Ever wondered what life could be like working in the tourism industry? Then colleges across the Liverpool City Region will be offering secondary school students the chance to find out.
‘Visitor Economy Week’ will involve over 50 activities taking place – all designed to encourage students to consider the visitor economy as a career choice and provide a taste of what life can be like working in hospitality, retail, tourism and travel.
Activities include artisan bread making, a day in the life of a zoo keeper, barista training, as well as master classes in handmade chocolates, macaroon making, cake decorating and fresh pasta, along with a range of competitions awarding top prizes – plus much more.
Taking place from February 8 – 11, these events will showcase the variety of opportunities and diverse skills associated with our growing visitor economy sector. Those colleges involved are Riverside College, Hugh Baird College, St Helens College, Knowsley College, Southport College, Wirral Met and The City of Liverpool College.
Students are being encouraged to sign up to the website and register for the events at www.visitoreconomyweek.co.uk which has a full timetable of events and more information.
As part of its initiative to support skills development across the sector, the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) visitor economy team has been working with further education colleges and skills providers across the city region to help retain people in the sector and improve links with employers.
This initiative is the first in a series of events that will be staged over the next 12 months to help promote the visitor economy as a viable career choice, and raise the profile of the sector. A key aspect will be engaging with secondary schools and helping those students identify vocational training opportunities that exist outside of the sixth form.
Peter Sandman, Head of Visitor Economy at Liverpool City Region LEP, said: “With the visitor economy now worth over £3.8bn annually, the number of jobs in the sector has significantly increased and demand for the skills being showcased during this week is high.
“Therefore this is a great opportunity for students to sample new courses and discover potential career options.”