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OVER 250 students from schools in Kerry and across the southwest gathered at the INEC, Killarney, today for the first tourism and hospitality careers roadshow.

Organised by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), the initiative is part of an industry-led programme being run in association with the Irish Hospitality Institute (IHI), IT Tralee, Cork IT and Regional Skills, to give senior cycle students a flavour of the wide variety of careers and roles available in tourism and hospitality industry and the various career paths they can take to get started. Further careers events are planned across the country over the coming months.

The inaugural Tourism & Hospitality Careers Roadshow in Killarney 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.

Students and lecturers from IT Tralee and Cork IT were also on hand to talk about the various tourism and hospitality courses that are available.
Speaking at the event, IHF President Joe Dolan described the life-long opportunity that tourism offers for those who have an interest in a people oriented and customer focused job. “Tourism is returning to strong growth and tourism and hospitality businesses in Ireland need to recruit over 6,000 entry-level employees each year across all areas of their operations. 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.”

Mr Dolan added: “The National Tourism Careers Roadshow has been developed to give young people a sense of the wealth of 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.”
Further information about the programme and careers within the hospitality industry is available at www.getalifeintourism.ie and www.tourisminsight.ie.
 

 
Above: Andrea Armero, Tralee, Maeve Rotte, Waterford, Amy Walsh, Killarney, Kathryn Coffey, Killorglin, and Nandi Tshikota, Tralee from the Institute of Technology Tralee with Joe Dolan, President, Irish Hotels Federation at the Tourism & Hospitality Careers Roadshow at the INEC, Killarney.
PICTURE: MACMONAGLE PHOTOGRAPHY