ARTICLE DRYSDALE Tourism and hospitality professionals will be trained to share their skills with others in the industry as part of a new Drysdale Centre of Excellence scholarship program. Eleven industry experts have been awarded the inaugural Industry Trainer Scholarships to give them the formal qualifications to train others in the industry. Announcing the scholarship winners at Drysdale Hobart recently, Minister for Education and Training, Jeremy Rockliff said the scholarships allowed people who were successful in tourism and hospitality to give something back by sharing their knowledge with others and helping to train the next generation of workers and entrepreneurs. “The scholarships recognise that our future tourism and hospitality workforce need skills that are contemporary and reflect current industry best-practice,” Mr Rockliff said. Drysdale Interim CEO, Lisa Punshon, said the calibre of people receiving scholarships was extremely high and they came from a diverse range of backgrounds including commercial cookery, event management, adventure tourism, accommodation services and hospitality management. “Recipients will gain qualifications through TasTAFE to work as a trainer in a vocational education training environment. This could include as a sessional or casual teacher at Drysdale or within an industry setting. “The scholarships will enable them to undertake TasTAFE qualifications such as the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, along with mentoring support to meet the formal requirements to work as a trainer or assessor in a vocational education environment,” Ms Punshon said. Grand Chancellor Hobart Front Office Manager, Kate Wittison said she was excited to be selected for a scholarship. Kate did a Certificate III in Events at Drysdale before progressing into an Advanced Diploma in Tourism and then on to a university business degree majoring in tourism. “When I graduated my degree at uni, I started at the Grand Chancellor as a casual receptionist and was lucky enough to progress into Front Office Manager. I have been in this role for 3 years now." “I like to hire staff with limited experience and invest in them and train them up to the high standard of the Grand Chancellor. My favourite part of my job is training so I’d like to come in to Drysdale and teach the areas I have knowledge of and pass my passion for the industry onto the students,” Kate said. Blue Eye Seafood Restaurant Manager, Shayne Jupp, described receiving a scholarship as a return to his roots. His career in hospitality began at the Drysdale North West Coast campus where he did a Certificate I and Certificate II in Hospitality. “Since then I’ve enjoyed every single moment of my work so it’s probably an opportunity where I can certainly reinforce the positives associated with hospitality life. “I’m a surfer and I’m a dad. The hours I work in hospitality suit me because I get to be able to drop my children off at school almost every day. I get to go surfing on a Monday or Tuesday when there’s nobody else in the water. So there are huge advantages.
“And job satisfaction is instant – you can see on someone’s face so you don’t have to chip away at a project or a long-term goal - it’s instantaneous. People can give you feedback straight away. Most of the time it’s instant gratification or an instant lesson. “I think that’s something that, whilst the students that are advancing through TAFE now have a huge amount of knowledge and skill, that one element where customer interaction and enjoyment of your job may not come naturally, I can certainly encourage the people that I work with and the people that I stand in front of to be able to embrace the lifestyle and enjoy it. “I was lucky at Drysdale, I had amazing teachers and mentors and I’m more than interested in being that person for someone else if I can help,” Shane said. Willie Smith’s Apple Shed Venue Manager, Cara McEwen, said she was keen to use the scholarship to inspire and help others working in the industry. “I guess I’d like to help out, help train the new generation of hospitality students and get them inspired about what’s going on in Tasmania and what this state has to offer. There are so many opportunities and I’d love to be a part of that,” Cara said. Round two of the Industry Trainer Scholarships will be released in February 2019. Drysdale is the tourism and hospitality training division of TasTAFE. For more information about Drysdale tourism and hospitality courses: visit www.tastafe.tas.edu.au or contact the Drysdale Education Manager in your region: o South: Varun Khetarpal ph: 6165 6614 o North: David Dunn ph: 6777 2483 o North-West: Tim Cox ph: 6478 4263 The Drysdale Industry Trainer Scholarship Program recipients are: • Cara McEwen, Venue Manager Willie Smith’s Apple Shed – South • Danielle Hyland, Sous Chef Bayviews Restaurant & Lounge Bar - North West • Fiona Gordon, Partner/Director – Great Expeditions Unique Tours/Contractor for THA’s Great Customer Experience Program/Consultant-Project Management – Wukalina Walk - North Harry Cuthbertson, Chef The Chapel Café – North West Kate Wittison, Front Office Manager Grand Chancellor Hobart - South Mette Dawe, Senior Team Leader Tasmanian Travel and Information Centre - South Shayne Jupp, Restaurant Manager Blue Eye Seafood Restaurant – South Stephanie Stinkens, Front of House Supervisor Blue Eye Seafood Restaurant – South Steven Wierzbicki, Head Chef Entally Estate and Quamby Estate & Food Consult for Tasmanian Walking Company - North • Urs Grueter, Senior Guide Cradle Mountain Canyons – South • Victoria Kubiak, Duty Manager Mackey’s Royal Hotel – North West • • • • • •
December 2018 www.tha.asn.au
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