Did you see what we won?

International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) has been named the winner in the Excellence in Marketing category at the Westpac Auckland South Business Awards 2011. This is the first time that this category has been in the Awards and was one of the most contested categories.

The awards (formerly the Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards) aim to recognise and celebrate excellence in South Auckland’s businesses, particularly in relation to promoting and strengthening economic development in the region.

The announcement was made at a gala dinner held at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau on 12 August.

“We are so thrilled,” says Marketing Director Claire Huxley. “We integrate our marketing in all that we do – whether it’s college-run events, our website and blog, our relationship with industry or work experience for our students.”

“We know that marketing isn’t just about the promotional material we produce. Everyone at the college represents the ITC brand, and it’s an important part of our job to make sure we create an environment where everyone is proud to represent us – whether that’s our staff, our students or our graduates.”

“A passion for the tourism, travel and airline industries is the foundation of our college. Our staff members all have a great deal of experience and a real commitment to sharing that with our students and helping them on their way to their dream career. All of our marketing stems from that core focus.”

“We’d like to say a big thank you to Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development who run the awards, not just for recognising ITC, but for the faith they show in our business community and for the opportunity to show people what we are all capable of.”

ITC, which has campuses in Botany and central Auckland, has been a premium supplier of full-time and part-time training programmes for the airline, travel and tourism industries since 1996. ITC also offers a wide range of Distance and Online learning courses.

This is not the first win for the college, which won the Excellence in Service Delivery and Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality awards in 2010

Have you met our new tutor in the City?

Meet Catherine O’Dea, the newest member of the ITC City tutor team. She talks about why she got into the Industry and why she decided to make the move into teaching.

“My love for travel and tourism developed while I was still at high school, so when I graduated I decided to pursue a career in the industry.

I began studying in 2004, but before the academic year was even finished Qantas Airways offered me a job as a reservations consultant. This offered me a great starting point in the industry, and I learnt about many aspects of the business, including customer service, flights, airfares and ticketing.
 
After two years in Qantas reservations, I applied for the role of business development officer in commercial sales and got it. The role was responsible for looking after Qantas’s small to medium clients, with a key objective to increase market revenue. This role offered me the opportunity to learn about the corporate side of Qantas and meet lots of new people.
 
After two years in commercial sales I felt like I needed a challenge. I moved to Jetconnect (a subsidiary of Qantas) as a short haul flight attendant. This was a dream come true for me.

The cabin crew training was very challenging and rewarding, and I was extremely excited to finally be able to put it all into practice.

I flew weekly from New Zealand to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and really enjoyed interacting with other crew members and passengers from different cultures every single day. No day was ever the same!
 
During my time in this role, a position came up at Qantas Business Travel as a corporate travel consultant. Ever since starting at Qantas, I had always wanted to work in this department, so I knew I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by.

In this role I was able to learn about many more aspects of travel, including packages, rental cars and accommodation. It was here that I learnt about providing great customer service while helping clients with all aspects of their travel requirements.

When I saw the job of travel tutor advertised at ITC, I knew that I wanted to share my knowledge and experience with students who felt as excited about the industry as I did.

What has struck me since starting at ITC is how practically and realistically the training prepares students for careers in travel and tourism.

Like me, the staff all have experience in the industry, which mean students are not only getting the benefit of the great programmes and facilities, but they are getting genuine first-hand knowledge every day.

My goal now is to help others to achieve their goals; to help students make the career choices that are best for them by passing on as much information as I can about working in this amazing industry.”

Thanks Catherine, we know you are going to inspire, motivate and teach lots of students into this awesome industry.  

ITC Students Graduate in Style

The International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) celebrated its 2011 graduation in style at the Langham Hotel, Auckland.

Graduates, their family and friends, ITC staff and representatives from the travel and tourism industry enjoyed an evening with drinks and nibbles in the Langham’s luxurious Grand Ballroom. 

ITC Managing Director Kerry Priestly opened the evening, welcoming the guests to the special occasion, and Campus Managers Carla Sutton, Kirsten Leith and Michelle Chatfield also spoke throughout the evening.

The keynote speaker for the evening was Kate McCardle, the Membership Travel Services Manager for American Express. Kate began by asking the audience to close their eyes and imagine themselves packing to go on a trip, arriving at the airport and feeling a sense of excitement and anticipation. Kate said this is how she feels about the travel industry, highlighting the freedom and opportunity to meet with new people and experience new cultures.

Kate, who originally enrolled in a Bachelor of Science at university in Australia, was bitten by the travel bug when she spent several months travelling in East Africa.  On her return she left university and studied travel and tourism in Sydney. She is now in charge of over 40 staff at the American Express call centre in Auckland. Kate has just returned from a visit to American Express in Sweden to perform a benchmarking exercise on their systems and processes. American Express customers recently voted Sweden first for customer service; New Zealand was second and Kate wanted to find out where they could improve.

“That level of commitment to being the best, and being excited about being the best was so inspirational for our graduates. The fact that Kate got to travel to Sweden and back via a conference in Monte Carlo and a trip to the UK also helped!” says ITC Marketing Director Claire Huxley.

As well as the graduation certificates, the following awards were given for special achievements:
Outstanding Academic Achievement: Harpreet Kaur (Distance Learning)
Outstanding All Round Achievement: Samantha Hunt (Botany) and Jayne Whitford (City)
Personal Achievement: Barbara Davis (Distance Learning) and Brooke Chapman (Botany)
Academic Excellence: Juanita Matila (Botany) and Ashleigh Beaufoy (City)
College Life: Sera Naitoko (Botany) and Robert Koto (City)
Student of the Year: Ruth Barlett from (Botany) and Cristina Traczinski (City)

ITC provided two professional photographers for the evening who busily snapped the graduates with their families and receiving their certificates. Graduates will all receive a free DVD containing photos from the evening.

Congratulations to all this year’s graduates, and a very big thank you to ITC’s Student Services Advisor Toni Waterhouse, who organised this wonderful event.

A special thank you to the Langham Hotel, the major sponsor for the evening, and to all our other sponsors: Thrifty , Intercity, Nomads , Rainbows End, Fullers , Citylife/Heritage , YHA , AJ Hackett ,  Explore NZ  and Stray .

The International Travel College of New Zealand has campuses in Botany and central Auckland, as well as offering courses by distance and online learning. They have been the premium supplier of full-time and part-time training programmes for the airline, travel and tourism industries since 1996.

Cristina a Top Performer at ITC

On Friday 22 July, International Travel College of New Zealand student Cristina Traczinski received some wonderful news. She had just been named as the student with the best performance in the country for the IATA Foundation and EBT Course.

The course is administered by the IATA Training and Development Institute (ITDI), the training arm of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – an international trade body that represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international air traffic.

The International Travel College of New Zealand is an IATA Authorized Training Center (ATC), which allows it to teach the IATA Travel and Tourism and Aviation training programmes. Cristina completed the ITDI course as part of International Diploma in Tourism Management.

“We’re so proud of Cristina,” says ITC’s Managing Director Kerry Priestley. “This is an exceptional achievement and will stand her in good stead in her career.”

The letter telling Cristina of her achievement came from Ismail Albaidhani, Head of Distance Learning at IATA in Canada. It congratulates her on her performance and tells her that she may use the letter as a reference for any future job application.

Not that she needs it just yet; Cristina has just also found out that she is to start her first role in the travel and tourism industry on 1 August at travel consultancy BTI.

“What a success story!” says Kerry. “Cristina is a stand-out example of the kind of momentum that builds once people really set their sights on a dream. We work hard to give our students the training, the experience and the industry contacts to realise their dream, but in the end they have to give it their best shot – and that is exactly what Cristina has done.”

Congratulations to Cristina from all her classmates and the staff at ITC.

ITC has been a premium supplier of full-time and part-time training programmes for the airline, travel and tourism industries since 1996, and has campuses in Botany and central Auckland.

Travels in Northland

ITC’s Account Manager Ceri Jenkins travels north for the CATE Northland Roadshow

ITC has been attending the Careers and Transition Education Association’s (CATE) Northland Roadshow for many years. The purpose of the week-long event is to talk to as many high school students in the Far North as possible about the career opportunities available to them. A whole range of providers attend the week, including many private training establishments, the main universities and polytechnics, the armed forces and many Industry Training Organisations. This is a great chance for ITC to put a face to our name and really get across to students what a fantastic range of careers are available in this industry that we love.

The week started for me with a bleary-eyed drive at 4.30am on Monday, so I could make it to Kaitaia College for an 8.30am start. Kaitaia is the largest school in the area, with a number of students considering moving out of the area to further their career opportunities.

It was great to be able to engage with such a motivated group of students, but I did receive an unwelcome gift from a flock of seagulls while at the school! While standing outside a classroom waiting my turn for a presentation, the birds decided to use me for target practice, and some of them were very accurate indeed – the students, of course, thought it was hilarious.

We then drove to Taipa Bay for the night; and I took a slight detour so I could sneak in a surf at Ahipara’s Shipwreck Bay. The surf was great and I was even joined by a pod of dolphins.

The next morning we set up our displays at Taipa Area school and then moved onto Whangaroa College.

The influx of students and their parents moving into the Northland region for the lifestyle has certainly had a positive impact on students’ career outlooks.  The students from out of the area are not put off by travelling to Auckland to study and have a whole range of career goals and ideas. This has also had a noticeably positive impact on students who have always lived in the area.

After Whangaroa, we moved into our accommodation in Paihia – our base for the rest of the week. That night we found ourselves in Jimmy Jack’s Rib Shack, where they were offering two plates of ribs for the price of one.  Four of us decided we could handle two plates each. To say I was full that night was an understatement.  The following night I had the vegetarian pizza, as meat was certainly off the menu for the time being!

Wednesday was a fantastic day at KeriKeri High School.  The vast majority of students at this school have very focused career goals and have no fears at all about moving out of area to further their studies. The week finished very positively with visits to Okaihau and Northland Colleges on the Thursday and Bay Of Islands College on the Friday.

The level of interest in travel and tourism was really encouraging, and the students were amazed at the range of opportunities studying at ITC could offer. There is still sometimes a perception that this industry offers limited career choices, so it was rewarding to be able tell students about the huge range of options in the hospitality, airline, travel and tourism industries in New Zealand and overseas.

All in all another very successful Northland Roadshow. And, as always, all of the providers shared many laughs (and some great meals!) throughout the week.  We certainly look forward to welcoming students from the Far North to

How to get a job in the travel industry

Check out Dan Roberts and his blog about this subject, some great tips and advice.

http://travelgeneration.com/travel-stories/how-to-get-a-job-in-the-travel-industry/

Pictured is Marc Aso, ITC graduate working at Nomads Backpackers.

“A Supportive Extended Family” – ITC’s online study makes it easy

The International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) has been a premium supplier of full-time and part-time training programmes for the airline, travel and tourism industries since 1996, and has campuses in Botany and central Auckland.

Since 2006, ITC has offered several of its courses via online and distance learning.

For mums like Kim Hooper, Susannah Eaton, Ann-Maree Nimalota and Lyn Redstall, and those with full-time jobs like Harpreet Kaur, ITC’s online study offers opportunities that would otherwise be closed to them.

Ann-Maree, who recently completed the National Certificate in Tourism (core skills) while working part time, says “I had always wanted to get into the travel and tourism industry, but found it hard as I needed to work. With a young one there was no way I could go back to classes. Then I heard about ITC’s online distance learning course and I knew it was perfect for me.  I was able to be at home with my baby and still work part time.”

Lyn says that the hardest part was actually signing the enrolment form and “committing to the unknown”. She had not studied for many years and was uncertain how she would fit it in around work and family commitments. “I did have a few concerns; however, most of these quickly disappeared after I’d completed my first assignment and passed – that was a big confidence boost.”

She says that the course structure means the work “isn’t hard to pick up where you left off if you do get interrupted, and, actually, at times it’s quite beneficial to have a break.” She was surprised by how much time she had available.

Susannah agrees: “I sure did have some hectic moments juggling motherhood with student life, but once I started a routine and stuck to it I had loads more time than I thought.”

Ann-Maree found that the course structure allowed her to plan ahead to ensure her success: “I found there were times when I struggled, for example, when I got sick or my baby got sick, and over the busy Christmas and New year. Being a little ahead of the course schedule meant that if I was caught in a situation where I struggled to find the time to study I was never behind, and for me being up to date helped me to keep on going and really take the time to learn.”

Kim is a single mother with two children, and it is keeping her eye on the end goal that keeps her motivated. “My future goal to be a customs officer or a check in agent is my motivation to keep me going and not to give up. I get a lot of support and encouragement from my tutor Carla as well as my classmates.”

The others all agree that the support they have received from ITC’s staff and fellow students have been critical to their enjoyment and success.

“Over the past 40 weeks I have had close contact with fellow distance learning classmates and tutors through online forums and workshops,” says Ann-Maree. “This has been very fun and helpful, asking and answering questions that we were unsure about, also sharing our thoughts and experiences with each other.”

“I cannot forget the fantastic staff at ITC,” says Susannah. “They are such an organised and friendly bunch of people. I felt so comfortable asking them questions whether it was via email or telephone.”

Harpreet goes so far as to say that ITC’s tutors “are the best tutors in the world”! 
“They will never put you down, even if you make a mistake,” says Harpreet. “They keep you motivated.  The online system, study resources, and help from tutors are just brilliant.” 

Like Susannah, Lyn has found that organising her family life and routine are crucial to success: “I now look forward to logging on to ITC Online as part of my daily routine to see if there are messages to be read and answered – it’s like I have a supportive extended family!”

All five students are looking forward to achieving their goals and working in their chosen travel and tourism fields.

“Starting here is the beginning of my future career in travel and I’m so excited,” says Kim.

ITC’s Next Top Flight Model

The Airport Training Centre in Botany hosted a very interesting group of aspiring Flight Attendants in this months student event.

Each class had at least one model and the class decided the theme, and designed outfits accordingly. There was a spectacular array of Polynesian influence, wacky out of space designs, and then of course the Tutor entry, Jacey Patterson who made a gorgeous ‘Miss Thing’!

The crew were introduced and their outfits defined. Many were hand made, or hand sewn, with clearly much thought and effort put into the finer details of the design. After introductions each ‘flightie’ was challenged with walking the aisle with a tray of glasses, and of course safely stowing luggage in the overhead lockers. The FIT2Fly team made the luggage look like a heavy weight, and the Robot ‘Hot ITCer’ proved that the liquid was truly going to come out of her cones…!!!

The judges had a very hard time narrowing down winners from such a great stream of contestants. It was obvious how much thought and team effort had gone in to each and every design. In the end, Aisea Halo from the CTT01b’s took out the award from best model with his rather wacky 70’s design, and the fab afro hairdo. Loved the flares!

The prize for number one class went to the CAV03’s Wings to Paradise whose two flight attendants were serenaded with the subtle pangs of the ukulele as they modeled their designer uniforms complete with logoed shirts and poly design theming coming through to make them the stand out favourites.

Thanks to the judges for your time and thought, to the models for grooming yourselves so superbly, and to your classmates who dressed, sewed, painted, wrote PA announcements, and generally supported! Another very successful ITC event!

A big thanks to Kirsten and all the team at Botany for organising such a great event.

A day in the life of ITC’s Account Manager – Ceri Jenkins

Ceri Jenkins has been with ITC since August 2007. Ceri is responsible for managing the relationship between ITC and industry and the many schools we work with. Ceri has a wealth of experience in the New Zealand tourism industry and had worked in the Industry for 9 years before starting at ITC.

1 April 2011
April is typically quiet in the industry in Auckland, and businesses are usually looking to downsize for the winter season. But with the Rugby World Cup coming up, employers are aware they need to recruit and train new staff now and hold onto their existing staff to ensure they have the skills and expertise to deal with a busy September and October. So Ceri has a full day of meetings lined up.

First up is a meeting with Alyson Hill, the Auckland retail sales manager of Explore NZ. Explore NZ offers a range of tours and cruises in Auckland and the Bay of Islands. Ceri has met Alyson before when she was working with Tourism Auckland at the i-SITE office, but this is the first time ITC has worked with Explore NZ. Ceri is keen to discuss work experience and entry position opportunities for our students. It’s a great meeting, and Alyson says Explore NZ has been impressed with the students they have met so far from ITC. She’s particularly impressed with their enthusiasm, the depth of their training and their desire to get into the industry. One of our students already has an interview lined up with Explore NZ. Very positive!

Next, Ceri has a meeting with a contact he has known for years: Lynne Butler at Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development Ltd. This is the tourism unit of Tourism Auckland and is responsible for encouraging international and domestic visitors to come to Auckland. Lynne manages the infrastructure of i-SITE, including recruitment. Ceri invites her to become a member of the ITC Advisory Board, as she has wealth of industry knowledge and experience. They also have further discussions on the volunteer programme for the Rugby World Cup, in which ITC students will be involved. Ceri wants to know how the programme is going to work in terms of timescales, recruiting, and logistics. They also discuss how the new recruitment process will work, as this is now run through the Auckland Council.

Ceri’s next meeting is with is Shireen Bosch. Shireen is the manager of the Auckland i-Site Visitor Centre – Princes Wharf. Ceri is here to discuss the ITC work experience programme and site visits for ITC and high school students. These visits help students gain an understanding the functions of an i-SITE office and give them a taste of some of the career paths available to them once they have graduated. Many students don’t realise the range of skills needed to work in this area, or the opportunities it can give them. Ceri’s role is pivotal in helping students see the link between further study and their career paths.

Ceri’s final meeting for the day is with Joanne Dunabie, the HR Manager at the Heritage Hotel. This is an introductory meeting to help Ceri assess their recruitment needs and work experience programme, so that we can see what mutual opportunities there are for ITC’s students and the hotel. Another great meeting and Joanne says she will send her vacancies to be listed with ITC.

Then it’s back to the office to check emails and discover that there have been a number of industry-related April Fool’s jokes circulating in the media, including one about InterCity’s new “green initiative” to fuel its buses on sheep manure! Time for a quick laugh, and then it’s off to help with the preparations for the school group visiting on Monday 4th April.

Music is the flavour of the month

Hi everyone. It’s been a month since I last wrote…I missed ya!

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