Students on Dorset’s groundbreaking Hospitality and Leisure Opportunities scheme (HALO) are receiving four-star career skills, first-hand in the workplace, from industry professionals.
The HALO course was set up seven years ago by schools with the help of local hospitality firms, to ensure the area’s thriving tourist economy has the skilled workforce it needs for the future, and is now offered to year 10 and 11 students (aged 14-15) at five schools across Bournemouth and Christchurch.
As part of the course new HALO students from Twynham School in Christchurch spent the day at the Premier Inn in Bournemouth, with leading hoteliers, learning about the different sectors of the industry, the costs of running a hotel business and the career paths open to them.
Meika Dent, from Christchurch, started the HALO course in September, and said “I am really enjoying finding out about the industry from people who work in it. They have so much experience and good advice and this will be very helpful as I decide which area of hospitality I want to go into.”
Rosie Wallace, general manager and director of the Days Hotel Marsham Court in Bournemouth, is one of the hoteliers regularly passing on their expertise to HALO students: “It is important to engage young people at an early age and to help them understand what opportunities hospitality has to offer.
“We have supported HALO for the last two years, mainly assisting in the areas of Products and Services with the help of businesses including Wyndham Hotel Group, Berendsen Laundry and many others who understand the importance of hospitality and tourism in our area.
“There are a great deal of young, talented people out there and as a hotelier it is a privilege to be involved in their development.”
Putting theory into practice
Jane Hopkins, the vocational learning manager at Twynham School said: “We started the HALO course as a level one City & Guilds course and rapidly added a level 2 course and now the level 2 BTEC Certificate in Hospitality.
“Twynham has thirteen year 10 HALO students and 14 in their second year of the course and our students link with Glenmoor and Winton Schools, Ferndown Upper and Queen Elizabeth.
“Much of our strength has come from employer input because our links with hoteliers have allowed the students to put theory into practice; visits to hotels, restaurants and even cruise liners have helped make the course ‘real’.
100% pass rate
“We are proud that our recent year 11 leavers for Twynham gained 100% pass rate (A*-C grade) for the HALO course with nine of the 15 students gaining A*.
“The students also benefit from lots of progression and training opportunities and we have seen many thrive within the hospitality industry who may otherwise not have considered hospitality as a career before.”
Pictured: (from left) Justyna Kalemba, operations manager at Premier Inn Bournemouth; HALO student Hannah Whatson; Rosie Wallace, general manager of the Days Hotel Marsham Court; Karen Dadds, Assistant headteacher Twynham School; HALO student Meika Dent; Christine Goodall of the Captain’s Club Hotel; Andy Woodfield, vice chair of Bournemouth Accommodation and Hotel Association (BAHA), and Holly Bailey and Rachel Taylor, both apprenticeship co-ordinators at Bournemouth and Poole College.