12 unemployed learners were given the opportunity to study a bespoke Marco Pierre White customer service course, at DoubleTree Hilton Cadbury House.

The Weston College course was devised in partnership with DoubleTree Hilton Cadbury House, who were looking to recruit, and train new team members.

The course was aimed at people who were currently unemployed and it proved popular, with 22 applications, for the 12 spaces on the course. Applicants came from community projects that help unemployed and economically inactive people in the West of England find employment including West of England Works, Releasing New Potential and Skills Support for the Unemployed.

Throughout the course learners spent time developing their customer service skills, as well as learning about what is required to work in the hospitality industry.

At the end of the week, all 12 learners were offered a job interview, and six were offered work trials.

Brian Howe, Training and Development Manager at Weston College, said: “This course was really effective in developing learners skills, to ensure they were ready for working in the hospitality industry. The learners did a superb job, and this is reflected in 50% of them gaining a work trial.”

Joyce Millard, Human Resources Manager at Doubletree by Hilton Cadbury House, said: “The learners were amazing, and made the whole recruitment process very easy. Following the success of this course, we will definitely be repeating it on a regular basis across our venues.”

This course is being repeated at the Abbey Hotel in Bath, later this month (November). To register your interest, please email backtowork@weston.ac.uk or ring 01934 411 147.

Find out more about our employment support services, by clicking here.

On Tuesday 12th November, Weston’s popular Tropicana venue hosted our annual careers convention "CareersFest" - exclusive for students at Weston College.

Students were bussed in throughout the day and had 1 hour to roam around and meet with over 60 employers and educational institutes. Engaging activities and thoughtful advice made the event a huge success with lots of valuable talks and insights into multiple industries being shared.

As well as nationally renowned names, local businesses and universities also attended, expanding the mindset and thinking process of those who attended.

One learner commented "I loved learning how to present the weather with BBC Bristol. It was really fun and it's definitely opened my eyes to more career ideas."

Alliance Homes’ stand was a popular destination with multiple skills based challenges surrounding construction.

Jade from Alliance Employment Team said: “The day’s been fabulous. It’s been really really busy and we’ve had lots of students showing interest and engaging which has been amazing.

“We’re recruiting for our apprenticeships in construction for next year and this has been a great chance to meet students and share these opportunities with them”.

We also caught up with Tom Thayer, Hinkley Point C’s Inspire Education Programme Manager, who added “Whilst building interest in STEM through the Inspire Programme, our aim is to ensure that local people can benefit from the huge range of opportunities on offer at Hinkley Point C.

"The team here at Weston College have provided fantastic support towards that aim and we’ve had lots of referrals to our HPC education programme as a result.

“We’re well into the Civil Engineering Phase of the project which will be followed by the start of the mechanical and electrical fit out of the new power station. It means there are opportunities available in a huge range of careers that will continue to develop over the coming years.

“We encourage young people to sign up to www.edfenergy.com/youngHPC to find out more about the variety of career paths that are available and what job roles are in demand right now."

Katherine from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School was aiming to recruit students looking to study performing arts at HE: “This is my first time recruiting in Weston and the atmosphere has been buzzing.

“We’re a drama school and theatre company all in one, so we specialise in first class higher education courses so whether you want to work on stage or behind the scenes, there are opportunities here for everyone”

Careers Advisors and event organisers Jasmine and Lisa added: “CareersFest was designed to encourage our learners to explore their career interests and skills and discover where their personalities could thrive. This included raising awareness of employers, apprenticeships, higher education and other opportunities.

"We hope that all of the learners had the chance to do this and also enjoyed the day!”

Many thanks to all the staff and organisations who helped to make this event informative and interesting for our students.

Click here to see the full list of employers that attended.

Rimante joined Weston College as a 16-year-old to study a Level 3 course. Since then, she’s progressed through University College Weston, gained employment at the College and now works in the HR department. Here she talks about her journey and offers advice to potential students.

After attending a taster day, I knew the College and the Travel and Tourism BTEC Extended Diploma was for me. The course gave me an insight into the different sectors of the industry, which helped me decide what I wanted to focus in the future. The lecturers also came from different industry backgrounds and related the subject back to real experiences, which made it very interesting to study.

The residential trips were also amazing. I went to Gambia twice and got to understand how tourism works over there and what impact the big travel organisations have on the country’s economy. The trips also helped us relate our studies to ‘real life’.

We had several guest lecturers – from various backgrounds like Bristol Airport – and visited the Virgin Atlantic customer experience day where we got an insight about their branding and how they deliver customer experience.

Aside from subject-specific skills and knowledge, the course gave me skills I can apply in virtually any job role, such as researching, report and presentation writing and budgeting. Those are the skills that all employers out there are looking for and it makes you stand out from other applications.

If anyone’s thinking about studying the course, I’d say ‘go for it’, because it opens so many career paths. Even if you end up working in a different industry – like myself – the knowledge you gain is transferable and it doesn’t limit you in the future.

After this course I progressed to the foundation degree in Tourism Management at University Centre Weston. This was the logical choice as I’d enjoyed the Level 3 course so much and knew how great the facilities and lecturers at Weston College were.

The class sizes were also smaller than other places, which meant I got more support when I needed it. Plus, the course was only two days per week, so I could continue working and gaining industry experience while studying.

After the foundation degree I moved on to the Business Management with Sustainability BA (Hons) top up. It was also while I was studying my degree that I started working at the College as a part-time Trainee Clerical Assistant.

After I graduated I also had the opportunity to volunteer with Nicaraguan project workers in Quisuli Arriba in the north of the country to hold educational workshops about the importance of clean water and effective sanitation processes. Read more

I then joined the HR team at the college, whilst studying for the Human Resources Practice CIPD Certificate, this was an evening course once a week for a year. This course gave me a solid introduction into HR and helped me develop the skills that are required for a HR role.

I then went on to complete the level 5 Human Resource Management CIPD Certificate, which was also one evening a week for a year. This course helped to further developed my professional practice, looked at business issues in the context of HR, employment law, resourcing/talent planning and reward management.

If you are looking to start your HR career or wish to get the qualification to support your position/further develop your career. I would recommend these courses, they help you to link the theory with real practice and are certified by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). 

It’s been a really enjoyable and rewarding journey, and I can’t recommend the College highly enough.

If you’re thinking about following a similar path, I’d advise attending the open days that are held throughout the year. Here, you can speak to the many lecturers and careers advisors, and ask any questions about the potential study routes and career paths.

Join us

• Travel and Tourism BTEC Extended Diploma
• Business Management with Sustainability BA
• Human Resources Practice CIPD Certificate (level 3)
• Human Resource Management CIPD Certificate (level 5)
• Find out about our next open event