that we offer to give high school students a taste of the industry. Mel will be running courses in aviation, travel, tourism and the Big Day Out course.

Mel is the proud mother of two girls and says she is known for her bubbly personality and for always having “ants in my pants”.

She gained a travel and tourism qualification straight after high school and spent the next two years working in a call centre environment. She then worked for Air New Zealand for nine years, starting as a check in agent and moving on to work in an operational capacity coordinating aircraft and providing pilot documentation.

“I met some really amazing people,” she says. “Lots of sports teams and well-known bands, and I saw some fabulous aircraft.”

When she’s not working Mel says she loves to fundraise for foundations that need a helping hand.  “So far I have fundraised for Heart Kids and The New Zealand Heart Foundation, and I also help out at Christmas time at the Auckland City Mission, collecting items from local communities to give to families in need during the festive season.”

Always on the lookout for new adventures, Mel has recently decided to run the Rotorua Marathon. Previously, she ran a triathlon just eight weeks after having her second daughter. Mel says that realising what she could achieve “started the ball rolling in setting my own personal goals and achievements.”

Mel’s latest adventure is to join the team at ITC.

“The team at the college has a real family feel and I already feel part of that, with plenty of colleagues willing to help out at a drop of a hat. I look forward to my future with the college and seeing the students work toward achieving their own personal goals.”
 

ITC Students get ‘real’ work experience

Here is a great blog, written by one of our students who has been working at Nomads as part of his course.

“Wassup guys my names Mitch I’m currently studying Travel & Tourism at The International Travel College of NZ. At the moment I’m doing work experience at Nomads Fat Camel Backpackers Hostel and enjoying every second. I was also lucky enough to go on a free Auckland Day Trip with Stray Bus and I had the best time of my life, like OMG!
 
To begin our journey, we headed over to the Sky Tower where we played a game called Heads & Tails, lucky for me I won the game, yeaaahhhh buuddy! Winning the game meant that I had to do the Sky Jump off the Sky Tower and I thought, you know, this is nothing… but already the elevator up to the last floor was nerve racking and I couldn’t believe that I was actually jumping off the Sky Tower. Next minute I’m standing on the edge of the Sky Tower and looking down, going from “this is nothing” to “nah stuff this man, I can’t do it”!
 
But being from the North Shore, we ain’t scared of anything… just saying! After that not so scary jump we headed down to the Auckland Domain where Chucky, our Stray Bus guide, told us a story of how the land of NZ came up from the ground, I’m sure he was talking smack (kidding Chucky).
 
After that long story we cruised over to the Sir George Memorial Drive in our comfortable Stray Bus, where we all hung out, had a bit of fun and took heaps of mean photos. From there we made our way to the lovely Gables Speight’s Ale House, did some beer tasting, had a mean feed, and just chilled out having a laugh. Now that our stomachs were full, we departed the Gables Speight’s Ale House and moved to our last stop – the Harbour Bridge, where a few of the buddies (Stray Bus Passengers) got to do the AJ Hackett Bungy Jump. The walk under the bridge was awesome and the view of Auckland was just AMAZING.
 
Anyways after an awesome Auckland Day Trip, a long day of travelling and seeing mountains and seas we finally called it a day and headed back to our homes (Hostels). I want to give a big shout out to Stray Bus for the free Auckland day trip, I had an awesome time and another big shout out to The Nomads Fat Camel Backpackers Hostel Crew for giving me the opportunity. Well that’s the end of my blog I guess. Hehe!
 
Goodbye Your Mitchyboy

http://nomadshostels.com/backpackers-blog/stray-bus-auckland-day-trip-sky-tower-jump/

Distance Online Learning Career Successes

Three ITC online learning students share their stories

Sharon is working as the receptionist for Auckland Transport. The company wanted the person who took the position to have a qualification in travel and Sharon hopes to expand into other areas now the Rugby World Cup rush is over.

“I’m enjoying this position,” she says. “I’m working with a great bunch of people and my boss is just lovely. I really enjoy all the face-to-face customer interaction, so this suits me better than a call centre.”

Part of ITC’s distance online learning course is in career preparation. Sharon says: “Your help with CV writing and interviewing was invaluable. I have shared my CV with others who have been looking for jobs unsuccessfully for quite some time and were not getting interviews. As soon as they followed your fantastic pointers for a good CV they have had interviews straight away, and got the jobs as well! So thank you on behalf of my friends and myself!”

Laura in Nelson has found a job in the tourism industry.  She has some excellent advice for other students. “I applied for a job at a motel down the road from my house. They had an ad in the paper for a cleaner. When I had my interview they told me that they wanted to hire someone they could train up to do reception as well.

“I have been there since the middle of October and they have been great and taught me so much. I am now confident in answering the phone, taking bookings and checking guests in and out. My certificate from ITC has really paid off.

“I love my new job and am getting heaps of experience – and I thought I was just going to be a cleaner! My advice to other students is to take any job they are offered and let the employers know how keen they are to learn and take on more responsibilities.”

Laura from Christchurch recently found a job with House of Travel as an online consultant. “My new job is going really well. I love it! I sort out all the bookings from the website, ticketing them, informing passengers of schedule changes, assisting with flight date changes etc. It is good fun and very varied!

“I work with a great team of people, which really helps and my manager is lovely and very flexible with the roster. I work 4 days a week, 10 hours a day on shifts, which works well for me.”
ITC staff members were so pleased when Laura found this job. Laura did well in her studies, despite the fact that she lost her home in the September 2010 earthquake. After the February quake in 2011 Laura stayed with her mum in Auckland for a while. Even though this was a tough year, Laura did extremely well in her studies and received an ITC Award with Distinction.

ITC Students Welcome International Counterparts

International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) students were once again an important part of the Auckland International Student Welcome.

The event, run by Study Auckland, part of Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (ATEED), welcomed over 1600 international students to Auckland City.

ITC has been a premium supplier of full-time and part-time training programmes for the airline, travel and tourism industries since 1996, and working at large events like the Student Welcome provides excellent experience for its students, says ITC staff member Malia Otuhouma.

“This is a chance for the students to put into practice what they have been studying, and I was so proud of what they achieved on the day.”

As well as taking care of VIPs and performers backstage, the students handed out goodie bags and were just generally on the spot wherever they were needed.

And the organisers were glad of their help, too. ATEED’s Study Auckland Manager Debbie Chambers said ITC students once again stepped up to the mark.

“We are always pleased to have ITC students at our events. We know they are being taught by experts with industry experience, and it really shows.

“They always had a smile on their faces and they managed their many tasks on the day professionally, despite it being an incredibly busy event.”

Malia says the students enjoyed a chance to gain some real-world event experience.

“It’s such a big part of study at ITC. You can’t teach travel and tourism purely in a classroom. It’s about being on the spot and seeing all the work that goes on behind the scenes to make events like this look effortless on the day.”

Guest Blog – Nomads Hostels “How to do Auckland in one day”

http://nomadshostels.com/backpackers-blog/mount-eden-and-mission-bay-in-one-day/

Thanks to the guys at Nomads for sharing their blog. A great read :)

ad

Student Profile – Jessy Glasgow-Gavin

Recent ITC student Jessy Glasgow-Gavin certainly has the enthusiasm and passion needed for a career in the travel and tourism industry. Jessy describes herself as “a bubbly, outgoing person who loves meeting new people and researching different cultures. I also love singing and being with friends and family.”

Jessy undertook one of ITC’s distance learning courses at the suggestion of her careers advisor at Stratford High School in Taranaki. She enjoyed the course so much that, on a visit to Auckland, she jumped at the chance to visit the campus.

Jessy says that seeing the campus and the Airport Training Centre “helped me decide that this was the place for me”. The centre, which simulates a real-world airport, includes check-in desks, a customs and gate lounge, and a plane to assist with training students in in-flight service.

But what really made the decision for her was the people: “Everyone at ITC is friendly, welcoming, and gives you lots of encouragement, which for someone like me coming from a small town to a huge city was amazing – I needed that.”

Jessy is currently studying for the Certificate in Travel and Tourism Level 3 and will continue on with the Certificate in Travel and Tourism Level 4.

“The course I’m doing at ITC is so much fun,” she says; “ and I love to see all the ITC staff smiling at me as I walk through the lift doors each morning.”

Jessy has big plans for her future: “I would love to be a flight attendant or become a travel agent and explore the amazing world we live in.”

“I encourage everyone who is interested in a career in travel and tourism to go for it,” she says. “Keep up the hard work to get there, because I believe everyone can achieve what they want.”

The Amazing Race – ITC Style

The International Travel College’s Amazing Race (based on the popular television show) has become a tradition at ITC’s City Road Campus.

For its fifth year the college decided to step it up a level and involve students from its Botany Campus as well. So with over 250 students, involved that meant it was the biggest Amazing race event in the ITC student calendar.

Over thirty-five teams joined in the madness, racing each other around Auckland’s CBD, following the clues that would reveal their final destination. The students knew there would be some awesome prizes and always keen to be competitive, the teams knew everything was at stake!!

The ITC Tutors were waiting at the finish line to receive the winning teams. First in was the City Road team “Holly Molly”; “Taparee” – also from City Road – came in second; and Botany team “Meow Meow” came third.

The students were dressed in some truly spectacular costumes representing this year’s Kiwiana theme. But the winning costume on the day was a City Road team whose members were dressed as pavlovas. Many of the students were also wearing ITC t-shirts made especially for the event. The creativity and lengths some of the teams had gone to was amazing!

ITC Marketing Director Claire Huxley says that the day was an incredible amount of fun, but it has other benefits as well.

“Amidst all the fun and laughter, the students were learning to work together to achieve a goal – it’s a really important part of our industry,” she says.

“Travel and tourism is an incredibly vibrant and lively industry to be in – but it also requires people to work well together. And it requires a great deal of enthusiasm – but I think it’s safe to say our students showed they have that!”