Introducing Celeste Cakau

A warm welcome to Celeste Cakau – a new tutor at ITC’s City Campus.

Live. Laugh. Love. As cliché as it is, these three words are what sparked my interest in the airline, travel and tourism industry.

I started my working life as a teller/banking consultant, dealing with customers. I enjoyed playing with everyone else’s money, however this was not where my heart lay! LOVE. They say if you love what you do then it won’t feel like work, so… I decided to make a change.

In 2009, I completed a Tourism and Aviation Certificate with the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute and started working with Menzies as a Passenger Service Agent. In 2010, I became a flight attendant with Jetstar, flying Domestic and Trans-Tasman routes. I also worked part time in the office helping with rosters and banking (couldn’t stay away from the money!).

In 2012, I became a Cabin Crew Trainer, training new recruits and assessing current crew in emergency and standard operating procedures. This is where you could say the LIVE part came in as I was mainly based in Melbourne but also trained out of Brisbane. I was literally living out of a suitcase and couldn’t tell you what day of the week it was.

In the same year, I also helped to set up the Jetstar Auckland Base Training at the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute (coincidentally where I did my travel and tourism course). Glad to be back in NZ and wanting to continue teaching to help students prepare for the travel and tourism industry, I became a training facilitator with the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute. I have a passion for teaching and like to make learning fun by having a lot of laughs.

I was lucky enough in 2013 to tick my dream destination off my bucket list….. EGYPT – my first ever tour with Top Deck Tours. It was amazing!!

My advice to you is work hard so that you can play hard. The Travel and Tourism Industry is by far the most challenging & exciting industry to work in where no two days are the same.

– Celeste