Tourism Training for the Olympics
- Region's tourism industry gears up for challenges ahead!
For the very first time the South East of England has a Regional Tourism Skills Strategy that will look to the future, raising standards, developing staff training and helping the region's tourism industry to offer world-class levels of service to customers. This is of particular importance with key events like the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games on the horizon.
Produced by Tourism South East working in partnership with People 1st , the Sector Skills Councils, and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), the Strategy will drive forward skills and learning in the Region to help boost competitiveness for the visitor economy. Addressing the need to increase productivity and profitability, it also defines priorities and looks at innovative ways to tackle the issue of increasing skills gaps and shortages which are hampering growth and business performance within the industry. The Strategy is to be finalised after a consultation period which ends on 28th April.
The launch of the first Regional Skills Strategy was held at Brockenhurst College in the New Forest on 1st March and was attended by James Purnell, Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism, who called the Strategy an "excellent initiative" before going on to say, "The tourism industry is rightly envied around the world but we must work together to guarantee its future success and keep pace with our competitors." The Regional Skills Strategy links in with the National Skills Strategy currently being discussed by the Skills Summit. The Minister announced that Tourism South East would have a place on one of the DCMS national skills working groups driving the future direction of skills development for the tourism industry.
Echoing the theme of partnership, Robert Collier, Managing Director, Tourism South East outlined the overall aim of the Strategy - to raise regional productivity in the tourism sector through effective recruitment, focused training and development and superior customer care. He admitted that achieving this was a "complicated and challenging task," but praised the plan as just what was needed to show the way forward. He also acknowledged, "The successful delivery and implementation of the strategy will depend on the multitude of support agencies and stakeholders which impact on tourism working together to provide a co-ordinated approach to skills and training."
And Sue Gill, Head of Skills and Training, Tourism South East, added, 'If the industry is to thrive, we need the right people in the right jobs with the right skills. Working with our partners we aim to make a real difference through implementing actions from the Strategy."
Partners in the Strategy also present at the launch included Brian Wisdom from People 1st and SEEDA's Chief Executive Pam Alexander, who said: "This Strategy identifies priority actions that will drive up skills and quality to meet customers' high expectations. Tourism is a crucial sector for the South East because of the contribution it makes to the economy and because it also provides over 220,000 jobs directly and many more indirectly. The industry needs good quality, professional staff development, especially for managers, if businesses are to benefit from the opportunities being created by the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
The Minister's visit also launched the region's first Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) for tourism industries, which will offer specialist and flexible training programmes specifically aimed at tourism employers. This initiative is being led by Brockenhurst College but involves partners from Abingdon and Witney College, City College, Brighton and Hove, Oxford & Cherwell Valley College, and Chichester College.
The Regional Tourism Skills Strategy may be seen by visiting the Tourism South East website at www.industry.visitsoutheastengland.com
ENDS
For further information please contact Rachel Shimell/Miranda Johnson, RM Communications, on 023 80 732981/01962 890208, email rachel.shimell@ntlworld.com or mirandajohnson@btinternet.com or Jodie Hodge, Tourism South East, on 02380 625502 or email jhodge@tourismse.com
Note to Editors:
Tourism South East represents the tourism industry in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent and Surrey
SEEDA is the Government funded Agency responsible for the sustainable economic development and regeneration of the South East of England - the driving force of the UK's economy. Our aim is to create a prosperous, dynamic and inspirational region by helping businesses compete more effectively, training a highly skilled workforce, supporting and enabling our communities while safeguarding our natural resources and cherishing our rich cultural heritage.
Dept for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for tourism policy. It aims to increase the productivity of the sector from £75 billion to £100 billion by 2010.
People 1st is the Sector Skills Council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism
The LSC (Learning and Skills Council) exists to make England better skilled and more competitive. It
has a single goal: to improve the skills of England's young people and adults to make sure we have a workforce that is of world-class standards. The LSC is responsible for planning and funding high-quality vocational education and
training for everyone. Our vision is that by 2010, young people and adults in England have the knowledge and skills matching the best in the world and are part of a fiercely competitive workforce. The CoVE for Tourism is a Learning and Skills Council-led initiative which responds to the difficulties faced by the industry in terms of core skills shortages such as communication skills, e-commerce and IT, team working, customer service, supervisory and management skills and practical skills.