From the Classroom to the Industry: How ITC Is Shaping the Future of Tourism in NZ Schools
ITC’s Mel at the beach with a group of Schools students.
At International Travel College (ITC), we’re proud to partner with secondary schools across Aotearoa to bring real-world pathways and hands-on learning into the classroom. As a leading tertiary provider specialising in tourism, aviation and travel, we support secondary students via short courses, Gateway / STAR programmes, tourism class resources, and more — all designed to educate while sparking students’ passion for our industry.
We are proud of the work our dedicated team has achieved over the years. This year is our biggest yet! Once again expanding our Schools Team, building new exciting relationships to support tourism education in schools and bringing new schools onboard to provide quality education and resources Nationwide.
Here are just a few highlights from an incredible year:
- Introducing Ruth Betham, our newest Tourism Education Tutor in the schools team.
- Delivering our NEW ‘Explore Tourism’ Short Course in Christchurch & Wellington!
- Offering more of our popular Tourism Experiences.
- Reaching NEW destinations and bringing our exciting Short Courses to Rotorua and Hauraki Plains.
- Once again providing schools with the most up to date Tourism Resources. Providing a quick replacement of unit 24725 and offering our new unit 33212 – Tourism Impacts.
- Proudly graduating 169 students on our Business of Tourism Academies and our Business of Tourism Experience in Auckland and Northland.
- Offering successful FREE Personal Development events in Invercargill, Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland for high school staff in tourism, careers, pathway and Gateway departments which provided contacts and tools to support their students and gain a greater understanding of the opportunities in our amazing industry.
- Building and continuing to strengthen relationships with schools and providing new specialised courses and resources to cater for the individual requirements of their students.
- Record-breaking engagement, with more students than ever taking part in our short courses, Academies, and Experiences. Over half of these students have expressed interest in exploring full-time opportunities with us — our highest percentage to date! This growing enthusiasm is a fantastic sign for our industry partners, as the future talent pool continues to expand with motivated, skilled individuals.
- Outstanding engagement with students at school careers events and Expos. We’ve seen a 14% increase in students actively seeking more information about future study opportunities with us — a clear sign of growing interest and enthusiasm. Even more impressively, this year’s figures are 5% higher than our previous record year in 2019, marking a strong and inspiring post-COVID rebound.
NEW in 2026!
Here’s what we’re looking forward to next year!
- 3 day Flight Attending Experience in NEW destinations across New Zealand.
- Stay & Play: Attractions & Accommodation Experience in Term 3.
- Due to the demand, our popular 7-week Experiences will be offered in Terms 1, 2 & 3 during 2026.
- NEW Personal Development opportunities for staff in schools throughout New Zealand.
Feedback from schools around New Zealand
We’ve already had some incredible feedback from our wonderful schools in NZ:
“We can’t say enough about what you offer our young people in terms of care, support and learning. We are so appreciative of your team’s strong desire to really bring about a positive outcome for students, by working alongside schools.”
“The structure of the resources is very well laid out for students and the content is interesting and relevant. The marking information is also very straightforward for me as the teacher. Additionally, ITC has been very quick and easy to contact and support me with any queries, no matter how small.”
“The connections with industry that ITC has is so valuable.”
“The students gain an insight into the tourism industry. They get to meet students from other schools and improve their social skills and learn positive skills that will help them in any workforce.”
“I have found the communication excellent with ITC – I ask for what I need and the team help me to create the individual student’s learning plan.”
“You guys do an amazing job! Esther is awesome, the team who run the STAR courses is awesome. It’s all awesome!”
“I appreciate that ITC staff are always helpful, friendly professionals whenever I have dealt with them over phone or emails. Thank you.”
“Awesome work you guys. Thanks heaps for all your skill and knowledge for our students.”
“The team and staff are always excellent, a big reason for my loyalty to ITC.”
“Thank you for providing such great experiences for our students and for being so flexible for the needs of our young parents.”
Where to from here?
Through interactive learning, site visits, guest speakers and industry-aligned education, our schools-team bridges the gap between theoretical study and vocational experience. We also provide teacher support, assessment resources, and professional development opportunities so that schools can confidently deliver up-to-date, relevant curriculum.
Whether a student is just exploring potential careers or preparing to transition into tertiary study, our work in schools is about opening doors — to opportunity, to confidence, and to a future in travel, tourism and aviation.
If you want to explore the incredible opportunities that are available, visit our website here. If you would like to discuss how ITC can support your students, contact our dedicated Schools Coordinator, Esther on schools@itc.co.nz.
Posted in In Schools, News | Tagged ITC in Schools, Schools Team, Study travel and tourism | Leave a reply