Catching up with Shania Wheatley: A Covid whirlwind with a happy ending

Graduate Shania has had a whirlwind few years, all with a fantastic happy ending!

ITC graduate Shania Wheatley has had an incredible journey.

We first interviewed her in 2017 when she landed a job on a cruise ship and lined another up to work at Disney. But so much changed just a couple of years later that we interviewed her again, and found her back in NZ working in an isolation facility.

Now in the wake of Covid, Shania has made another big move – and a big lifestyle change! Her journey is truly a whirlwind, but it has a happy ending.

Here it is in her own words.

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Meet the graduate who landed her dream job after studying with ITC

Pamela Fakasoi is working with Menzies Aviation after studying with ITC.

Pamela Fakasoi studied at ITC and earned her level 3 qualification years ago, and recently came back to continue with levels 4 and 5.

And now, she’s working her dream job with real life Love Actually moments as she gets to witness beautiful airport reunions as loved ones reconnect after being separated by covid!

She worked hard throughout her ITC courses and impressed the team every step of the way, so when she applied to work for Menzies Aviation, we knew it would be a great fit for her. Her friendly, hard-working attitude made her perfect for the role, and her ITC qualifications and support helped to make her dream come true.

Here’s a little more about Pam and her journey through ITC and into her dream job! (more…)

Meet Heather Ward: The graduate who found confidence and a career through ITC

Heather Ward found her confidence and a career through ITC.

Heather Ward is a graduate from ITC’s Whangareri Campus, and one who landed a role as an Air New Zealand customer service agent just over a year ago.

Heather worked closely with some of the ITC team as she applied for the job, and we were delighted to hear that she had been offered the role.

Here’s a little more about Heather’s journey!

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Meet Veronica Maihia: The graduate who completed an ITC diploma while pregnant!

Veronica was our first student to complete her studies while pregnant!

ITC and Study From Home often get the pleasure of meeting extremely hard working young Kiwis. Veronica Maihia is one of those graduates.

Veronica recently completed her diploma while pregnant – and became the first student to do so! She began with ITC but courses switched to studied online during the pandemic, and with sheer determination and serious organisation, finished her studies prior to giving birth.

Of course, we wanted to ask Veronica about her experience, but knowing she was due any day, we didn’t expect to hear back from her for a while. We were blown away when she responded to the questions below shortly after giving birth!

Read on to learn more about how Veronica managed her studies throughout her pregnancy, her plans for the future, and her advice for anyone looking to study ITC. As an added bonus, we’ve also included her fantastic graduation speech at the end. (more…)

Meet the graduate putting a spotlight on tourism’s need for more accessible travel

Paralympian Michael Johnson spoke with ITC graduate Sinead McDonnell about tourism’s need for more accessible travel.

The final subject of the New Zealand Diploma in Tourism and Travel at Level 5 is tourism & hospitality research and analysis. As part of this subject, students must choose a topic to research – ideally one they have a special interest in.

For Sinead McDonnell, the choice was simple. Her own family history inspired her to take a closer look into the accessibility of the New Zealand hotel industry, and found real gaps in what’s currently available – and what could encourage more lesser abled tourists to explore New Zealand.

Read on to find out more about Sinead’s inspiration, project, thoughts, and future goals!  (more…)

Read the inspiring speech shared for a recent ITC graduation by an industry leader

Haka Tours General Manager Eve Lawrence gave an excellent speech at a recent ITC graduation.

Eve Lawrence is the General Manager for Haka Tourism Group, where she runs Haka Tours, NZ Snow Tours, and ANZ Nature Tours. Naturally, she is an incredible role model for anyone aspiring to work in the tourism industry.

She recently shared the speech she wrote for our graduates.

With her permission, we are sharing some of the highlights of her speech, so you can enjoy her pearls of wisdom about tourism, travel, and making a career out of something you love!

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Enrol now for a chance to win an incredible Auckland tourism package!

You could win an incredible Sky Jump (and more) by enrolling now!

Have you been considering enrolling with ITC, or suggesting to a friend that they should enrol?

There has literally never been a better time than right now, because anyone who enrols between now and May 20 will go into the draw to win a phenomenal prize package in Auckland!

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The 2022 ITC famil another great success

ITC students recently visited attractions around Northland as part of their annual famil trip.

One of the highlights of the college year at ITC is the annual famil (familiarisation) trip. This is where students head off on adventures around New Zealand to get ‘familiar’ with some of the incredible tourism experiences on offer.

This gives them an insight into how it all works, and inspires them with areas they could work in once they graduate from ITC. And of course, it’s great fun!

Despite the challenges of 2022, the ITC famil still went ahead. This meant this year’s students get the most out of their education journey, going on an epic three-day adventure around Northland. ITC is one of few providers still offering such an amazing experience. (more…)

Meet Esther Fanene: The graduate who has seen NZ tourism bloom first hand!

Esther Fanene is a recent ITC graduate who landed an amazing role with Explore Group.

Esther Fanene is a wonderful ITC graduate who knew she wanted to be part of the New Zealand tourism industry from the outset.  

To do that, she enrolled with ITC, and the rest is history.

Esther has recently started a fantastic job with the Explore Group here in New Zealand. We asked her a few questions about her time at ITC, her new role, and her advice for anyone considering following in her footsteps. (more…)

Everybody loves ITC – What are you waiting for?

The results are in – everyone loves ITC!

The class of 2022 is off to an excellent start. They’re currently learning about travel and tourism, and taking on the knowledge and skills they’ll need to dive straight into an incredible career in the industry once they graduate.

They’ve only just begun, but we thought we’d check in and see how they’re finding it so far. And spoiler alert – a massive 100% of ITC graduates in 2020 and 2021 would recommend ITC to their friends (we’re particularly proud of that statistic considering the challenges of the past two years).

But without further ado, here’s some of the sparkling feedback we’ve received so far, and what you can get if you recommend ITC to a friend!

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