Students' careers take off at Norwich Airport
This unique work experience opportunity, which began on Monday 16th November, will see seven students working as Check-in and Customer Service Assistants while the remaining four students will work as Travel Advisors in the airport’s independent travel agency, Travel Norwich Airport, based within the airport terminal building and in Castle Mall, Norwich.
All 11 students have committed to working at the airport one day per week outside of their normal college timetable which, for some, will involve working shifts starting as early as 4am or finishing as late as 11pm. The students will continue this work pattern until the college’s annual Airport Takeover, which takes place from Monday 29th February to Friday 4th March 2016, where they will work a five day week. After this, the students will be invited to gain further experience on a voluntary basis until the airport recruits for the summer.
To secure one of these sought after positions, students had to go through a thorough selection process which saw them submitting CVs and covering letters before being invited for interviews. The total number of positions available rapidly increased after students impressed staff from Norwich International Airport with their exceptionally high standard of professionalism during the interview process.
Norwich International Airport offered City College Norwich’s travel and tourism students this exclusive opportunity due to the extremely high standard of work that is consistently displayed each year during the annual Airport Takeover which is run alongside the college’s award winning Hotel Takeover.
Overall, the placements will provide students with the opportunity gain invaluable work experience and will help them to start their careers before they have completed their courses. It is also a fantastic way for students to explore the variety of employment options available within the travel and tourism industry and help them to gain an added insight in to some of the vital units of their course.
Check-in Assistant Megan Weavers, 17, from Norwich said: “The placement has been really good so far, I have learnt a lot about the airport itself and the airlines that fly from here and it has been great to gain insight into the airport as well. I chose to apply for one of the positions as I would like to work at an airport when I finish college and knew that this would support me with my career choice as it will look good on my CV. I thought that the interview and selection process was quite intense but it was good to have the experience of an interview which could hopefully lead to job at the end.”
Jake Brown, Travel and Tourism Operations Supervisor, City College Norwich said: “These work placements will provide our students with invaluable experience that will greatly benefit their studies and help to shape their futures in the travel and tourism industry. The professional attitude and eagerness to impress that they all displayed during the recruitment process was second to none and I can’t fault how they all performed. Even those who were unable to secure one of the placements have come away with some priceless feedback on CVs and interview techniques. I am immensely proud of all of our travel and tourism students and I am looking forward to hearing the success stories over the course of the placements.”
Richard Pace, General Manager, Norwich International Airport said: “Norwich International Airport is delighted to once again be part of the ‘takeover’ alongside the Holiday Inn hotels and furthermore considerably extend the parameters to enable the students to gain a longer period of work experience. This is an excellent initiative giving invaluable insight in to the aviation industry and our staff are pleased to be able to share their expertise and knowledge with the students to better prepare them for their future careers, hopefully some of which may be at the airport next summer.”
This collaborative project is an example of how offering real work experience opportunities are a beneficial way to build the work force of the future. City College Norwich, together with the New Anglia Colleges Group, are challenging all local employers across Norfolk and Suffolk from all sectors to work with them to provide students with similar experiences.
