Get a life in tourism. School-leavers encouraged to explore tourism options

Get a Life in Tourism, a free annual magazine aimed at encouraging school-leavers to consider a career in tourism, has been launched for 2008/2009, by Fáilte Ireland and the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF). The 72-page publication, which is distributed in secondary schools throughout the country, acts as a valuable resource for exploring a career in Ireland’s largest indigenous industry.

The magazine is part of a suite of promotional tools developed by Fáilte Ireland to attract young people into the tourism industry and make them aware of the wide number of tourism-related courses available throughout the country. A new website aimed at school-leavers, thenextstep.ie, is due to go live before the end of 2008.
 
“There is an excellent choice of third level courses available to students coming into the tourism industry in Ireland today,” said Sean O'Malley, Manager of Education Operations at Fáilte Ireland.
 
“They range from short 16 week courses, one and two year programmes, right through to three and four year degrees. There are opportunities for progression from the shorter skills courses which offer lower levels of qualification to the higher levels, which means students can gain their qualifications in stages, at their own pace. What's more, the array of different types of courses reflects the great diversity of jobs in the tourism industry.”
 
With over 320,000 people currently employed in tourism and approximately 6,000 additional vacancies expected to come on stream each year until 2012, it remains an area with a wide range of exciting career options and corresponding third level courses on offer. The industry currently caters for almost seven million overseas visitors annually and contributes a massive €6bn in revenue to the Irish economy.
 

Based on interviews with young people currently working in the industry, the magazine provides students with a realistic portrayal of what to expect from a career in the tourism and hospitality sector. Career paths examined in the magazine include chefs, duty managers, event managers, product managers, bartenders, receptionists, and human resources managers. The second part of the magazine facilitates students in finding the type of course which best suits them by providing a guide to the tourism and hospitality courses in the colleges and Institutes of Technology around the country.
 
Matthew Ryan, President of the IHF, commented - “Traditionally, Ireland’s success in attracting tourists has depended to a large extent on our ability to make visitors feel welcome. As such, the tourism and hospitality industry works hard to foster enthusiastic, well-trained young people.” He added “Career opportunities within the sector are excellent. It is a thriving industry, renowned for offering swift promotional opportunities, with the vast majority of management positions held by young people in their 20s and 30s.”
 
Get a Life in Tourism is published by Hotel & Catering Review, the IHF and Fáilte Ireland.  It is freely available from career guidance counsellors and teachers in all second-level schools nationwide and from the People in Tourism Centre at Fáilte Ireland – call 1850 256 256 for further information. 

ENDS

Photograph of launch available on request. If you have any problems opening the attachment, please contact us.
 
For further information please contact:

Louise Tolerton
PR Officer - 086 6086578/01 8847135
 

Notes for editor

Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, was established in 2003 to guide and promote tourism as a leading indigenous component of the Irish economy.
 
The tourism and hospitality industry employs an estimated 320,000 people and generates more than €6 billion in revenue a year.
 
There is continuous demand for trained professionals across the tourism and hospitality sector and part of Fáilte Ireland’s role is to promote the sector as a career option and to develop people for the sector.
 
Last year 1,500 students attended Fáilte Ireland supported training programmes in the Institutes of Technology around the country, including Professional Cookery, Bar Operations, Tourism with Business and Tourism and Hospitality. These full-time courses run for one or two years and lead to a Certificate or Advanced Certificate awarded by the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC).

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