Students from Newcastle College once again played a central role in the North East England Tourism Awards, held last week at Newcastle’s Civic Centre.
They served up dinner and entertainment to tourism and hospitality businesses, which were gathered at the annual awards ceremony to find out who would be named as the stars of the region’s thriving tourism industry.
Newcastle College, which delivers a range of courses in hospitality and tourism, supported the event as a category sponsor. Deputy Principal Lisa Hamilton-Murray took to the stage to present the award for Large Hotel of the Year to Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa Resort.
During her speech, Lisa spoke about the College’s commitment to supporting the region’s hospitality and tourism businesses, and asked employers to get in touch to support the development of skills in both further and higher education.
The dinner saw students from the college preparing and serving food to hundreds of guests from across the North East, and was an opportunity to gain hands-on experience front-of-house at a high profile event, which is key to their success.
Speaking ahead of the event, Lisa said: “Our role as an anchor institution of the North East is to develop the region’s future and current workforce, and we work closely with partners like NGI and local employers to prepare our students for their future career.
“The North East England Tourism Awards are always a fantastic opportunity for our learners to gain new skills and experience. We are proud to continue our support of the event and we’re looking forward to another fantastic celebration of our region and the businesses and people at the heart of it.”
Supporting the North East Tourism Aards is just one part of the work the College is doing with employers and stakeholders to help achieve the North East’s ambitions to grow its visitor economy.
It already delivers sector-leading training in hospitality, offering a wide range of entry level to degree level programmes designed to meet the skills needs of the region. Learners study professional cookery, culinary arts and hospitality management in industry-standard facilities and hone their skills in the award-winning fine-dining restaurant, The Chefs’ Academy.
Recent investment has also been made in facilities designed to support good teaching practice in sustainability and food techniques, including state-of-the-art induction hobs whilst cameras, TV screens and iPads have enhanced learner demonstrations and allowed recording and livestreaming for those outside of the classroom.
Find out more about Newcastle College's hospitality and tourism offer