picktourism

Be Your Own Boss

Travel the World & Earn Loadsa Cash

Rub Shoulders with the Stars in the Hottest Hotels & Clubs

Surf, Rock Climb, Play Golf and Do Other Cool Things at Work... And Get Paid for It Too!

The Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in Tourism

Tourism...For a Career Less Ordinary

The Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in TourismThe Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in TourismThe Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in TourismThe Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in TourismThe Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in Tourism

read All About it!Welcome to the fi rst edition of the all new picktourism.ie magazine. Produced by Fáilte Ireland, picktourism.ie tells you everything you need to know about college life, tourism courses and what it’s like to work in the biggest industry in the world.

Showcasing a wide range of tourism courses and careers, picktourism.ie hopes to give you an insight into life in the tourism industry. Not only is working in tourism great craic but there are plenty of opportunities to build a successful career with fantastic pay and perks.

For an interactive look at the industry log on to www.picktourism.ie, for a complete course guide and course search facility, and to get current student and recent graduates’ insights on video. We have loads of great competitions and Bebo skins for you. You can join us on Bebo and Facebook and follow us on Twitter, get your questions answered and add comments to our forum.

We look forward to hearing from you,

The Picktourism.ie team

Picktourism.ie is produced by Hotel & Catering Review on behalf of Fáilte Ireland.

Editor: Sarah Grennandesigner: Paul McCannProduction Manager: Jim HeronManaging director: Simon GrennanPrinter: Walsh Colour Print

Hotel & Catering ReviewJemma PublicationsGrattan HouseTemple RoadBlackrockCo DublinT: 01 76� 2700F: 01 76� 27�0E: [email protected]: www.jemma.ie

© Jemma Publications LtdAll rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means electronic without prior permission of the publishers.

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Jemma Publications or Fáilte Ireland.

The Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in Tourism

Tourism...For a Career Less Ordinary

The Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in TourismThe Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in TourismThe Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in TourismThe Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in TourismThe Careers Mag Which Spills the Beans About Life in Tourism

page 2

1�

17

�

�

More than seven million

tourists visited Ireland last

year and they spent a

whopping €4.7bn

while they were here.

Thanks guys.

Tourism Facts

4 So You Think You Know Tourism 6 2� Hours in Tourism with Outdoors Ireland 8 Where the Stars Hang Out10 Face to Face: Alana Moriarty Meets Bartender Simon Hodson12 A Day in the Life of a Tourism Worker13 Cooking for Ronaldo14 Career Focus: Chris, Zara, Joe, Sharon, Deirdre &

Stephen Tell All18 10 Cool Things to do in Tourism22 Earn & Learn23 Craig’s Dream Job at the Volvo Ocean Race26 Travel the World with Tourism28 Be Your Own Boss (And Surf All Day Too!)30 Students Talk32 Sporting Life: Looking After the Munster Rugby Team34 Pay & Perks35 Stars in Tourism36 Tourism Goes Green38 How to Get Ahead – Tips for Climbing the Tourism

Ladder39 Fact or Fiction? We Answer Your Burning Questions

inside picktourism.ie

page 3

For further information on tourism courses

and careers log on to www.picktourism.ie

23

13

102�

6

page �

Restaurants

Cafés & Coffee Shops

Pubs

Gastro Pubs

Wine Bars

Conferences & Events

Banqueting

Contract Catering

Food & drink

Hotels

Guesthouses

Country Houses

Bed & Breakfasts

Hostels

Campsites

Cruise Ships

ACCoMModATion

tourism

So You Think You know Tourism...

Think AgainWhen most people think of tourism, they think hotels, bars and restaurants, but as our chart illustrates, there’s much more to the tourism industry than accommodation and dining and there are loads and loads of other exciting jobs to choose from.

Check out what life is like for surf instructor Elisha Hickey on page 28...

Learn about Majella Fuller’s job in Thomond Park on page 32...

Read all about Chris O’Sullivan’s experiences as a hotel general manager on page 14...

Get the scoop on Simon Hodson’s life as a bartender on page 10...

page �

Concerts & Festivals

Entertainment Venues

Sports Stadia

Theatres

Nightclubs

Theme Parks

Visitor Attractions

EnTErTAinMEnT

For further information on tourism courses

and careers log on to www.picktourism.ie

Leisure Centres

Spas

Museums & Galleries

Cultural Attractions

Heritage Centres

National Parks

Watersports

Angling/Fishing

Golf

Equestrian

Walking/Hiking

Rallies

Shows/Exhibitions

ACTiViTiES & ATTrACTionS

Fáilte Ireland

Tourism Ireland

Tourism Offices

Tour Guides

Holiday Reps

Travel Agents

Reservation Centres

Internet Cafés

Internet Guides

ToUriSM SUPPorT

So You Think You know Tourism...

Airlines

Airports

Trains

Buses

Chauffeur Services

TrAnSPorT

Read Jessica Leen’s diary from a Cork Tourism Office on page 12...

Find out about Deirdre Eighan’s glamorous life working with Aer Lingus on page 15...

7am: Nathan, the boss, starts early (he’s a morning person). He deals with the paperwork and checks the weather forecast to make sure conditions are right for the day ahead.

8.15am: Nathan’s colleague Daniel arrives. They start preparing for the day’s outings, getting the wetsuits and kayaking gear ready for the morning’s excursion and the harnesses and ropes ready for the afternoon’s rock climbing.

9am: Nathan drives to Killarney where he plans to take a group of 10 kayaking on the famous lakes. He has a cup of coffee and begins setting up the kayaks and the wetsuits.

10am: The group arrive for their kayaking adventure. They include two Irish couples in their 20s, some American tourists and a couple of German backpackers. They get changed into their wetsuits and hop into the water.

10.15am: Nathan takes the group paddling on the lake. They go through the small wooded islands and limestone caves and tunnels before paddling off to investigate the Bronze Age copper mines. The gang spend three hours kayaking through the lakes, stopping to have tea and a bar of chocolate mid-morning.1pm: The kayakers arrive at Ross Castle where they change and pay for their trip before heading on their way. After they go, Nathan packs up and heads back

The Great outdoorsIf you think spending your entire working life staring at a computer screen sounds pretty boring then maybe you’d prefer a career with a sense of adventure. We spent a day with Nathan Kingerlee, owner of Outdoors Ireland adventure company in Killorglin, Co Kerry, and his colleagues Daniel Rawat and Fergal O’Grady, to fi nd out what life in the adventure tourism business is like.

24 hours in tourism

Nathan takes

a break from

mountain climbing

The Great outdoors

To fi nd out more about working in adventure

tourism check out www.picktourism.ie

to base where he puts photos of the group kayaking on Outdoors Ireland’s website so they can show their friends back home.

2pm: Daniel drives across the Gap of Dunloe to bring an American family rock climbing. They walk up the cliffs above the Gap where Daniel tells them about the area’s history and legends. The family stop for a picnic while he gets the gear ready for the climb.3pm: Picnic over, it’s time to start the adventure. Daniel brings the group rock climbing, abseiling and belaying for the afternoon.

5pm: Daniel packs up and drops the family back at their hotel after the climb. They are high after their adventure and can’t wait to tell all their friends about the fun they had.

6pm: Back at base Nathan and Daniel compare notes on the day and follow up on sales calls. Repeat customers account for a third of the centre’s business so Nathan and Daniel make sure everyone is well looked after. They unpack and clean up the gear to get it ready for the next day.

6.30pm: Fergal arrives. He is scheduled to take a gang of tourists on a sunset canoeing trip that evening. He gets the gear ready then drives down to the lakes in Killarney to set up.

8pm: The evening’s adventurists arrive. Together with Fergal, they paddle out onto Lough Leane past quiet rustling islands and sleepy swans where they see the orange western sun set over Dingle. It is the perfect end to a perfect day.

Follow Nathan, Daniel and Fergal’s adventures on Twitter – www.twitter.com/NathanKingerlee

Nathan shows a customer how to get to grips with abseiling.

Daniel goes for a paddle

page 7

Killarney’s stunning lakes

page �

When Britney comes to town she hangs out at the luxurious five star Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge, but her crew stay a few doors up the road at the Herbert Park Hotel. Her ex Justin Timberlake has also been known to crash here during his trips to Dublin. Not at the same time we’re told… We’re sure Jessica Biel will be pleased.

OK, OK, we know, he’s well before your time, but your folks will be thrilled to hear that Bruce Springsteen, AKA The Boss, stayed at The Merrion when he was in town for his last concert and popped into the Long Stand bar around the corner for a quiet drink.

The Merrion is quite the place for star-spotting, and is a favourite haunt of Sex & The City’s Sarah Jessica Parker and hubbie Matthew Broderick. Other guests include action superhero Will Smith and his family, and Robbie Williams (minus his ex-bandmates).

dylan delightsThe supercool Dylan boutique hotel in Dublin is also quite the style haunt and attracts all the beautiful people. Girls Aloud, Keira Knightly and Colin Farrell are among the many celebs who have been spotted there. (Read Alana Moriarty’s interview with bar supervisor Simon Hodson on page 18 to find out more.)

And speaking of Colin Farrell, you’ve got to love him, he’s a home boy at heart. The Castleknock native has swapped Dublin’s Northside for a spot on the Southside in Irishtown, where back in the days when he frequented pubs he used to hang out in Clarke’s of Irishtown with his school mates. He even brought Angelina Jolie there (pre her hook up with Brad) during a press trip to Ireland to promote Alexander.

Other Dublin Northsiders who moved to the Southside include the U2 boys, well Bono and The Edge anyway, who can often be seen driving around picturesque Dalkey and Killiney. Bono likes to pop into Caviston’s of Glasthule, the famous Dublin seafood restaurant, when he’s home and also hangs out in Finnegan’s pub in Dalkey. Following U2’s recent gig at Croker the band were spotted relaxing in the ultra-cool Residence private

members club on St Stephen’s Green in the city, which is the place to be seen these days. Other Irish musicians who like to hang out there include Andrea Corr.

Bono and The Edge’s hotel, The Clarence, in Temple Bar is also popular with the jet set, and has hosted many the celeb-packed party. Among those through the doors include models Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.

Across The Liffey and The Morrison Hotel, designed by John Rocha, is a favourite of music execs and famous guests include Christina Aguilera.

Country CoolIt’s not just the capital which has been getting all the fun. The five star Heritage Hotel in Killenard, Co Laois, which is a short hop from the Oxegen stage, plays host to many of the musicians and bands who gig at the festival each year.

Working in Irish hotels and restaurants

gives you a unique opportunity to get

up close and personal with some of the

world’s biggest stars. Here’s where to

find them:

star spotting

Scarlett Johansson is in talks to film Mary, Queen of Scots in Ireland, and could be seen at a hotel near you soon. Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, the tourism promotion and development agencies, have attracted many film crews to Ireland over the years. Movies filmed here include Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart, while the Tudor’s TV show also films in Ardmore Studios in Bray.

Hang outHang outWhere the StarsWhere the Stars

He might be busy saving the world,

but Bono still has time to return home to launch the Dublin Film Festival.

Dylan, where all the stars hang out Residence, the new favourite spot of Ireland’s beautiful people

For further information on tourism courses and careers

log on to www.picktourism.ie

In Maynooth, Co Kildare, Carton House famously welcomed the Real Madrid football team and their new star signing, Ronaldo, for a training camp. (See page 13 for more.) Other teams have stayed at the plush resort too, including the Dublin footballers.

Nearby in Enfield, the Marriott Johnstown House has also been attracting teams to train in their facilities. Among them were the Irish rugby team and the Sunderland team when Roy Keane was in charge.

rugby StarsThe Irish rugby team stay in Fitzpatrick’s Castle Hotel in Killiney in the week before games, and move to The Shelbourne Hotel on Dublin’s Stephen’s Green on match day, where the post-match receptions are held. When the mighty All Blacks were in town they were spotted walking around the corner to the after-match dinner at The Shelbourne from the nearby Conrad Hotel where they were staying. Prior to the match, the team stayed at the Castleknock Hotel & Country Club in Dublin 1�, and when they travelled to Limerick to take on the Munster rugby team at Thomond Park they stayed at The Strand Hotel in the city.

The Munster team are among many teams who have chilled out in the spa at Inchdoney Island

Lodge & Spa in Cork, which is famed for its thalassotherapy (water treatments). Other guests include the Cork hurlers.

In Cork city, the Imperial Hotel on The Mall has been welcoming famous guests for more than 100 years. Michael Collins is among the celebrated historical figures but more recent guests include Tudors’ actor and local, Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

And on the subject of TV shows filmed in Ireland, if you’re a Clinic fan then you may be interested to know that Amy Hubberman, fiancé of Brian O’Driscoll, raves about the exclusive Monart Spa in Enniscorthy. It’s among her favourite places to stay in Ireland.

Meanwhile, if you fancy your chances as an actor, then you’ll be delighted to hear that movie director Steven Spielberg is a big fan of Ireland. He shot Saving Private Ryan here and was recently spotted holidaying in the west of Ireland.

Hang on while we get ready for our close up.

OH SO HOTRock at work. Imagine, the guys working at this year’s festivals get paid to listen to all those smoking hot bands all day. Yeah, we know they say it’s work, but it still sounds pretty cool to us.Surf’s up. Why choose a life surfing the net when you can choose a life surfing waves like Elisha Hickey on page 28. Given the choice of a job in front of a computer or a job catching waves in the ocean we know which we’d choose.Dylan delights. Could Dylan be the coolest hotel in Ireland? Well the celebs evidently think so (see opposite). Read about what it’s like working in this uber-chic five star hotel on page 18.Passport to Travel. With skills in tourism you can travel the world. No matter where you go good chefs, bartenders, waiters and hotel managers are always in demand.

ICE COLD NOTRain at Oxegen. Seriously, are we ever going to see a summer’s day again?Luggage charges. We know Ryanair needs to make money somewhere in order to offer those really low fares but having to pay more for your bags than you did for your ticket is so not cool.CAO confusion. We’re teenagers – how are we to know what we want to do for the rest of our lives? *The recession. It’s such a drag listening to everyone bang on about it all the time. The good thing for those of you still at school is that it’ll be over by the time you enter the working world.

* www.picktourism.ie is here to give you some ideas - if you decide not to go into tourism straight away there are always ways to transfer into it at a later stage and get qualifications while you work.– Ed

What’s Hot & What’s Not

The picktourism.ie team’s pick of the cool and not so cool.

star spotting

page �

Check out the Haka… The All Blacks stayed in Dublin and Limerick during their recent tour.

Miss Ireland Sinead Noonan and Radisson Blu Galway gm Stephen Hanley get ready for Race Week

Dublin’s trendy Morrison Hotel, where Christina Aguilera likes to stay

Roy Keane back in his Sunderland days at a training camp in Marriott Johnstown House in Enfield, Co Kildare

A: So why did you become a bartender?S: I like dealing with people. I don’t think I could ever do a job where I have to sit in front of a computer all day and where I don’t interact with people. I tried a hundred different jobs before I did this one but I hated the repetitive monotony of them. In this job every day is different.

A: do you have much craic at work?S: Absolutely, my job is a lot of fun. On Friday and Saturday nights I come into work and have a laugh. I get to be in a bar all night enjoying the atmosphere and having fun without having to pay. In this job you get to know your regulars and you become friends with them. Most of the staff have been here since the beginning too so we’re a good team. Some jobs you have to put an effort to go in to work, whereas I look forward to going to work every day here.

A: As a bartender you have to work a lot of nights. do you

still get to have a social life?S: There’s definitely a very social side to this job. If it’s not too late after we finish a shift we often pop in to the bar around the corner. Once you’ve been working for a while you also get to know a lot of the other bartenders around town

– particularly if you are involved in the cocktail scene as you meet

others at the competitions. There’s a real scene for bartenders in Dublin now

and we often head out on the same night together.

A: What’s the best thing about your job?S: I love having the afternoons off if I’m working in the evenings. It means that I can enjoy the day – if the sun is shining I can go sit in the park and read a book while everyone else is at work. It also made it very easy when I was going to college. I have a First Class Honours Degree in International Business from the American College. Working here at Dylan meant I could go to lectures or study during the day and work at night which was great.

A: What’s not so good?S: The worst thing is the long hours you have to work occasionally. It only happens every now and again but for instance if we have a wedding

raising the Bar

Born in Letterkenny, 24-year-old Simon

Hudson travelled the world when he

was growing up as his Dad’s jet-setting job

brought the family to live in South Africa, Germany,

Switzerland and other far-flung destinations. It

inspired in him a love of travelling, and Simon

has continued to live the globe trotting life,

working in London, Nice, Dubai and now

back in Ireland, where he is bar supervisor

at the ultra-cool Dylan boutique hotel

in Dublin. We sent Alana Moriarty, a

student at the Dominican College in

Wicklow, into Dylan to quiz him about life

working in the famous celeb hangout.

face to face

page 10

Guinness Storehouse, the

home of ‘Uncle Arthur’ and his

famous Black Stuff, is Ireland’s

most popular tourist attraction.

More than one million people

visited the Storehouse

in 2008.

Tourism Facts

sometimes the guests just don’t want to go to bed so you might have to stay until early in the morning. It doesn’t happen very often and normally we just have a nine-hour shift. But I think in any job, no matter what the industry, you’re going to have the odd time where you’re going to have to work 1�-hour days.

A: Have you any plans for the future?S: At the moment I’m going to see how it goes. I was made supervisor last year so I see myself staying here. It’s a stable job and I really enjoy it. A lot of my friends from college are working in banks and they worry every day about getting laid off. I’m very thankful that I don’t have similar concerns. In the future however I’d like to open a really nice sports bar with a strong emphasis on rugby. I could talk about rugby all day so being able to combine that with work would be great.

A: You love travelling. does bartending offer much opportunity to see the world?S: As a bartender you can work anywhere in the world but in this job there are loads of opportunities to travel as well. One of our suppliers flew myself and some other bartenders to Amsterdam recently, while one of my colleagues was flown to New York for an all-expenses paid trip with another supplier. There are great perks in this job and the suppliers also often give us tickets to the big games.

did You know?

Want to know more about bartending? Check out www.picktourism.ie

for more profiles and a list of courses to help get you started.

page 11

A: That sounds so cool. do you get great tips too?S: There are good tips if you know your guests and you look after them properly. You have to be friendly and able to have a laugh with people, but you also need to know when not to overstep the mark.

A: What do you get up to at work?S: When I come in on an evening shift the first thing I do is check that we have enough float money. The last thing you want is to run out of change in the middle of the night and have to give customers all their change in coins. They don’t appreciate that.

Then I make sure all our spirits are stocked up and the kegs are lined up in the cellar. After that it’s just generally serving people, making cocktails and dealing with any queries that arise. We also have to prepare drinks for guests’ rooms – this could be anything from a chilled bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne to a six-pack of Bud. The kitchens close at 10pm so after then we might have to make some sandwiches for guests or put on a pizza for them. Then at the end of the night we clean up, strip down the bar and make sure everything is left spotless for the next day. One day a week I also do a stocktake and place orders with suppliers.

A: i hear you get a few celebs in here. is that true?S: Yeah, we get quite a few. Girls Aloud have stayed, so has Peaches Geldof and Bryan Adams. The dude from Harry Potter was in recently with Kiera Knightley. Bono has also been here and Colin Farrell used to come in regularly.

A: So what’s it like dealing with celebs?S: The ones who are really big are usually very nice. It tends to be the ones that aren’t that famous who try to make a fuss and look for attention.

There’s more to bartending than

just pulling pints. Irish bartenders

regularly pit their skills against each

other in cocktail competitions and the

winning mixologist (a fancy word for

cocktail maker) gets to travel, all

expenses paid, to international

competitions where he or she then

take on the best bartenders

from other countries.

a day in the life

on the Front Line

Jessica’s colleagues in Fáilte Ireland’s Regional Tourism Offi ce in Cork.

page 12

on the Front Line

Jessica’s colleagues in Fáilte Ireland’s Regional Tourism Offi ce in Cork.

‘Good morning, Fáilte Ireland Southwest, this

is Jessica speaking.’ Okay so it’s not exactly

ground control to Major Tom, but �am in the

Cork City tourist offi ce isn’t quite a bad start to

the day either.

So I make my way to the front desk – my

fort – where it is my job to greet the customers

and run the cash point. The stash of city maps I

keep towered in front of me are my best friends

as they help me win the heart of each tourist I

welcome in the door!

The tourists... well what can I say? Maybe

this is predictable, but these people are most

defi nitely what makes my job interesting.

Whether it’s language, culture, fashion or

personality, each one proves to be different

and equally entertaining. A typical day would

consist of the following: language groups,

backpackers, families, students, hen and stag

parties, (the local map thieves!), Japanese,

French, German, English, Australian, and yes, of

course, the American tourists.

I have to hand it to the Yanks, they win hands

down in the ‘most unusual questions asked’

round. It’s particularly hard to be professional

and keep a straight face when an eccentric

customer asks ‘And where in Ireland can I fi nd

a Leprechaun fi eld where you can like hunt

them and bring them home?’… Yes, they were

completely serious, I was completely hysterical

and they in turn were completely devastated!

But that’s just one example of the many

things that happen while I’m at work, believe

me I could probably write a bestseller on the

daily experiences of my past three summers!

And no doubt I’d be able to Google my picture

on YouTube to go with it, because the Japanese

OAPs have a unique fondness for photographing

me and my luminous green work scarf behind

the desk!

What I love most about my job has got to

be the fact that I have learned so much. Not

only about Cork and the amazing city it is

(which I never knew before I worked here), but

my people skills have improved by nine million

per cent. Having conversations with complete

strangers and reading body language when

there is a communication barrier now comes

as second nature to me and I fi nd I’m enjoying

meeting new people more and more every day.

Great CraicAnother part of my job that comes packed with

fun are the people I work with. The staff in the

offi ce are the nicest people and we have great

craic together both inside and outside of work.

Our excursions and nights out on the town have

given us the chance to become good friends

and one big happy Fáilte Ireland family! We are

regulary treated to BBQs, familiarisation trips

and of course the odd free nightclub admission,

so I think it goes without saying that my job

defi nitely has its perks!

There is genuinely very little I don’t like about

my job – apart from having to get out of bed in

the mornings – but hey, c’est la vie. Entertaining

tourists, a good social life, and money in my

pocket... What more do you need to create the

perfect job? My nine to fi ve would probably

give Dolly a lot more to sing about!

Jessica Leen, 18, is in 6th year in

Christ King Secondary School in

Cork and has spent the last three

summers working in Fáilte Ireland’s

Tourist Offi ce in the city. She

reveals what she gets up to on an

average day at work.

I have to hand it to the Yanks,

they win hands down in the ‘most

unusual questions asked’ round. It’s

particularly hard to be professional

and keep a straight face when an

eccentric customer asks ‘And where

in Ireland can I fi nd a Leprechaun

fi eld where you can like hunt them

and bring them home?’…

Dublin is Ireland’s most popular tourism destination, followed by Killarney, Cork and Galway.

Tourism Facts

For more exciting courses and careers visit www.picktourism.ie

When the world’s most expensive footballer came to stay at Carton House along with the rest of the Real Madrid team, 19 year old Angela Cameron was among the team looking after him.

Cooking for ronaldo

I’ve been working with the conference and banqueting team in Carton House for more than a year and combine it with going to college in DIT Cathal Brugha Street where I’m studying for a Degree in Culinary Arts.

At Carton I get to have the best of both worlds because I work both in the kitchen cheffing and in the front of house waitressing. When I was younger I always wanted to be a chef but now I prefer working out front with the guests as you get to meet interesting people all day.

Among the interesting people I’ve met recently were the Real Madrid football team. They held a training camp in Carton House resort before the new season started and stayed in the hotel for more than a week.

It was crazy when they were here. The security was so tight and there were more than 1,000 members of the media around. We were all so star-struck looking at the players though we had to be professional and carry on as normal. We weren’t allowed to watch them train but it was hard not to get excited around them. They were all very nice and very down

to earth though and always stopped to sign autographs and pose for photographs with some of the kids who were staying in the hotel.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was my favourite of all the players. He was so polite and always asked how you were, and he would really listen to your answers. He would always bring up his plates when he was finished too. He was a really nice guy.

Ronaldo was nice too but he was a bit quiet and he kept to himself. It’s crazy to think though that his first interview as a Real Madrid player was in the Carton Suite!

As I work in the kitchen also I got to cook for the team as well as serve them. I speak a bit of Spanish so I got to work with the team’s head chef who travels with them which was pretty cool. The players have a very strict diet with lots of olive oil, fruit, veg and fish. They also eat five times a day – at �am, �.��, 1pm, �pm and �.30pm. It’s important for them to keep their energy up.

We needed our energy too. It was crazy for the whole time the team was here but it was so exciting.

Shannon College

student Sarah

Walsh worked

as a waitress in

Carton House’s

Linden Tree

restaurant during

her summer

holidays. She tells

us about when the Real

team arrived.

I’m not particularly a football fan

but it was great when the team came

to stay. Even in the aftermath it’s good

as the hotel got so much exposure

around the world because of their visit.

We even had one German family who

stayed with us for a week just to get a

glimpse of them.

But it’s not just Real Madrid who

make working in Carton so exciting.

There’s always something going

on here. Today for instance we had

Weddings by Franc in, and the other

day Xposé were here filming. I love

fashion so I got so excited when I saw

them. That’s the thing about working

in this industry, no two days are the

same and there’s always something

interesting happening.

page 13

career chat

page 1�


What attracted you to the industry?

When I was younger I always wanted to be a chef, so I got a job in a local restaurant in Kanturk. I soon realised that I was a people person though so I moved into the front of house where I could interact with customers. The kitchen is great but pots and pans don’t talk back.

did you go to college?

When I fi nished school I went to CIT where I took a course in Hospitality Skills with Fáilte Ireland. I loved the course and the industry, so I went on to do a Bachelor of Business Studies and Hospitality Management, again at CIT.

What did you do then?

After college I moved to Kerry to work in the fi ve star Aghadoe Heights Hotel, working in food and beverage, then I moved back to Cork where I worked in Hayfi eld Manor, another fi ve star hotel. I started out as duty

manager, then worked in operations before moving into the sales department where I spent a year working in business development. I loved the experience I got there.

I moved to Dublin to ‘do the Dublin thing’ and get experience in a big business, and joined the sales department of the Fylan Collection which runs the fi ve star Dylan and four star Dunboyne Castle Hotels. I loved the lifestyle in Dublin but I’m a country boy at heart really so after gaining a year’s experience I moved on.

When did you become general manager?

I met my current boss when I was working in Dylan. He offered me the job of general manager of Racket Hall in Roscrea a few months ago. Although I’m used to fi ve star hotels and Racket Hall is a three star property I jumped at the chance to become general manager at 26. I was able to fulfi l my ambition to becoming general manager much earlier than I hoped.

I love working here now. I have a great team working with me and I couldn’t do the job I do without them. My role varies and each day is different. Mainly I focus on costs and overseeing accounts, driving new business and sales to the hotel and keeping on top of standards.

What’s the best and worst thing about your job?

I love working as part of a team and the best thing is that sense of achievement you get when things go well. You can also travel a lot with this job, particularly if you work in sales as you have to go on the road and sell the hotel. The worst thing I’ve had to do in my job is make some staff redundant recently due to the recession. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to be affected by it.

What are your plans for the future?

I plan to have my own business by the time I’m 30. I used to think I wanted to own my own hotel but now I’m interested in setting up a consultancy company for the industry, with events and marketing divisions.

What advice would you give someone considering getting into the industry?

Find out what you’re getting into and what the role entails. If you’re not sure if the industry is for you it’s a good idea to do a Fáilte Ireland course fi rst. They are very practical and you learn a lot more from hands-on experience than you do from books.

Chris o’Sullivan, General Manager

Works: Racket Hall, Roscrea, Age: 27

Courses: Fáilte Ireland Hospitality Skills; Bachelor of Business Studies and Hospitality Management, CIT

me back to the Market Square where I now work as a pastry chef.

How do you enjoy the work?I am very happy there. I really like it when it gets busy. I get a great buzz from it. I am always learning too. That is what it is all about.

What does your day involve?Preparing and baking of desserts and for the past few weeks I have been doing starters as well. It all adds to your experience.

What about the future?I want to go travelling to Australia. That is the thing about cheffi ng. You can take the qualifi cations with you. This means you can work abroad. Of course working abroad also adds to your overall experience.

And for the long-term?I would love to own my own place some day.

Why did you go into the hospitality business?It was always one of the areas that I wanted to work in. I started doing waitressing and I just loved working in restaurants. It really appealed to me and I always loved the buzz and the atmosphere in every place I worked. I did an Arts Degree in Geography at UCD after school but I decided that I was more suited to a career as a chef.

What course did you do? After college at UCD I went to do a Professional Cookery course in LIT and got a distinction. It was two years full-time but you could do it over three on a day-release basis if you wanted. You got to learn a lot and were in the kitchen two or three days a week. There was also a lot of theory and subjects ranged from food safety to business.

Tell us about your current job.I work in the Market Square Brasserie in Limerick. There are two other chefs. I went there after doing a placement in the summer and then worked in another establishment but they asked

There are so many different ways to go in this business. You don’t have to stay in the kitchen. I was also thinking of perhaps becoming a chef lecturer some day.

What advice would you give someone considering going into the industry?You have to be willing to work hard and you have to have perseverance. However it is very enjoyable too. So persevere and eventually it won’t really feel like work at all!

There are so many different ways

career chatdeirdre Eighan, Cabin Crew Works: Aer Lingus, Age: 23

Zara Carey, ChefWorks: Market Square Brasserie, Limerick, Age: 23 Courses: BA, UCD; Fáilte Ireland Professional Cookery, LIT

page 1�

3.��am but when you do that you’re home by midday and have the rest of the day to yourself which is good. The latest start is midday and it can vary which time you fi nish.

What does the job entail?You check in an hour before take off, meet your crew, have a safety briefi ng and go through how many passengers will be on board and if there are any special requirements. There are so many people in Aer Lingus that you work with different people every day and you’re always meeting someone new, which is great.

When you’re fl ying you have to follow safety procedures and then look after passengers. Safety is paramount in this job. The cabin crew training is really intense and we go on refresher courses every year to make sure we’re up to speed.

Where do you fl y?I work on European fl ights so it’s a bit of a mixed bag. On any given day I could go to Spain, Portugal, England or further afi eld. The only place we stay overnight is in London and we do that

How long have you been with Aer Lingus?I’ve been working with Aer Lingus for two years. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I like working with the public and the opportunity this job gives you to travel and meet new people really appealed to me. I did hairdressing after school but I found it very mundane and got bored. I love variety and in this job no two days are the same.

do you have to get up really early?Sometimes, it depends on the rota. The earliest of early starts is �am which means I’m up at

about once a week. If we are on early we are fi nished at midday so we have the afternoons to ourselves to look around the shops. If we get in late I usually just chill out in the hotel.

What would you like to do in the future?I’d love to cover the transatlantic routes and go to the US. They’re longer fl ights but you get a few days off when you’re over there to acclimatise.

What do you love most about your job?I love meeting new people and every day is different which is such a bonus. Bad days are rare.

What bugs you?Getting delayed. Although it’s rare that you are, you can never be certain what time you’ll be home so it can be hard to plan things. I always pack a change of clothes in case we get delayed overnight.

What attracted you to the job?I’ve always been really into sport so becoming a fi tness instructor was one way of combining this with work.

did you go to college?I did the four-year degree course in Exercise & Health Studies at WIT. It’s a really interesting course, and you study everything from anatomy and physiology to psychology and social, personal and health education. You also get your personal training certifi cate in the course and

you do loads of exercise classes. It’s really good fun. You have to do a six-month placement too. I did mine in the Lynch Hotel in Limerick, which is where I’m from.

How long have you been with Greenhills?I joined Greenhills last summer and I’ve been working here since. There’s seven or eight of us working in the Leisure Centre and we all get on really well. There’s a great social side to this job and we all go out together.

Tell us about your day.If I’m on in the morning I open up and then I might do a couple of programmes with people or take some fi tness classes. In the afternoons or evenings I also take classes and close up. Although the mornings start at 6.30am I prefer them as you are fi nished at 2pm and you have the rest of the day to yourself. The evening shifts

start at 2pm and you don’t fi nish until 10.30pm.

What would you like to do in the future?I want to go on to do a Masters in physiotherapy. I’d still like to work within hotel gyms though. It’s an interesting job and you get to meet lots of different people every day.

What do you love and hate about your job?The best part of this job is that it’s not in an offi ce! I would hate that. I also get to keep fi t, which I love, and get free membership to the gym. The worst thing is the hours. You’re either working early mornings or late nights and you work a lot of weekends. The good side of that though is that it’s easy to get time off if you need it and you can arrange your rota so you don’t have to take holidays if you want to go somewhere. It can be very fl exible like that.

page 16

Stephen delaney, Tour GuideWorks: EIL Ireland, Age: 26 Courses: Fáilte Ireland National Tour Guide Programme

Sharon Casey, Fitness instructor

Works: Greenhills Hotel & Leisure Centre, Limerick, Age: 21

Courses: BA (Hons) Exercise & Health Studies, WIT

When did you become a tour guide?My career in the tourism industry began as a six week summer job in 200�. EIL Ireland (Experiment in Intercultural Learning) advertised for student leaders or ‘delegation managers’ for groups of US students in Ireland. I headed up their adult groups the following year and I enjoyed the work so much that I never left! After four and half years tour guiding experience I decided to become a professional guide through the Fáilte Ireland National Tour Guide Programme and I am now a registered tour guide with Fáilte Ireland.

What is your average day like?My daily job entails meeting a group of tourists at breakfast, leaving the hotel with the group around �am, welcoming them on the coach and going through the itinerary for the day. The tour guides’ job is to interpret what the passengers see while they are on the coach and then organise visits to various locations.

As well as guiding you are responsible for

the group so you must deal with problems that arise. Those problems can be anything from helping to change a hotel room to getting a doctor or coping with an accident, lost passports or lost luggage! Meeting new people is the best part of being a tour guide. I have met many interesting people and you can become very close to the groups that you work with.

What do you love about your job?Showing off Ireland as an Irish person is great because you are introducing US visitors to the best of Irish. I have seen my own country for free. I would never have seen half the places in Ireland that I’ve seen if I wasn’t working as a tour guide.

What qualities do you need to be a tour guide?If you are interested in working as a tour guide being a people person is a must. You have to

have a good relationship with your group, your driver and with hotel staff. You have to be organised, you must like travelling and living out of a suitcase, and you need to be able to handle yourself in different situations.

Providing good quality information is important but the way you deliver it is what will capture the passengers’ imagination so you have to make it interesting and fun. Your job is about making things as enjoyable as possible for your group.


page 17

Get Some Tunes

Log on to www.picktourism.ie to be in with a

chance to win Ð50 worth of iTunes vouchers.

career chat

How long have you been with the Bridge House?I’ve been with the Bridge House for two years. I started in the kitchen and then I went out front, serving bar food and now I’m training with the food and beverage manager. I really enjoy coming to work every day. I’m getting so much experience and there’s a great team here. A lot of the staff have been here for years so it’s like one big family.

did you go to college after school?I went to Athlone IT to do the two year course in

Professional Cookery and when that was fi nished I was able to transfer into the second year of the Bachelors Degree in Business Management. I’m in third year now and I love it.

What made you change from cheffi ng to hotel management?I always wanted to be a chef, which is why I did a Professional Cookery course which is a brilliant course. I decided to transfer to the degree course afterwards as I thought it was important to study business and management, particularly as I would like to own my own business someday, but now I’m doing this I love it.

I really enjoy being front of house as you get to meet the customers, see them enjoying themselves and you get a great buzz out of that.

What do you love and loathe about your job?The best thing about this job is making customers happy. Even if it’s just something

small like bringing them a birthday cake, you see the smile on their faces and know they really appreciate the effort you made. I’m really enjoying everything I’m doing so I don’t have a downside!

Would you encourage other people to give tourism a go?I would defi nitely encourage others to try the tourism industry. I love this business. There is a new challenge every day and you have great opportunities to progress your career quickly. You will never get bored as there are always new departments to try in the industry. Working in hotels and restaurants also offers you great opportunities to travel. No matter what, people always want to eat so there will always be jobs for chefs or restaurant supervisors and waiters. In this business, you can get an education while travelling the world.

Joe Callopy, Food & Beverage Works: Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore, Age: 22Courses: Fáilte Ireland Professional Cookery; Bachelor of Business in Hospitality Business Management, AIT

�

Cool Things To Do in Tourism10

Watch Real Madrid train while working at Carton House 1

Mix cocktails for the stars at the Octagon

Bar in Bono and The Edge’s hotel, The

Clarence

2

Surf for a living like Irish Surf

Champ John McCarthy at his

Lahinch Surf School3

Cook for your county heroes at GAA HQ in Croker4

Caddy in the K Club – home

of the Ryder Cup – or

another of Ireland’s many

award-winning golf courses.

Great golf, great views and

great tips too!

5

�

Travel the world as a pilot

or cabin crew member

(it’s rude to call them air

hostesses these days)6

Become a festival organiser and get up close

to the bands at Oxegen,

Electric Picnic and Slane7

Go to the movies… The

movie set that is… and cook

for the cast and crew with

fi lm catering companies like

Fitzers. Who knows, you might

be discovered!

8Be adventurous – land

a job in an adventure

centre and spend your

days rock climbing,

horse riding or white

water rafting

9

Become a holiday rep.

Spend your summers

partying while you work

in Ibiza, Aya Napa or

even the Aran Islands!

10

To fi nd out more about all the crazy and cool things

you can do in tourism log on to www.picktourism.ie

What courses did you do while you were working?I started on the Accelerated Chef Training programme or ACT and then did a National Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery or NAP under the ‘Earn and Learn’ scheme. I have FETAC Level Five from the fi rst course and Level Six from the second course.

Why did you choose this route to working in the industry?Basically I always liked cookery from an early age. To get a professional qualifi cation while working made it feasible. Where do you work?I am working full-time in Charleville Park Hotel which is a four star hotel. I am chef de partie there and have four apprentices under me. Before this I was at the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick.

Have you plans to study more?Yes, I have been picked to do a Batchelor of Arts course in culinary arts. I will be doing that in Tralee IT, where I also did the Professional Cookery course. I was the only one in the NAP class who was picked to do this course. That was quite an achievement. Why do you think you were picked?I suppose it is all about going that bit further in everything that you do and putting in the hard work.

What does the course entail?It is a three-year course which takes place one day a week. It is the minimum that you need to teach later on so it’s a pretty good course to do. The standard of the teaching in IT Tralee is brilliant and second to none.

obviously you love what you are doing. Why?No two days are the same and you meet great people. There is also an appreciation of a job well done. Also, it is a passport to anywhere in world, workwise. What advice would you give someone starting out in the industry? Firstly, I would say to them that they must have an interest. If they have that interest and then put in some hard work anything is possible!

Earn While You Learn

You don’t have to study full time to get a qualifi cation. You can earn and learn at the same time through Fáilte Ireland’s National Apprenticeship scheme, like Anthony o’rourke.

For more ways to earn while you learn, visit www.picktourism.ie

earn & learn

Tourism is Ireland’s

largest home-grown

industry, employing

more than

220,000 people.

Tourism Facts

page 22

I was the accreditation manager on the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway. This involved identifying staff, volunteers and main contractors and managing the entertainment on the main stage.

I was recruited to work on the event by Fiona Lawless, the volunteers’ manager on the Volvo Ocean Race. I had worked with her for two years in Macnas, the Galway-based arts and theatre company.

The Ocean Race had a different atmosphere to a lot of the festivals that take place in Galway because everything was outdoors. All of the local businesses and local media were behind it. The town really made an effort to welcome this event. Nothing like this had every happened in Galway before and that meant there was much more involvement from people in the town than there would be for a regular, annual festival.

Craig Flaherty, 20, landed his dream job this summer when he coordinated the troops at the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway.

Set Sail on a new Adventure

dream job

Craig

with

spe

ctat

ors

at t

he V

olvo

Oce

an R

ace

The Volvo Ocean Race, dubbed ‘The Everest

of Sailing’ ran for nine months during 200�

and 200�. Starting in Alicante in Spain, seven

teams, including Ireland’s Green Dragon,

sailed over 37,000 nautical miles of the

world’s most treacherous seas via Cape

Town, Kochi, Singapore, Qingdao, Cape Horn,

Rio de Janeiro, Boston, Galway, Goteborg and

Stockholm before fi nishing in St Petersburg

in Russia.Each of the seven boats had a sailing team

of 11 professional crew who raced day and

night for more than 30 days at a time on

some of the legs.The 200� winner was Sweden’s Ericsson �.

Ireland’s Green Dragon came in fi fth place.

did You know?

page 238

dream job

Galway Buzzed as

Volvo Came to Town

Great CraicThere was a big team working on the event. I really enjoyed the work but I also enjoyed the fun that I had working with the other members of the team. There was a core group of us that were of a similar age. We got on really well and we all helped each other out and did a lot of socialising together.

I met lots of new people through working on the Volvo Ocean Race and that was the best part of the job for me. Also, the fact that Volvo gave so many young people the opportunity to take on so many high end jobs was a major highlight of the event for me. We could manage areas on our own without too much supervision and see projects through from start to fi nish. They kept an eye on us but we had scope to show our own initiative and develop our own ideas. For example, I managed the accreditation but I did that job on my own. Being trusted to do that by the team was something I really enjoyed. In fact, there was no part of my work on the Volvo Ocean Race that I didn’t enjoy. I would defi nitely work on the Race again but I would like to concentrate on the entertainment aspect of the event.

Life After VolvoAfter the Race I started working with Macnas in their production department. I work full time in the Town Hall Theatre in Galway and I run the St Patrick’s Day Festival in Galway. Last year I was the parade director so I had to manage all aspects of the Festival, from production to fi nance to marketing. I’ve worked in Macnas for the past four years so I have a lot of knowledge about what is involved in organising street spectacles and events.

I defi nitely see myself working in event management in the future. I think tourism is a great industry. I like working in a non-repetitive environment. The work is constantly changing. You are doing different tasks and dealing with different situations each day. That is one of the main attractions for me because it keeps things interesting.

page 2�

It enjoys legendary status as a party town,

but even the City of the Tribes managed to outdo

itself in June 2009 when teams competing in the

Volvo Ocean Race moored in Galway Marina.

Festival organisers had expected crowds of about

140,000 but in fact an estimated 350,000 people

fl ocked to Galway during the stopover, spending

about Ð70m in the city in the process.

Now that’s one helluva party.

Log on to www.picktourism.ie to read more about exciting jobs like Craig’s.

‘I met lots of new people through working on the Volvo Ocean Race and that was the best part of the job for me. Also, the fact that Volvo gave so many young people the opportunity to take on so many high end jobs was a major highlight of the event for me. We could manage areas on our own without too much supervision and see projects through from start to fi nish.’

Ireland’s Green Dragon

came in fi fth place

page 2�

page 26

I fell in love with the industry when I

started washing pots in a local bar and

restaurant, Boffey Quinns in Corrafi n, Co

Clare, when I was 1�. By 17 I had become

the owner’s right hand man. I worked

there part time throughout the year

and full time in the summer.

When I fi nished school I went to

GMIT to study Culinary Arts and then

went on to do the Honours Degree in

Hotel Management. There was a big

difference between the two courses

and the honours degree was hard work

but it was worth it. I graduated this year

and I got reasonably high marks.

It is through college that I got this job.

A friend on the course worked as a private

chef too and when this job came up she

tipped me off.

Set SailThis is my second summer working with

the family on the yacht. They are an English

family and I get on extremely well with

them, they are really nice people and

very down to earth. There’s lots of them

– the parents, their six children and their

grandchildren. They stay in their villa in

Saint Tropez every night but come on board

for lunch and dinner every day. The yacht is

a beautiful, classic, 30m sailing boat with

twin masts. When it was built in 1�67 it

was the largest sailing yacht in the world.

Even though I live and work in confi ned

spaces, it is such a beautiful boat that it is

nice to work on something so beautiful.

My day in the Mediterranean starts at

�am. We’re anchored out at sea so I have

to head to the market in Saint Tropez to

get the produce for the day ahead. I cook

everything myself from scratch – including

the ice cream and the petit fours. I cook

breakfast, lunch and dinner for the crew,

which includes the steward, housekeeper,

deckhand and captain as well as myself and

for the family I do lunch and a seven-course

dinner. It’s only me in the kitchen so there’s

a lot to do. The family also have a chef in

their villa and occasionally I go over there

to help out.

Sometimes we take a trip away, and

we’re next heading to Corsica, Sardinia, and

around the Italian coast. The family stay on

land every night and the crew stay on the

boat.

GlamorousAlthough it sounds like a very glamorous

job it’s very hard work and I work long

hours but I have to say I absolutely love

it and I feel so privileged to have this

opportunity. The family are lovely to

work for. When I got my exam results this

summer the mother opened a bottle of

champagne to celebrate. They’re also really

good people to know from a career point of

view also as they have many connections

in great restaurants in London and will help

set me up in the future.

They also fl ew me to London for

Christmas to cook for them. They gave me

my own cottage and car for the duration I

was there. You name it, I had it, but it was

very hard work – we’re talking 1� hour

days. One of the bad things about being a

private chef is the hours but, at the same

time, I’m spending the time indulging in my

hobby which is food.

I would defi nitely encourage young

people coming out of college to get into

private cheffi ng. You have to be prepared

to put in the hard work but there are

amazing opportunities. You don’t see any

Fords in Saint Tropez – only Ferraris and

Lamborghinis!

page 26

see the world

There are so many opportunities to travel with tourism that the world is your oyster. Two student chefs share their experiences with us. Here 21-year-old Shane Sheedy tells us all about cooking on a private yacht anchored off Saint Tropez for the summer.

Travel With Tourism

Set Sail on a Cooking Adventure

For more information, visit www.picktourism.ie

I decided to become a chef because I always loved cooking at home. It was one thing I could do easily.

I left school when I was 16 – I wanted to get straight into the workplace, I couldn’t wait. I wanted to do Fáilte Ireland’s Culinary Skills course but you have to be 17 to do it so I went working for a year before I enrolled in it.

The Culinary Skills course is a 16 week course and following that I did Fáilte Ireland’s Accelerated Chefs Training (ACT) programme which runs for six months and includes work experience. You learn about everything from soups and sauces to pastry on the programme and it’s a great course. It’s a small enough class and it’s really good craic.

For my work experience I went to L’Ecrivain Restaurant in Dublin which is a Michelin starred restaurant. I got on really well there and ended up staying for a year and a half. I started as commis chef and worked my way up to chef de partie.

See the WorldOne of the best things about being a chef is the opportunities it gives you to travel. You can travel the world with your skills and you can get a job anywhere – people always want to eat.

I decided to head to Lanzarote for a few months and I’m currently working in Mulligan’s Bar in Puerto Del Carmen. I just travelled to the Canaries on spec and I got a job easily enough. I’m working in the kitchen but if I was to come back to Lanzarote again I think I’d look for a job waitressing to experience what it’s like working front of house.

At the end of the season I’m heading back to Dublin to work in Pichet, a new restaurant which is run by Stephen Gibson, who was my head chef in L’Ecrivain, and Nick Munier, the maitre d’ from Hell’s Kitchen. I’m also hoping to do the National Apprenticeship Programme with Fáilte Ireland and in the future I’d like to do the Advanced Pastry course as that is my

favourite part of the kitchen.I defi nitely want to travel more in the future though, and I’d love to go to Australia to work. That’s the beauty about this job, there are so many opportunities out there.

Eilis davenport, 18, headed tosunny Lanzarote to work as a chef

For more information, visit www.picktourism.ie

Life surely can’t get much better for Ben Southall, from England, who beat off competition from more than 3�,000 candidates to be appointed caretaker of the stunning Hamilton Island off the coast of Queensland in Australia.Ben won the ‘Best Job in the World’ competition, which saw candidates from around the world fi ght it out for the caretaker’s role, including fi nalist George Karellas from Bettystown in Co Meath.Part of Ben’s weekly duties include writing a weekly blog, compiling a photo diary and fi lming video updates on his explorations on the island. For his efforts he gets to live in a rent-free three-bedroom villa, complete with pool on Hamilton Island and he also gets to take home a tasty Aus$�3,000 salary!It sure sounds like the best job in the world to us…

Click on to www.islandreefjob.com to follow Ben’s progress.

The Best Job in the World – And That’s offi cialCorkman Jeremiah

O’Connor, AKA Sergeant

Slaughter, is also living

the high life in tourism.

He came up trumps in

London’s ‘Scare Factor’

competition and earned

himself a role at the

London Bridge Experience

and London Tombs where

he will use scare tactics

to frighten the wits out

of tourists and visitors. ‘It

beats sitting around in an

offi ce,’ said Jeremiah.

page 27

see the world

�

For me, there is no better job in the world. I was just three weeks old

when my parents first brought me out into the water, and I’ve rarely

been long out of it since. I am a total water baby and my whole life

revolves around the ocean.

Surfing is a family affair in the Hickey household. My Dad,

Tom Hickey, was a pioneer surfer in Ireland. He was a lifeguard in

Strandhill, Co Sligo, for 22 years. When a friend introduced him to

surfing in the ’60s he totally fell in love with it and never looked

back. When he met my Mum he introduced her to surfing too and

the rest is history. My childhood was spent travelling around Ireland

in our VW camper van chasing waves. We went further afield too, and

my parents brought my brother Zachary and me to Australia, South

Africa and South America when we were growing up to surf. It was

total bliss.

Back to School

In 1�� my parents decided to turn their passion into a business and

set up the Perfect Day Surf School in Strandhill. In 2007 they signed

the business over to me. I cannot even begin to express how much

I love it. I get to do the most amazing thing in the world – surfing

– while running my own business and going to college. It’s a brilliant

business as it allows me to surf all day in the summer and combine

the job with studying in NUI Galway, where I’m in my fourth year in

Marine Science, during the year.

I’ve been a surf instructor since the age of 1� so I’m well used

to the business by now. My day depends on the tides and wave

conditions but, waves allowing, I aim to take my first surf lesson

at 10am. I arrive early to set up and then once the students are all

suited we head out to the water for a two-hour lesson. We take small

groups, with one instructor to every five students. This maximises

safety and also allows us to give a lot of individual coaching.

Once the morning’s lesson is over I clean up and get ready for the

kids’ surf camp in the afternoon which we run every day through

summer from 2-�pm. My brother Zachary, who is 1�, helps out with

the camp. The Perfect Day Surf School is very much a family affair

and my parents are still very involved. After the camp, we pack up

and get ready for the next day, or if we have another lesson that

evening we prepare for that.

Tourism offers you opportunities like no other

industry. Not only can you travel the world with

your job, work while you study, and combine your

passion with earning a living, it also offers you

the opportunity to run your own business and be

your own boss at an early age. Surfer, student and

business owner Elisha Hickey, 21, tells us all about

her ultra cool life on the crest of a wave.

be your own boss

Make Your own Waves

Elisha, above and rightBelow, with students and instructors at the School

The lifestyle is wicked and there’s never a bad day – everyone is so

happy when they surf.

We’re looking at loads of new ways to attract business at the

moment, one of which is encouraging women into surfi ng. We

cater for a lot of hen parties at the School, as well as stags and

school tours, and they seem to enjoy it. If we have a group of girls

for a lesson we give them female instructors as they feel more at

ease with women. Men don’t understand that women don’t have

as much upper body strength so it’s harder for us to get up on the

boards!

Such a BuzzI love surfi ng. I’m doing what I always wanted to do. It’s a dream

job for me and I get such a buzz out of seeing others get so

excited when they catch their fi rst wave. It’s such an amazing

feeling.The west coast is buzzing with surfi ng right now. When my

Dad fi rst started surfi ng in the ’60s he said it was such a small

community in Ireland that you would know every surfer, but now

there is a surf school in every county along the west and south

coast and it’s really taking off.

We were the fi rst surf school to set up in Strandhill but since

then another four schools have opened, which just goes to show

how popular surfi ng has become. We don’t mind the competition

though, we’re doing well, we have a great reputation and there’s

enough beach and waves for everyone.

There are great opportunities for young people if they are

interested in pursuing a career in surfi ng as there are so many jobs

out there in the surfi ng industry – there are instructors, lifeguards,

board makers, shops… The lifestyle is wicked and there’s never a

bad day – everyone is so happy when they surf. You can travel the

world with surfi ng too. Wherever there are big waves there is a

surfi ng industry so there’s always work to be found.

AmazingIf I could sum up my job in one word it would be ‘amazing’. There

are no downsides to this job. The only thing that can get to you

is the Irish weather when you look out in summer and it’s grey

and raining. But in fairness, you’re going into the water to get wet

anyway so it doesn’t really matter.

Like I said, for me this is the best job in the world. I feel so lucky

to be able to spend all day doing what I love. Life doesn’t get

much better than this.

download free Bebo skins fromwww.picktourism.ie

For more ideas on how to combine your passion

with a career visit www.picktourism.ie

page 2�

Surf’s Up Dudes...

students talk

Jacinta Downey

page 30

Jacinta downey

Age: 21

Goes to: Shannon College of Hotel

Management

Course: BA Commerce

Works: Greenhills Hotel & Leisure Centre, Limerick

What attracted you to the

course in Shannon?The opportunity to travel is what attracted me to the hospitality industry most and in

Shannon you get two opportunities to go on work experience overseas so that really

appealed to me. In second year you get to spend a year working away and I went to

Luxembourg which was really great. Then after fourth year you can go away as well.

All the big international hotel groups come into the college to do interviews. It’s great

as they all have really good training programmes so if you get on well you could have

a job as soon as you fi nish and can travel the world. I’d love to work in America.

What does the course in Shannon entail?

There’s a lot of practical work. You get to run a restaurant, work in the kitchen, and

you also get to work in the hotel beside the college so you get a broad experience

of the industry. You also do IT, food science, marketing, business systems, human

resource management and lots more. In fourth year you go to study in NUIG where

you concentrate on business, accounting, economics or marketing. You pick a stream

and focus on that.

You’re in fourth year now. What did you choose to

focus on?Accounting. Strangely enough when I was on work experience in Luxembourg I found

that I loved the auditing and sales part of the business. The course is great as it’s a

business course fi rst and foremost so you can take it to any industry, not just tourism.

What are the hours like?Classes start at �.30am and run until �pm in fi rst year, then in third year you get

Fridays off and in fourth year you get more time off when you go to NUIG.

Are the lecturers any good?I have to say they’re great. They’re always there to help if you need them. A lot of

them are very young and are past Shannon students so they know what it’s like. We

actually go out with our lecturers a lot. Our director is lovely too. He’s always available

to sit down and have a cup of tea and a chat with you if you need him.

is there much of a social life?

Yeah, it’s great craic. Shannon is big on you making contacts with your peers in the

industry so they really push the social side. In fi rst year we all stayed in Bunratty for

a year in 10 houses beside each other. We had a fair few parties alright, it was a little

wild sometimes!

is there a good mix of guys and girls and, tell the truth, are there

many romances?Yeah, it’s about 60:�0 girls to guys. There have been loads of romances! I got together

with my boyfriend, Colin, in fi rst year and we’re still together. We both work in

Greenhills Hotel in Limerick together part-time. He works in the bar and I’m a

waitress.

is it true you have to wear a uniform in Shannon?

Yes, I was really looking forward to getting out of the uniform when we went to NUIG

but I have to say it was handy wearing one. You never had to worry about what to

wear in the morning!

Age: 22Goes to: DITCourse: BA in Hospitality Management

Why did you choose tourism?The tourism industry is one industry which will always be there. People will always want to go on holiday. Also, I love the happy buzz of the industry. I really wanted to work within it.

did you go straight to diT after school?No, I did the two year Diploma in Travel & Tourism in Colaiste Dhulaigh fi rst and then went to DIT to do the BA in Tourism Management. DIT is a great college to go to. I did the Applied Leaving Cert so, confi dence wise, I didn’t think I’d be able to get in here but when I fi nished my Diploma I wanted to keep learning and my careers guidance counsellor in Colaiste Dhulaigh said I would be able to transfer into this course. Because I had already done the Diploma I was able to go straight into second year.

What subjects did you do?In second year we did sustainable tourism and tourism destinations which were my two favourite subjects. We also had to learn a language and I took up Spanish. In third year we study accounting, tourism law, e-tourism and other subjects.

What’s the course like?The course is very well planned. In second year you do theory from September to December and then you go for six months’ work placement. I went to Leuven in Belgium where I worked in the Irish College in the conference, catering and accommodation departments. I loved it there. It was a life changing experience. Getting work experience abroad really opens your mind and I would love to travel more in the future.

What’s your ultimate goal?I worked with the Dublin Airport Authority in customer service at Dublin Airport as a college job before I went to Belgium and I’d love to go back there when I fi nish studying. Dublin Airport is like a city in itself – there’s a real community there and it’s like one big family. I miss that. I’d also like to work in other airports around the world. I have to fi nish the course fi rst though. It’s a three year course with the option to do a fourth year to get an Honours Degree. I hope to do that.

Mark Fleming

students talk

Jacinta downey

Age: 1�Goes to: DITCourse: BA in Leisure ManagementWorks: Tonic Health & Day Spa at the Castleknock Hotel & Country Club

Why did you decide to do Leisure Management?I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I fi nished school, but knew I wanted to do something around sports. I got offered a course in Dundalk IT as well as DIT and as two of my friends from school were going to DIT too I chose here.

What’s the course like?It’s a business course fi rst and foremost so it gives you a good grounding in the business around the leisure industry. The majority of the course is theory, and subjects include marketing, communications, accounting, economics and management. There is a good practical side too though and you train as a personal trainer and a lifeguard. By the end of second year you are a certifi ed personal trainer which is brilliant because it is so expensive to do that course outside of college.

does the course involve work experience?Yes, you do a 12 week placement after second year. I got a job in Tonic Health & Day Spa at the Castleknock Hotel & Country Club which is near where I live. It’s great as when I fi nished the 12 weeks they offered me a part-time contract so I could keep working with them when I went back to college. They gave me a lot more hours than I expected too so I was delighted.

How long does the course run?I am in third year now which is the fi nal year but you have an option to go on to a fourth year to study Level � if your marks are high enough.

What do you plan to do when you fi nish college?I’d like to keep working where I am for a year or so and then I’d like to set up my own personal training business by myself or with a friend. I met a personal trainer recently who runs his business through a hotel and he pays them rent. If I could do something similar it would be great.

Brian CaulfieldJacinta downeyKaren Foley

Age: 26

Went to: Galway Mayo

Institute of Technology

Course: Higher Certifi cate in

Business and Hotel Management,

Trainee Manager Development

Programme (TMDP)

Works: Hotel Kilkenny

Why did you choose to do the Trainee Manager

development Programme (TMdP)?

I liked the idea of working for so many weeks, and then attending

college. It was fl exible and mixed up the working month so I didn’t

get bored at all with it. There were a lot of different elements to the

course, with a good mix of theory and practice.

How long is the course?I did the three-year course, and there is an option to go back and

do a fourth year for a NCEA qualifi cation. This would allow you to

go into teaching down the line which is an option for some but

it’s something I have no interest in. There are also a lot of other

management positions in the hotel which you can eventually go for,

such as general manager.

What did think about the college?

GMIT is a great college to go to and there is a great vibe around it.

The lecturers were defi nitely the greatest part of the course, and

were on hand for everything. When we were on work placement

we had their mobile and emails so if there were any problems they

were always there. Even now they pop into the hotel to see how I am

doing and it is great to have such mentors in your life.

What subjects did you study and which did you like

best?In my third year, we did accountancy, law, management and fi nance.

I really liked the accountancy side of it and now I spend one day a

week working in that side of the business with Hotel Kilkenny. It is an

area that I would like to get into more over the years.

What is the exam structure?

It’s broken down into three elements, two assignments which

account for 10 and 30% so you can have the course passed before

doing any exam, which accounts for 60%.

did you all get work after you fi nished the course?

I’m still working in Hotel Kilkenny where I am front of house

supervisor and most of my class have remained in the hotels where

they trained. A few have gone travelling and working in various hotels.

That is one thing about this industry, you can travel anywhere which

is a great option for many. A few have also gone back to complete

the fourth year.

Majella Fuller, 21, is a supervisor with

Masterchefs Hospitality at Thomond Park, where

she looks after corporate guests and the Munster

rugby team. She reveals what it’s like working in

the hallowed ground of Munster rugby.

sporting life

I started working with Masterchefs Hospitality when I

was 16 and I totally fell in love with the whole industry.

I mainly worked with the company in Kilshane House

in Tipperary, where they cater for exclusive weddings.

When you see the look on a bride’s face when the day

goes well it really makes this job so worthwhile.

I wanted to pursue a career in the industry so after

school I went to LIT to study Fáilte Ireland’s Tourism

Hospitality Skills course . I totally loved it and really

enjoyed both the tourism and the hospitality sides of

the course.

At the time I was living with a girl doing event

management, which was the up and coming thing.

I thought it sounded great and was interested in

incorporating it into the hospitality side of the business.

I talked to my bosses in Masterchefs about it and when

they got the contract to look after Thomond Park they

asked me if I would like to work there. Of course I

jumped at the chance!

I’m now doing the Event Management course in LIT and

I work part-time in Thomond Park. Although it’s nice to

get paid, to be honest I’d do it for free. I count myself so

lucky to be getting such great experience.

Thomond ThrillsWorking in Thomond Park is absolutely amazing. I

am a supervisor so I manage the hospitality for up to

600 guests in the corporate suite on match days. We

generally set up the tables and the bars two days prior

to match day and then on the day itself, if it’s a �.30pm

kick off for instance, I come in at 2pm, go through the

table plans, check everything is ready to go, make sure

the staff are briefed and then look after the guests when

they’re here. I have a team of 11 or 12 working with me

but ultimately it is my responsibility to make sure all

the corporate guests are enjoying themselves. It’s hard

work and very hands on but when you see a sea of �00

or 600 people, all with happy faces, and then you look

outside to the pitch where there’s a match going on you

realise how lucky you are.

As well as the corporate guests, we also get the players in

from both teams after the match for a meal. We section

off a room for them but they’re very good at coming out

and interacting with the corporate guests. Paul O’Connell

is particularly good and interacts with the crowd in a very

relaxed way. After his meal he always comes out to talk

to the kids.

The players like their privacy too though. They eat with

the other team and we always replay the match on the

screens in their section so they can have a look at it. All

of the Munster team are very professional and they’re

very nice. I do my job and they do theirs and everyone is

happy.

Fun For AllAs well as Munster rugby matches Thomond Park also

holds concerts and we had Elton John and Rod Stewart

here both of which went really well. We were a bit

apprehensive before the fi rst concert in the stadium

but it was a great night and everyone seemed to enjoy

themselves.

That’s the best part of my job – seeing everybody

having fun. When the guests say ‘Thanks so much, we

had a great day’ when they’re leaving it means so much

knowing that all our hard work was a success. The worst

is when something goes drastically wrong but there’s

always someone there to help and you always sort it out.

There’s never an absolute disaster and you learn from the

mistakes. It’s rare something goes wrong though. This is

such an amazing job you can’t help but enjoy it.

Feeding Munster

For further information on tourism courses and careers

log on to www.picktourism.ie

I started working with Masterchefs Hospitality when I

was 16 and I totally fell in love with the whole industry.

I mainly worked with the company in Kilshane House

in Tipperary, where they cater for exclusive weddings.

When you see the look on a bride’s face when the day

goes well it really makes this job so worthwhile.

I wanted to pursue a career in the industry so after

school I went to LIT to study Fáilte Ireland’s Tourism

Hospitality Skills course . I totally loved it and really

enjoyed both the tourism and the hospitality sides of

the course.

At the time I was living with a girl doing event

management, which was the up and coming thing.

I thought it sounded great and was interested in

incorporating it into the hospitality side of the business.

I talked to my bosses in Masterchefs about it and when

they got the contract to look after Thomond Park they

asked me if I would like to work there. Of course I

jumped at the chance!

I’m now doing the Event Management course in LIT and

I work part-time in Thomond Park. Although it’s nice to

get paid, to be honest I’d do it for free. I count myself so

lucky to be getting such great experience.

Thomond ThrillsWorking in Thomond Park is absolutely amazing. I

am a supervisor so I manage the hospitality for up to

600 guests in the corporate suite on match days. We

generally set up the tables and the bars two days prior

to match day and then on the day itself, if it’s a �.30pm

kick off for instance, I come in at 2pm, go through the

table plans, check everything is ready to go, make sure

the staff are briefed and then look after the guests when

they’re here. I have a team of 11 or 12 working with me

but ultimately it is my responsibility to make sure all

the corporate guests are enjoying themselves. It’s hard

work and very hands on but when you see a sea of �00

or 600 people, all with happy faces, and then you look

outside to the pitch where there’s a match going on you

realise how lucky you are.

As well as the corporate guests, we also get the players in

from both teams after the match for a meal. We section

off a room for them but they’re very good at coming out

and interacting with the corporate guests. Paul O’Connell

is particularly good and interacts with the crowd in a very

relaxed way. After his meal he always comes out to talk

to the kids.

The players like their privacy too though. They eat with

the other team and we always replay the match on the

screens in their section so they can have a look at it. All

of the Munster team are very professional and they’re

very nice. I do my job and they do theirs and everyone is

happy.

Fun For AllAs well as Munster rugby matches Thomond Park also

holds concerts and we had Elton John and Rod Stewart

here both of which went really well. We were a bit

apprehensive before the first concert in the stadium

but it was a great night and everyone seemed to enjoy

themselves.

That’s the best part of my job – seeing everybody

having fun. When the guests say ‘Thanks so much, we

had a great day’ when they’re leaving it means so much

knowing that all our hard work was a success. The worst

is when something goes drastically wrong but there’s

always someone there to help and you always sort it out.

There’s never an absolute disaster and you learn from the

mistakes. It’s rare something goes wrong though. This is

such an amazing job you can’t help but enjoy it.

Employment Benefi ts* Money is only part of the deal… most hospitality and tourism jobs offer perks!

� Tips can boost your earnings

� If you work in a hotel group you can

get free or discounted stays in hotels

around the world

� Bonuses of up to 2�% of your

salary are often included for

senior managers with fi nancial

responsibilities

� If your hotel has a leisure club you

could get free use of the facilities

� Discounted private health insurance

is often part of the package

� You can get free meals at work, a

suit or clothing allowance and free

dry cleaning.

You can earn great pay and get loads of fab perks if you work in tourism. Micheline Corr,

from hospitality and recruitment specialist The Firm, tells us what to expect.

pay & perks

Cashing Up

For more information on pay and perks in the Irish tourism industry contact Micheline Corr

at The Firm – Hotel & Catering Recruitment, micheline@thefi rm.ie, www.thefi rm.ie.

What can you earn later on in your career?* If you are the very best and have a top attitude you will be in demand and then the sky is the limit!

General Manager 6�,000 to 100,000

Head Chef �0,000 to �0,000

Deputy Manager ��,000 to ��,000

Sales & Marketing Professional �0,000 to 6�,000

Food & Beverage Director �0,000 to �0,000

Catering Manager 32,000 to �0,000

Department Supervisor 26,000 to 2�,000

Events Manager 3�,000 to ��,000

Restaurant Manager 3�,000 to �0,000

Spa Manager 30,000 to ��,000

Tour Guide 30,000 to �0,000

Emarketing Executives 30,000 to �0,000

What can you earn now?*Keep in mind that the minimum wage is �17,542 per annum

Bartender 21,000 to 2�,000

Server 21,000 to 2�,000

Receptionist 20,000 to 26,000

Accommodation Assistant 1�,000 to 22,000

Commis Chef 20,000 to 22,000

Post-Graduate Manager 2�,000 to 2�,000(after college)

Undergraduate Manager 22,000 to 2�,000(trainee manager)

page 3�

A-listers don’t just like hanging out in hotels and restaurants,

they love owning them too. We check out some tourism

businesses with very famous bosses.

celebs

They have it all… The perfect hair, the Hollywood

smile, the lavish lifestyle, mega-bucks endorsement

deals, an extensive line of own-branded perfumes

or aftershaves, and now, their own hospitality

operations.

Well when we say now, these guys have been at it

for years. Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger,

Bruce Willis and then wife Demi Moore got the ball

rolling way back in 1��1 with Planet Hollywood,

which was later followed by the short-lived Fashion

Café from supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Naomi

Campbell, Christy Turlington and Elle McPherson.

Meanwhile Demi’s latest husband, Ashton Kutcher,

also proves to have a penchant for restaurants,

investing in Hollywood’s Geisha House and Dolce

Enoteca e Ristorante while Justin Timberlake has

turned his hand to dim sums at his Chi restaurant

in LA.

At the BarRapper Jay Z combines his career as a music mogul

with that of a publican and heads the �0-�0 bar

and restaurant in New York where he’s often seen

chilling out with the lads watching a game on the

big screens.

Old pals Matt Damon and Ben Affl eck meanwhile

were founders of

the Continental

restaurant in

California, while Ben’s

ex, Jennifer Lopez, opened

Madre’s restaurant in Pasadena

in 2002 before closing it in 200�

after the birth of her twins (in fairness,

she does have a lot on her plate).

dine with deniro

When it comes to movie star

restaurateurs, few top the success of

Robert DeNiro who has gone global

with his Nobu sushi chain developed

with sushi chef Nobuyuki

Matsuhisa. The acting legend is no

stranger to the restaurant game,

and is also involved in Rubicon

in San Francisco, Tribeca

Grill in New York and Ago in

Hollywood which he co-owns

with director Ridley Scott and movie

producer and studio chairman Harvey Weinstein.

DeNiro has also tried his hand at hotelkeeping,

and opened the trendy Greenwich Hotel in 200�.

He is one of an army of stars to give innkeeping

a go – though somehow we reckon they won’t be

there to serve you breakfast in the morning, but then

again, you never know…

Bono’s BedsHere in Ireland we have our very own Bono and The

Edge as hoteliers at The Clarence on Dublin’s Quays.

Across the Irish Sea actor John Malkovich is a backer

of the no-frills Big Sleep design hotel chain which

has properties in Cardiff, Cheltenham and Eastbourne

while in South America Leonardo DiCaprio acquired

Blackadore Caye island off the coast of Belize and is

intent on turning it into a luxury eco-friendly resort

with the help of the Four Seasons. We reckon there’ll

be an army of Victoria’s Secrets models checking it

out when it opens judging by his list of ex-girlfriends

which include models Gisele and Bar Rafaeli.

No wonder so many guests are keen to

stay in celeb-owned hotels.

Star Value

page 3�

celebs

California, while Ben’s

ex, Jennifer Lopez, opened

Madre’s restaurant in Pasadena

in 2002 before closing it in 200�

after the birth of her twins (in fairness,

she does have a lot on her plate).

dine with deniro

When it comes to movie star

restaurateurs, few top the success of

Robert DeNiro who has gone global

with his Nobu sushi chain developed

with sushi chef Nobuyuki

Matsuhisa. The acting legend is no

stranger to the restaurant game,

and is also involved in Rubicon

in San Francisco, Tribeca

Grill in New York and Ago in

Hollywood which he co-owns

with director Ridley Scott and movie

A-listers don’t just like hanging out in hotels and restaurants,

they love owning them too. We check out some tourism

there to serve you breakfast in the morning, but then

Here in Ireland we have our very own Bono and The

Edge as hoteliers at The Clarence on Dublin’s Quays.

Across the Irish Sea actor John Malkovich is a backer

1. Fly Wisely:

Air travel is often the most

energy consuming aspect of

your trip so where possible stay

longer in one destination rather

than hopping around to different

places.

2. Travel Light:

Pack only what you need. By

reducing the weight your of

luggage you can signifi cantly cut

green house gas emissions.

3. Book responsibly:

Pick a hotel or tour operator

which is eco-friendly.

4. Before You Leave:

Turn off lights and unplug

household appliances that can

be left unplugged while you are

away.

5. While You Are There:

Turn off all the lights and air

conditioner/heater when you

leave your room, and unplug

unnecessary appliances.

6. Greener Way To Get Around:

Use trains, buses, bikes, horses,

camels or walk where possible to

cut back on gas emissions.

7. Eat Local:

Reduce your ‘food miles’ by

choosing local. Visit a local

farmer’s market, shop at a locally

owned grocery store and choose

locally owned restaurants that

buy local.

8. Save Water:

Use the minimum amount of

water needed for a shower/bath,

don’t let water run while shaving,

brushing your teeth or washing,

and check if the hotel has a linen

reuse programme.

9. Charge Your Trip Sustainably:

Whenever possible, use options

that do not require batteries. Buy

rechargeable batteries for your

essential travel items such as

cameras, razors, and fl ash lights.

10. offset the Unavoidable

Footprint:

Contribute to a carbon

offsetting programme to support

conservation, renewable energy,

and other energy saving projects.

For more tips on protecting the

environment while you travel log

on to www.ecotourism.org.

do Your Bit: Travel responsibly

In every walk of life people are doing what they can to protect the environment and safeguard

the future of the planet, and tourism is no exception. If you’re an eco-warrior and want a job

with a conscience, then the tourism industry would love to hear from you.

going green

Sligo IT has launched an exciting new eco tourism course. The Bachelor of Arts in Ecotourism and Green Event Management Level 7 is the fi rst course of its kind in Europe and runs for three years, full time.

This course is designed to prepare students for a career in the tourism industry and focuses on the environment and the community. A major feature of the course is a four-month placement in Ireland or abroad where students can gain experience working in the tourism industry, and placements include stints in national/local tourism development agencies, wild life centres, community and local development groups, travel agencies, tour operators and heritage and archaeological centres. International fi eld trips are regularly arranged to destinations such as Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Venice and Rome (how cool is that?!).

The course provides students with loads of career opportunities, not just in ecotourism but in the wider tourism industry.

After the course, students can go on to study for the Bachelor of Arts in Ecotourism and Green Event Management (Hons) Degree Level � in IT Sligo.

Check out www.itsligo.ie for more.

Go Green at College

agencies, wild life centres,

arranged to destinations such as Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Venice and Rome

Eco WarriorTour operator Jerome O’Loughlin signed up for the ecotourism course in Sligo IT. He tells us all about it:‘I decided to learn more about ecotourism as I wanted to start a small eco tour company that would offer a range of eco adventure tours in Ireland. As the main part of my business is eco tours I needed to have a better understanding of eco tourism if my business was to be a success.The course in Sligo interested me as it was the only one of its kind in the country and it covered a number of different topics including ecotourism development, the economics of ecotourism and the management and marketing of ecotourism.I really enjoyed my time in Sligo as it was great fun and I met some brilliant people. The facilities at the college were fi rst class and the lecturers were all very helpful to me.

Also, having a working and academic understanding of ecotourism means I can bring experience and knowledge with me to other jobs anywhere in the world. However, the best thing about my current job is being my own boss!’

We all have our part to play in protecting the planet, and going on

holiday is no exception. Here are a few tips for going green while

you travel:

In every walk of life people are doing what they can to protect the environment and safeguard

the future of the planet, and tourism is no exception. If you’re an eco-warrior and want a job

going green

reduce, reuse, recycle

To fi nd out more about the tourism industry and the green courses

and jobs on offer, visit www.picktourism.ie

You’ve probably heard the waste ad on the telly telling you to ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’, and in one of Dublin’s trendiest watering holes they’ve taken that advice to the extreme.

Shebeen Chic on Dublin’s South Great George’s Street is decorated purely with unwanted cast-offs and fl ea market bargains, providing punters with a hotch-potch

The Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon is the greenest hotel in Ireland.

It recently became the fi rst hotel to achieve the EU Eco-label Flower status, which is only awarded to the greenest of green hotels in Europe.

To earn the award, The Bush had to comply with more than �0 eco-friendly tasks set by the EU, including using low energy lighting, renewable energy sources, recycling and waste reduction. Guests at the hotel are encouraged to use energy effi ciently and cut back on water usage and staff can even bring their own rubbish from home into work so it can be recycled in an eco-friendly manner!

Log on to www.bushhotel.com and www.eco-label.com to fi nd out more about the hotel and the Eco-label Flower scheme.

Hotelireland’s Greenestof leftover furniture and somewhat unusual art salvaged from dumps.

The bar was quite a talking point in the city when it opened last year, with food critic Georgina Campbell writing: ‘Decorated with junk shop fi nds, including traffi c bollards, an old photo booth, toilet seats (new – we suspect!), net curtains, old books and mismatched furniture, it looks like a cross between a car boot sale and your grandmother’s parlour.’

The design was all in the name of going green, though we suspect Shebeen Chic’s owners quite liked the minimalist price tag of the fi t out too.

page 37

1. Be Sociable – on & offl ine

Talk to everyone you know working in the industry. Friends, neighbours, aunts

or uncles. Find out about real life in the industry through your social networking

sites such as bebo and facebook, follow people on twitter whose jobs you may be

interested in. Checkout the student and career profi les on www.picktourism.ie.

2. Get Work Experience

Paid or unpaid in the area you may be interested in. Why not volunteer for the

St Patrick’s Day Festival or events like the Volvo Ocean Race? Keep an eye on job

vacancies in local and national papers. Check out notice boards in supermarkets

and cafés, also your local youth centre, job centre or through a recruitment agency.

3. Get a Qualifi cation

Get the best qualifi cation you can to get you started. There are plenty of

opportunities to earn and learn along the way. Log on to www.picktourism.ie for

more details.

4. Get a Part-Time Job While in College

This will give you experience and something to talk about when going for full-time

jobs. How about being a waiter on match days in Thomond or Croke Park? You will

stand out from the other graduates in your class.

5. Work While You Travel

Why not spend school or college holidays abroad working in the industry? The

beauty about the tourism industry is that it offers plenty of opportunities to travel

the world.

6. Be VersatileOver your career, don’t stick to one specifi c area of expertise. Work in different

departments or different tourism areas even for short periods.

7. improve Your Second Language Skills

It is not compulsory, but it might make working and travel easier.

8. Broaden Your Experience

Do as many tourism training courses as possible over your career, whether

through your place of work or of your own accord.

9. Have a Well Prepared CV

You will need a well-written CV that highlights your skills and that is

tailored to what tourism employers are looking for. Use the CV builder on

www.picktourism.ie for help.

10. don’t Just Look at the Money

When considering job opportunities, consider the whole package, the

opportunities for progression and perks such as free meals, uniforms and

discounted accommodation and leisure club membership – when you add it

all up, these perks will be more than you think!

10 Ways to Get Aheadin Tourism

Want to rise to the

top in tourism?

Here are our top tips

for getting on…

For more ways to get ahead in tourism, visit www.picktourism.ie

climbing the ladder

page 3�

�

1. Be Sociable – on & offl ine

Talk to everyone you know working in the industry. Friends, neighbours, aunts

or uncles. Find out about real life in the industry through your social networking

sites such as bebo and facebook, follow people on twitter whose jobs you may be

interested in. Checkout the student and career profi les on www.picktourism.ie.

2. Get Work Experience

Paid or unpaid in the area you may be interested in. Why not volunteer for the

St Patrick’s Day Festival or events like the Volvo Ocean Race? Keep an eye on job

vacancies in local and national papers. Check out notice boards in supermarkets

and cafés, also your local youth centre, job centre or through a recruitment agency.

3. Get a Qualifi cation

Get the best qualifi cation you can to get you started. There are plenty of

opportunities to earn and learn along the way. Log on to www.picktourism.ie for

more details.

4. Get a Part-Time Job While in College

This will give you experience and something to talk about when going for full-time

jobs. How about being a waiter on match days in Thomond or Croke Park? You will

stand out from the other graduates in your class.

5. Work While You Travel

Why not spend school or college holidays abroad working in the industry? The

beauty about the tourism industry is that it offers plenty of opportunities to travel

the world.

6. Be VersatileOver your career, don’t stick to one specifi c area of expertise. Work in different

departments or different tourism areas even for short periods.

7. improve Your Second Language Skills

It is not compulsory, but it might make working and travel easier.

8. Broaden Your Experience

Do as many tourism training courses as possible over your career, whether

through your place of work or of your own accord.

9. Have a Well Prepared CV

You will need a well-written CV that highlights your skills and that is

tailored to what tourism employers are looking for. Use the CV builder on

www.picktourism.ie for help.

10. don’t Just Look at the Money

When considering job opportunities, consider the whole package, the

opportunities for progression and perks such as free meals, uniforms and

discounted accommodation and leisure club membership – when you add it

all up, these perks will be more than you think!

10 Ways to Get Aheadin Tourism

Want to rise to the

top in tourism?

Here are our top tips

for getting on…

For more ways to get ahead in tourism, visit www.picktourism.ie

climbing the ladder

Q: i heard that the pay in tourism is really bad and you have

to work really long hours. is this true?

A: It’s true that tourism and hospitality once had a bad reputation. While the

vast majority of businesses looked after staff, in some cases hours were long

and the pay was not great compared to other industries. But that’s certainly no

longer the case, and to be fair to the guys in the tourism industry, it hasn’t been

that way for a long, long time.

Many hotels and restaurants today sign up to an Employer Charter, for instance,

in which they pledge to take good care of their staff and pay them a decent

wage. In fact, the minimum wage in the hotel and catering industry in many

cases is actually higher than it is in other sectors. You can earn great rates of

pay (see ‘Pay & Perks’ page 34) which are higher than other industries and, while

occasionally you will have to work long hours, this is no longer the norm.

Q: do tourism jobs only offer part-time and shift work?

A: No, there are loads of different full-time jobs in the industry, many of which

(such as offi ce-based roles) are nine to fi ve. There are of course part-time jobs

too and these are great if you are considering going to college as they will allow

you to work around your studies.

And shift work isn’t all bad. It can be nice to relax on the beach while everyone

else is at work.

Q: i don’t like working with customers. do i have to deal with

the public?A: Absolutely not. Not everyone is a people person, and there are loads of roles

behind the scenes where you will have little direct contact with the public.

People in purchasing, research, marketing, technology or cooking positions may

deal with outside clients but not necessarily tourists.

Q: do i need a third-level qualifi cation to get a job in tourism?

A: Most entry-level positions in the tourism industry do not require a university

degree, but other forms of education and training are usually necessary. Many

occupations require skills that must be learned and practised. There are many

routes to learning and, depending on the occupation you choose, you may

achieve a management position through on-the-job training, a college certifi cate

or a combination of these.

Q: Will a degree land me a management role?

A: A degree demonstrates your ability to learn, think and organise yourself to

complete tasks, and it can certainly help you move more quickly into supervisory

and management positions. However, in today’s economy, few people, even

those with a university degree, step into a management position without a lot of

practical experience behind them.

Myth BustersWe answer your questions about tourism.

fact or fi ction

page 3�

To get your own questions answered go to the forum on

www.picktourism.ie

picktourism

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