WKC hospitality students gain vocational work experience

Students Reece Gordon and George Smith

Westminster Kingsway College's (WKC) Hospitality Supervision and Travel & Tourism students have successfully completed a work based project to organise and manage the annual Showcase event for the Westminster Collection.

The Westminster Collection (TWC), comprising a range of venues, hotels and hospitality facilities in central London, provided the BTEC students from WKC with vocational work experience as part of their final year project.

The group of 12 second year students, along with two lecturers from WKC, was involved in the organisation of the event right from the start. They were tasked with creating a selection of suitable hospitality themes for the Showcase event that actively reflected the Westminster Collection's members.

The students had the opportunity to present their ideas to the TWC Showcase organising committee before the committee decided on the winning theme of 'Afternoon tea with the Westminster Collection'.

Natalie Gosling, hospitality, travel & tourism lecturer, said: "This project has brought first and second year students together and they have really worked as a team. The students have really enjoyed the project and have shown great enthusiasm right from the start. This assignment has formed part of their final year project and their evaluation of the event will be assessed towards their final result."

René Dee, CEO of The Westminster Collection said: "We are delighted to give this vocational experience to Westminster Kingsway College's Hospitality students. We consider this to be a very important part of the corporate social responsibility role our company and its members can play, in assisting young people to gain valuable experience in the business tourism sector."

The TWC Showcase has become an annual fixture for event planners and buyers looking for suitable venues and facilities in Westminster and is now in its 3rd year. The 2009 event was held at Central Hall Westminster with a creative theme devised by the students at Westminster Kingsway College.

The 2009 event was held at Central Hall Westminster.

A unique partnership exists between TWC and WKC.

Words: Maria Bracken

« Back to previous page