Celtic Manor and USW launch new hospitality degree course

The Celtic Manor Resort and University of South Wales (USW) have joined forces to launch a new hospitality degree course.

The partnership, which will also involve specialist boutique hotel booking portal Welsh Rarebits, aims to help fill a predicted gap of hospitality and tourism managers.

From September 2017, USW's new three-year BA (Hons) Hotel and Hospitality Management course will combine weekly practical exposure with classroom lectures.

During students' first and third years this will be at the five-AA-star, 334-bedroom Celtic Manor Resort in Newport South Wales, where students will learn operational and management skills.

In year two, students will also undertake an external placement, either at smaller boutique establishments offered by Welsh Rarebits or through other hotel and hospitality partners.

All placements will be combined with classroom-based learning at USW's Newport City Campus, where students will learn about business elements, with a particular focus on sustainability and the environment.

According to statistics from Visit Wales and the Welsh Government, last year Wales attracted 970,000 international visitors who spent a total of £410m, and there were almost 10.5 million overnight trips to Wales by UK residents, worth around £1,975m.

Professor Helen Langton, USW deputy vice chancellor, said: "This income is vital for the Welsh economy, but the hotel and hospitality industry is telling us that there aren't enough graduate-level candidates available to fill the number of vacancies within this growing sector. Working with the providers of some of the very best facilities in Wales, we are supporting the industry's aim to fill the gap by providing a tailored, practical course that prepares students for management-level jobs."

Celtic Manor Resort chief executive Ian Edwards said: "The Celtic Manor Resort will be a fantastic classroom for these students to learn in because of the size, variety and quality of our facilities. Having run our own successful Trainee Management Programme across all departments of the resort for the last three years, we know it will develop graduates rounded in all aspects of the hospitality business and ready to address the current shortage of skills in this area."

Mike Morgan, director of the Welsh Rarebits Collection, added: "The many facets of our tremendously important tourism sector need great people, and I am convinced that this initiative will produce the very best."
Pictured: USW deputy vice chancellor Helen Langton and Celtic Manor Resort chief executive Ian Edwards.

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