A GROUP of Sunshine Coast students has come one step closer to gaining experience in the tourism industry, thanks to completing Tourism Noosa’s Welcome to Noosa program.
Some 27 tourism and hospitality students from Sunshine Beach State High School, 25 students from Burnside State High School and 46 students from Maroochydore State High School have all recently completed the Welcome to Noosa program and have received their certificate of recognition.
The Welcome to Noosa course is an online training program that provides basic information on Noosa – why the region is so special, its history, key things to do in Noosa, information on the Noosa Biosphere and more, as well as providing great customer service strategies and information on workplace health and safety.
On completion of the course, participants receive a certificate and a Welcome to Noosa name badge.
Tourism Noosa acting CEO Louise Terry said over 1800 people had completed the course to date and more and more businesses were getting behind the program.
“It is particularly great to see schools and students get involved and this can provide an advantage when looking for employment,” she said.
Burnside State High School teacher Meredith Exelby said the students were very keen to participate and complete the Welcome to Noosa program because it broadened their knowledge of an area they had rarely visited or knew little about.
“The Welcome to Noosa program has been integrated into their studies in tourism and is now a source of information for their work placements and assessment tasks,” she said.
Sunshine Beach State High School teacher Robert Flint said he found the material to be a great introduction to the tourism industry and the skills gained through the course were highly relevant to a wide range of customer services positions, not just the tourism industry.
“I was so impressed by the quality of this course I have added it to the tourism program I teach,” he said.
“Being new to the Noosa area, I learned a great deal about the region and the attractions and activities available through the Welcome to Noosa course and have taken the opportunity to experience some of them for myself.
“In addition, the Noosa Eco-Check course offered a great overview of environmentally sustainable work practices. “This program greatly enhanced my understanding of environmentally friendly practices in place here in the Noosa Region.”
To register for Welcome to Noosa or to learn more about the program, visit www.welcometonoosa.com.au.
