ITC Students Get Rugby World Cup Experience
The Rugby World Cup 2011 gave the International Travel College (ITC) an opportunity to provide some fantastic real-world experience for its students.
ITC student volunteers worked with Auckland War Memorial Museum and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) to provide information and assistance for visitors to Auckland during the Rugby World Cup.
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. The college has developed strong working relationships with Auckland Museum and ATEED, with student regularly undertaking work experience and part-time roles with both organisations.
The 20 students representing Auckland Museum were armed with energy drinks, water, Anzac biscuits and digital cameras to record the atmosphere within the city and their interactions with visitors.
Dubbed the Auckland Museum Student Army, the ITC students stayed in touch with the museum via a dedicated Facebook page, uploading images and reporting on their progress.
“The initiative was hugely successful and the museum is very grateful,” says Tourism Manager Adam Taylor.
“One student went so far as to escort a Japanese couple to the museum. If this student came to me for a job post study, she would be first in line for a role with us.”
“That’s exactly the kind of feedback we want,” says ITC’s Account Manager Ceri Jenkins. “The relationships we develop with industry are all about ITC students being known as highly trained and job-ready. It’s a win-win for the students, the college and New Zealand’s tourism industry.”
Adam Taylor agrees: “For the Museum, working with the best tertiary tourism institutes like ITC is a great way for us to help grow the next generation of tourism professionals, and it also allows the students to develop their own relationships before they enter the job market.”
The 15 student volunteers for ATEED teamed up with existing Wise Guides to help visitors in the city. The benefits to those students have also been hugely valuable, says Ceri.
“These students were able to start to develop some key contacts for themselves in the industry, as they received training from a number of key industry operators and were in constant contact with them throughout the event. As a direct result of these contacts, a number of these students will undoubtedly gain work through Tourism Auckland and their partners.”
“We’re really proud of our students,” he continues. “This was a unique opportunity for them to be involved in a major event and to enhance their customer service skills and general levels of confidence – and they embraced it with open arms.”
Another HIT fir ITC students :)
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