Over 250 students from schools across the south west gathered at the INEC, Killarney, Co Kerry today (8th February 2017) for a Tourism & Hospitality Careers Roadshow where they got a flavour of the wide variety of careers available in the tourism and hospitality industry and the various career paths they can take to get started. Organised by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) in association with the Irish Hospitality Institute (IHI), IT Tralee, CIT, Regional Skills and supported by Fáilte Ireland, the initiative is part of the industry-led careers programme launched last year for 15-18 year olds.
The Tourism & Hospitality Careers Roadshow in Killarney was the first in a series of events planned for across the country over the coming months. It was run in close collaboration with local tourism and hospitality businesses, many of whom were present to give the students a personal insight into training and working in the sector. Meanwhile students and lecturers from IT Tralee and CIT were also on hand to talk about the various tourism and hospitality courses that are available.
The students and their Guidance Counsellors received copies of Get a Life in Tourism, the IHF’s free digital and print magazine on tourism career options. They were also introduced to Tourism Insight – the new online interactive free programme, which provides videos and interactive tutorials on working in tourism which can be delivered as part of class in school or for students to complete in their own time at home. Videos and International GTTP competitions showcased the wide variety of great careers available.
Speaking at the event, IHF President Joe Dolan told the students about the life-long opportunity that tourism offers for those who are interested in a people oriented and customer focused job. He said: “Tourism is returning to strong growth and it is a tremendous time for young people to enter an industry where there is literally limitless potential to develop a career across a range of specialist areas. Currently tourism and hospitality businesses in Ireland need to recruit over 6,000 entry-level employees each year across all areas of their operations.”
Mr Dolan added: “The National Tourism Careers Roadshow has been developed to give young people a sense of the wide range of career paths and options available in the tourism and hospitality. It’s also an outstanding opportunity for us as an industry to engage our future potential employees and help them explore the many career entry options available, including hundreds of specialist third-level courses throughout the country.”
FOR INFORMATION:
Ger McCarthy /Barry Ryan Dublin office: 01 6798600
Weber Shandwick Mobile: 086 233 3590 / 085 728 7326
FOR INFORMATION ON TOURISM INSIGHT:
Natasha Kinsella Mobile 0868377286