The department of hotel catering and tourism at Tralee IT offers a modern state-of-art learning experience. Olivia Kelly reports

Tralee IT's department of hotel catering and tourism received a major boost with the recent opening of a new hospitality facility at the college's new north campus. The college says the facility will will prove a major asset to Kerry tourism and hopes it will now pave the way for a new ab-initio BA in hospitality management.

"This facility is the epitome of state-of-the-art," Peter Sharpe, head of the department of hotel catering and tourism, says. "We have five kitchens with the most up-to-date high-tech equipment, an en-suite bedroom, a reception area and a restaurant and bar."

The centre also has a tourism resource room to assist students in completing projects and a demonstration theatre with audio-visual equipment. "I'm confident it's the best such facility in the country," he says.

The links with local tourism are vital to the college and Sharpe says the new facilities, which so closely mirror industry "best practice", will be greatly welcomed by local employers. "The west of Ireland is synonymous with tourism and hospitality and because tourism is so important to the area, the Department of Education agreed that there was a need for this facility," he says.

The college also anticipates that the Department of Education will approve its new BA in hospitality management, which it expects to offer to students in September. The new BA will retain many of the elements of the current three-year diploma in international hospitality management, such as the strong emphasis on practical work as well as the academic subjects of management and business studies, accounting and languages. It is envisaged that the new BA will completely replace the diploma, but those students who have already earned their diploma will be given an opportunity to take a bridging studies course and join the final year of the degree.

"The feedback from the industry is that they want degree standard employees," says Sharpe. "Having a four-year degree also allows us to put in six month's work experience from March of third year. This allows students to gain valuable experience - it gives them the chance to strengthen their managerial skills and provides an opportunity to see the type of job they might go into."

The degree will be ab-initio and Sharpe says the loss of the ladder route won't be detrimental. "We're pitching our graduates at management level and they would have the academic ability to continue from year one straight through to year four. This is a HETAC not a FETAC course."

Despite the problems caused by the economic downturn and last year's foot-and mouth crises, he says there are still good management jobs available. "If students are willing to work they will progress to senior management very quickly."

Practical work will remain a strong element in the transition from diploma to degree. First-year students will be put through their paces in the college's en-suite bedroom before they are taken down to a local hotel to practice their skills in a real-life setting. "In first year there is particular attention paid to the practical side of things, in developing hands-on ability."

The practical work is balanced by the academic subjects. Students take either French or German from year one of the course and the college operates a streaming system, so that students who have never studies the language before will not be left behind in a class of fluent speakers. "Languages are a basic criteria for working in tourism. A large part of our market comes from France and Germany and even the ability to speak a few words enhances the Irish welcome," he says.

The college also encourages students to participate in Erasmus programmes. "We would always advocate going to work in a European context. It can only enhance your skills if you have a global view of the industry."

A global view of the industry is definitely in store for tourism and hospitality lecturer Tony Donovan, who is about to take up a senior lecturer position in Hue Tourism College in Vietnam on career break from Tralee IT. "We hope he'll come back to us with a wealth of knowledge and experience," Sharpe says.