Catering and Hospitality students at Riverside College had the amazing opportunity to explore the wide range of future career options available within the visitor and tourism industry during a week of activities, events and guest speakers; all part of Visitor Economy Week 2020.
The purpose of VE Week is to highlight the endless career pathways available within the growing tourism industry throughout the Liverpool City Region and provide students with a taste of what life can be like working within the sector.
The week commenced at the Merseyside Maritime Museum for the VE Week opening ceremony. Students were invited to the event where a number of inspiring talks from business leaders and employers from across the Liverpool City Region took place, as well as an insightful question and answer session from a panel of experts. Students were also able to demonstrate their hospitality skills by serving food for guests during the welcome.
Throughout the week, students took part in various activities that showcased the vast range of jobs available in the industry. These included a cocktail making masterclass, a virtual reality session and a visit from a guest speaker from Bourne Leisure who gave an astute talk about the areas of progression within the sector.
The week was rounded off in spectacular style at the Richmond Hotel for the VE Week closing ceremony, where business leaders and employers presented brilliant talks to celebrate the success of the week. The ceremony was another great opportunity for students to demonstrate the skills they had developed throughout the week as they combined with other College’s within the Liverpool City Region to create a luxurious six course evening meal for guests. Riverside College students prepared the main course of the evening, a delicious lamb loin with a Rosemary and Honey Crust hotpot, accompanied by a parmesan crusted potato top and a neck and kidney croquette with a cherry gel. This was all served with a pea and mint puree, roasted baby beets and a marsala and red current jus.
Joanna Leather, Catering and Hospitality Tutor at Riverside College said, “Visitor Economy Week has been a fantastic week yet again for our students. It’s brilliant to show them just how many career pathways there are in the sector for them.
“It is also amazing seeing them develop their existing skills while gaining work experience at the same time. We can’t wait to see what next year’s events bring.”