This September, Northumberland College’s Kirkley Hall Campus, based just outside of Ponteland, will become the new home for the college’s Travel and Tourism students.
The new change will mean that students who study on a Travel and Tourism course at Northumberland College will be able to take advantage of the many commercial benefits of its Kirkley Hall Campus, including work experience within Kirkley Hall Zoological Gardens, Weddings, Conferences and its Outdoor Activity Centre.
Jen Bell, Academy Director of Land and Leisure and Head of Campus of Kirkley Hall said: “We look forward to welcoming Travel and Tourism to the Kirkley Campus.”
“A key module for those studying these courses is Visitor Attractions, so working with us to help grow our offer here at Kirkley Hall, whilst gaining crucial work experience will benefit us all.”
The tourism and visitor economy is a critical part of the economy and accounts for almost one in five jobs in the UK.
In Northumberland, it is the fastest growing industry and overall in the UK tourism sector, it is predicted by 2020, the sector will need to recruit a further 843,000 staff.
Kirkley Hall Zoological Gardens opened in 2011 and over the past three years has continued to expand its offer and is now home to over 200 species, which include Ring Tailed Lemurs, Coatis, Wallavies, Meerkats, Snakes and Capybaras, attracting approximately 70,000 visitors per year.
Jen added: “Students who wish to work within the event management industry will be able to benefit from having a leading wedding and conference venue on site.”
Those who study Travel and Tourism with Northumberland College will continue to visit many other leading tourist attractions, develop hands-on skills through work experience, benefit from training in the college’s cabin room, which replicates the inside of a passenger aircraft, providing a realistic learning environment for cabin crew trainees.
Lecturer in Travel and Tourism, Danielle Miller worked for Qatar Airways based in Doha, before teaching at Northumberland College. She travelled to South America, Asia, Australia and Africa for long and short trips, following strict uniform, safety and living standards.
Danielle said: “Taking part in a cabin crew course prepares our learners for the real working environment. We follow a point system like most airlines follow during the cabin crew training period.”
“Having industry experience means lecturers can help prepare our students for the working environment and share our experiences both good and bad with them.”
Latest developments see a new focus on rural tourism with new modules being added to maximize upon opportunities in the region.
Those wishing to study Travel and Tourism with Northumberland College should visit www.northumberland.ac.uk for further information.