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Crown Institute of Studies Proud to Announce Partnership with Upskill Study Programs and StudentsGoAbroad

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Being a student at Crown Institute of Studies just got better, thanks to an international memorandum of understanding with Upskill Study Programs and StudentsGoAbroad. As a result, Crown Institute of Studies now has more opportunities to offer their students.

What does this mean for the students at Crown? In a nutshell, there will be more international options opening up on the horizon, allowing students to get crucial international study experience under their belt.

To celebrate the partnership, Crown Institute is giving a scholarship to their top New Zealand Diploma in Tourism student each year to attend a 4-week summer course in Bali with Upskill, on Sustainability and Eco Tourism.  Click HERE for more details about the program.

Why Bali? And why sustainable tourism? At the end of the day, for Crown, positive tourism learning is about learning how communities can sustain tourism, and how tourism can sustain communities. With Upskill Study Programs, Crown Institute can help cultivate this understanding among their students. And what better place than Bali? Tourism is the primary driving economic force in Bali, so it is crucial it is carried out sustainably. Tourism in Bali helps the island to grow, but also impacts natural habitats, marine life and their unique culture.

Crown endeavoured to partner with Upskill because of its unique programs. Among them, the 4-week Sustainability & Eco Tourism Summer Course stood out. Understanding the unique impact of tourism in Bali is vital learning, and Crown is proud to help their students through offering access to these courses.

With StudentsGoAbroad, Crown students will be able to access unique intern, study, and volunteer opportunities around the world. SGA offers students the placements around the world with meaningful work and study options that enrich their learning, helping give them the employment edge.

For tourism courses in New Zealand, students can turn to Crown Institute for high-quality education to help them be world-ready and confident.  Contact the friendly student services team on 0800 357 316 or info@crown.ac.nz for more information.  Next courses start 11 February 2019.

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Crown Institute and Function Staff Brings Paid ‘Internships’ to Students

Ellerslie Racecourse

For events like Christmas and beyond, staffing is a problem most businesses providing events support services encounter. A common problem would be the company finding itself undermanned or missing a few personnel for areas like the bar, the kitchen, or at the cashier counter.

Crown Institute has courses in Auckland that allows students to gain valuable experience while working at various events. Crown grants students guaranteed work while they study. The experience gained is just as important as the lessons learned, where the students gain valuable insider information they can use for a future in the hospitality industry or other similar work.

Consider the Spark Arena, which has a collection of events lined up from December through January. Similarly, a number of events are also happening at the Sky City Auckland Convention Center. The size of these events requires the help of staffing and other personnel with training from hospitality courses. Crown Institute gives students the opportunity of a lifetime—to gain actual work experience from professionals in the industry—via the “study-and-work” program.

This program also gives students further education by applying theories to practice, such as training in different skills needed for various services, particularly in customer service. What’s more, the work the students put in is paid. In partnership with Function Staff, among others, students also gain sound career advice and get pointers on how to ace future job interviews.

For a fruitful career in the hospitality industry, get in touch with Crown Institute of Studies, a leader in producing well-equipped professionals since 1972. For more information about different courses and programs contact them on 0800 357 316 or info@crown.ac.nz

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Tips for Surviving Christmas in Hospitality | Crown Institute

surviving-christmas-in-hospitality

hospitality courses, you might’ve heard the rumours. You might’ve heard some Christmas success stories, but spread in between those are the holiday horror stories about unruly guests or mid-Christmas season staff breakdowns. Don’t sweat it! It happens. If you manage to live through the ‘long’ holiday season, you’ll be able to face everything the hospitality industry throws at you with a grin.

From simply putting in the hard work, through to celebrating mini-victories during your day, here are tips on how you, as an ongoing hospitality student, can survive through the season:

Batten down the hatches—work through it!

The holidays can be distracting. Everyone has a busy schedule, but as a member of the staff or as someone working as an intern, you have the unenviable task of preparing everything so your over-worked guests have the time of their lives. It’s easy to make mistakes when stressed, so don’t focus on that! Instead, concentrate on the task at hand and remember your barista course studies and others. It is helpful enough to take your mind off making mistakes.

Get plenty of rest

 

It’s easy to get lost in the hectic holiday season, but don’t sweat it! Savour the free time you get. If you get the chance to get some rest, take it. It’s another way of recharging yourself so you’ll be ready for the holiday grind. It’s also good for keeping yourself in the pink of health, something you’ll need during the long holiday season.

Take time off during the important dates

December 25 and 26 and New Year’s Eve are dates meant to be shared with friends and family. If you can’t allocate these dates for all your loved ones, try to at least take one of those days off. This also allows you to freshen yourself up and get back into the grind. Just remember to negotiate your time off as early as you can to avoid having to jostle for leave with other people. It will also help your boss adjust to your absence – or to absences — from staff.

Celebrate with your work family

The company Christmas party is one of two things – you could be looking forward to it all year, or you’ve been dreading attending it. It’s still a work event, after all, so show up. Think of your work colleagues as family too – make it a point to connect with them during the event. This is also another opportunity to take your mind off the stress of holiday work and revitalise, making work easier in the long run!

Those mini-victories—savour it!

Whenever someone gives you props during holiday work, receive it and give yourself a pat on the back—you deserve it! Not everyone can say that they worked through the holidays without getting affected, so give yourself enough credit when it’s due. Distribute the accolade to the team as well if you all earned the praise.

Looking to dive into the busy and rewarding world of hospitality?

 

It’s easy to forget your training during stressful holiday work, but with Crown Institute’s hospitality industry training, you’re well-equipped for any time of the year! Contact us to know more about our various hospitality courses.

 

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How to Absolutely Smash Your Holiday Job Interview | Crown Institute

how-to-absolutely-smash-your-holiday-job-interview
Applying for a seasonal job is different from a regular job application. In a regular setting, a full-time worker is patiently expected to learn the skills associated to their job in time or develop their skills while working. A seasonal hire is different. Either they are already skilled enough for the job, or are fast learners and able to adapt to the requirements of the job quickly.
How can you convince your possible employers that you’re the right person for the seasonal job? Here are a few tips for you to land that temp job for the holidays.

Realize that it’s temporary

Seasonal jobs are just that—seasonal. While they may possibly last longer than (and employers will typically be upfront with that fact), seasonal jobs are largely based around seasonal demands. Temporary jobs require people who can pick up skills quickly and learn what they can from the get-go, so make sure that you’re a fast learner or already equipped with a handful of the necessary skills. This can also be when those short courses Auckland universities and institutes offer may come in handy – you can quickly learn the skills you need to deliver in a job right away.

Be prepared to answer behavioural questions

A company offering seasonal jobs would want to get the best person available. Make yourself that person! Prepare to answer questions on how you handled a particularly difficult customer or how you are like when working under pressure. Most of the questions you’re going to be asked are situational and adjusted to fit the job’s seasonal nature. The key is to keep yourself calm under pressure, and clearly communicate how your personality and work ethic are suited to the job.

Be prepared to be excellent

Most companies hire seasonal workers because they have an acute need for labour. That means they are looking for workers who are excellent at learning quickly and hold up well under pressure. Even though the position may be temporary, you should take it as an opportunity to shine – and you should communicate this in your interview. The chance to become a regular employee becomes higher when you work like a regular employee even though you know that your employment is limited. Plus, if you work well, you will have a great reference, to help you springboard into your next role!

Demonstrate your interest for the job

When the interviewer asks you if there are any questions you have about the position, try to ask a few that genuinely interest you. This makes you look like you’re keen and interested in the job. It also gives off the impression that you want to do better in the job and gives you a bigger chance to land it. Great questions to ask include “what does success look like in this position?” and “what will the biggest challenge I face in this job be?”

Looking to update your resume, and prepare for work?

Crown Institute is only one of the many excellent institutes that offer courses in New Zealand that prepares you for any job, whether it’s temporary or full-time. Talk to us if you’re interested on making your seasonal employment a permanent one or to get pointers in acing your job interview!

Look for the best job available

You must realise that seasonal jobs may become long-time opportunities. What are you looking for in a company? Look at the offers and choose the best company that suits your needs. The learning experience can be tempting or their nice combination of work and play may be what you’re looking for. This consideration may also come in handy when looking at a ready list of future employers.

 

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Top Tips for Part-Time Job CV Writing | Crown Institute of Studies

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The holidays offer both students and office workers a welcome respite from the stress of everyday life. For those already working, it’s a time to kick back, relax, and enjoy the spoils of the year. For students, it is a chance to forget about stressful exams and pesky assignments.

Enterprising students who want to have some work experience to show on their CVs, however, may prefer to find a part-time job or temporary work to give their profile that edge.

It’s easy to find work as there is a lot to go around, but making employers notice you from all those people submitting their application is hard. Here are our top tips on how to make your application stand out.

Keep it short and sweet

What makes you look like a strong candidate? Perhaps surprisingly, it is keeping the information on your CV short and sweet! There are only two pages of paper, at the most, that you can fill with experiences if you are a student – after all, you are just starting your career journey. It also pays to add information that is relevant to the job you’re applying for. Reflect the language used in the job advertisement in your own relevant experiences.

Lastly, no one wants a novel. It’s also a good idea to avoid making it look like a wall of text to read.

Pick a few qualities that clearly define you

When writing your CV, it’s great to list qualities, but better to list them with descriptive paragraphs. When you list down your qualities and describe what happened as a result of using these in school or an organisation, employers may see this as work experience. When you can illustrate a handful of qualities that clearly define you and which you have clearly demonstrated in your work and school history, you help employers visualise you working for them. This is a crucial thing to include in your CV, especially if you’re a student looking for your first job, internship, or summer role.

Make a skills-based CV

There are many ways you can complete your CV. Professionals would write a reverse-chronological type of CV where the most recent achievements are found at the top. Since you’re a student, a nice touch would be to write a CV that highlights the skills that make you a fit for the job. It will also help you write the achievements you’ve gained as a result of using those skills.

Keep it well-organised

There are different ways you can organise the sections of your CV, but as a general rule of thumb your education comes first, followed by any work experiences or organisational work done during your time in school. In writing your CV as a part-time applicant, it’s helpful to include any instances that you were of great help to your school organisation.

Crown Institute offers courses in New Zealand that can help you transform your CV with hands-on work experience. If you’d like to find out more about our courses, contact us today!

 

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Crown student Devon Motufoua gains 6 month work placement with Disneyland Florida!

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Congratulations to Crown Institute travel & tourism student Devon Motufoua.  He will be starting his six month work placement with Disneyland in Florida in January 2019.

Crown is delighted that he was chosen to represent New Zealand in Disneyland USA🎡🎪🎢. Crown has also paid for his airfare✈ to Florida so now he can spend money on the things that matter most, himself.

We want to wish him all the best with his placement and we hope me makes lots of memories and above all, we hope he just enjoys himself 😃

This could be you. Click HERE to enrol in a travel & tourism course today!

 

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What Exactly Is the Hospitality Industry? | Crown Institute of Studies

what-exactly-is-the-hospitality-industry

The term ‘hospitality industry’ can often cause confusion, simply because it’s such a broad term. Under that all-encompassing phrase is a broad network of sectors. The hotel receptionist greeting you as you enter the hotel is an integral part of the hospitality industry, just as the people working in a restaurant create magic behind the scenes. Even your flight attendant on the plane is a member of the hospitality industry!

Aside from pinpointing the graduates from hospitality courses, here is a look into what people really mean when they say ‘I studied for the hospitality industry.’

What is the hospitality industry?

We’ve touched on a few of the different sub-industries included in the term, now know what it refers to. When you say ‘hospitality industry,’ this refers to businesses that serve guests. A host welcomes guests into a place where they will be provided different services such as entertainment, food, health services, safe stay, and many more. Simply put, customer satisfaction is king in these places.

I studied to work in a restaurant, am I in the hospitality industry?

The hospitality industry refers to any place that serves people, and this includes bars, restaurants, and cafes! A restaurant, whether or not it is part of a hotel, falls under the hospitality industry. Any business that is engaged in customer satisfaction and providing services not limited to food is under the hospitality industry. For example, working on cruise ships will fall under the hospitality industry banner. Any place that serves people and seeks to satisfy them during their 

stay is qualified.

What can I expect from people working in this industry?

If you’re referring to the level of services that they offer, then you can expect only the best. The hospitality industry’s lifeblood is customer satisfaction. The reason why customers go to places under the hospitality industry banner is that they’re looking for a way to escape the stress of everyday life. Therefore, only the best service should be expected from industries under this banner, or they risk bad customer reviews!

What is required other than service?

Personality is a major part of the hospitality industry, and businesses will add personal flair wherever they can. Most of these gimmicks are seen at hotels and restaurants. Hotels are much simpler hospitality providers; they may deck their reception and lobby in colours related to the season. Restaurants are more complex; they can choose between simple decorations or having their staff dress for the season. You may see pirates during Halloween or Santa’s elves during Christmas in some restaurants!

How do businesses in the hospitality industry thrive?

As long as the customer is happy and satisfied, businesses in the hospitality industry are, too! People working in hospitality make money by getting customers—and even a few of their friends—to come back to their establishment. The tragedy is: if they fail to placate these customers, bad word of mouth can spell the end for a business quickly.

Interested in working in a role under the hospitality industry banner?  Crown Institute of Studies has produced excellent hospitality course graduates, with many now working as leaders in their places of work! For more information on how you can enrol, contact us today!

 

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Crown is offering a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course!

Crown is offering a TESOL
(Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course!

This course is great if you’re a non-native speaker of English who wants to learn effective English language teaching methods and practice, and prepare to the internationally recognised Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT)

Course Dates: 19th Nov – 14th Dec
Course Times: 9am-3:30pm Monday-Friday
Entry Level: Mid-Intermediate or higher
Pre-test: Interview minimum required

For more information email info@crown.ac.nz

 

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Success Tips for New Travel and Tourism Students | Crown Institute of Studies

success-tips-for-new-travel-and-tourism-students

Travel and tourism are two words that, when put together, sounds really nice. For people who really love the outdoors, a job in the travel and tourism industry is heaven-sent. The journey to becoming a professional in this field isn’t easy, but a word or two from those who are already experts in their role goes a very long way.

Do you want to become the best in the industry? Below, you’ll find some valuable advice from professionals in the travel and tourism industry.

Become an expert yourself

The tourism industry allows for a lot of general tourism experts but, to really be successful, focus in a particular field is necessary. Some people love the mountains; others love rivers or the sea. If you want to be a successful agent in this industry, work toward becoming a proven expert in one area.

Learn how to be a storyteller

People in travel and tourism courses suffer from the overload of online content about travel already available on the Internet. Nothing beats personal stories, however. If you want to become a successful member of the industry, a wealth of experience and the ability to relay your adventures to an indifferent audience should be your primary weapon! If you can interest them with your stories of outdoor hiking, you’ve got yourself a loyal client.

Practice makes perfect

Becoming a travel and tourism professional means you’ll be dealing with different people. At first, customer service may be something you’re not equipped to deal with. A pro-tip is to roleplay scenarios to improve your skills; imagine that you’re dealing with a difficult customer, or have a classmate help you in that task. Practicing your conversation skills will go a long way when you’re already working!

When in doubt, ask around

It’s rare for a student to come into class with all the answers already figured out. So when you’re confused about something, ask around for help! Ask the teacher or classmates to repeat something if it didn’t come across clearly. Don’t be afraid to ask your classmates for help if you’re struggling to understand a specific concept. A well-informed student always turns into a well-informed professional!

Prepare a proper CV

When you’re looking for a job after graduating, your CV is the first thing employers will look at. Remember to create a CV that exudes confidence and shows how prepared you are for the job! For this, career week in travel and tourism courses is important – it is here that you get taught the basics of the working world. If you don’t want a hard time looking for work, having a CV that’s straight to the point is important.

Crown Institute of Studies has always produced outstanding travel and tourism professionals, and we ensure everyone finishes our course with all the necessary skills for their field! Interested in inquiring about a course? Call 0800 357 316 now or check out our travel and tourism courses here at Crown today!

 

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What You Need to Know About Working in Travel and Tourism | Crown

What-you-need-to-know-about-working-in-the-travel-and-tourism-industry

Everyone has different reasons for entering the travel and tourism field. Some may want to travel the world, become stewards of the sky, or run their own hotels. Some people may have just stumbled upon one of the many job opportunities that the industry has to offer. While all these prospects sound exciting, there’s a lot of real-world information about the industry that you should know first, to give you the tools required for achieving a happy and flourishing career!

 

No matter where you are in your travel and tourism journey, here are some important things you need to know about working in the industry:

Your job options are varied

We all have our own dreams, and yes, we should chase after them, but that doesn’t mean we should be rigid and inflexible. There are plenty of job opportunities in the field that we may or may not know about – things we haven’t yet discovered that we have a latent passion for. Travel and tourism is a great industry because there’s so much to discover, even preparing people for plenty of future job options and opportunities that are yet to exist.

While you may start out wanting a flight stewardess position, this may ignite an interest in entertainment, the food and beverage service, or retail trade. Your travels and experiences will only lead you to more and more doors of opportunity, a few of which you may want to open at some point in your career.

 

You’ll need transferrable skills

To really flourish, you’ll need to possess a long list of transferrable skills that will help you conquer any job or opportunity within this ever-growing and changing industry. The most important skills in this list include organisational skills, networking, flexibility, adaptability and, of course, a genuine commitment to good-hearted customer service. These five skills will assist you every step of the way, so you should hone them to near perfection to ensure you can do great work no matter what job or environment you’re in.

There’s plenty of benefits

Just as we talked in our previous blog post about Why People Love Working in Travel and Tourism, you’ll be excited to know that there are plenty of work perks that come with pursuing a career in this industry. Your company can send you on work-related travel, you’ll have “ins” on travel, retail, or entertainment discounts, get the opportunity to explore new cultures, meet new people and network with industry leaders, as well as receive tips, bonuses, incentives, and so much more!

Qualifications aren’t required, but they boost your chances of success

While there are a lot of skills you can learn on the job, obtaining a certified qualification through travel and tourism courses will keep you one step ahead of the competition. Qualifications will certainly show employers that you’re serious about your chosen career, but also provide you with skills beforehand that many would learn on the job, thereby boosting your chances of getting your dream role in the bag.

Crown: Helping Travel and Tourism Students Take on the World

Crown Institute is a well-known NZ school of tourism that teaches successful graduates essential skills through real-world experiences, no matter what their dream job is in the field. If you’re ready to take on the world, apply for our travel and tourism courses online or call 0800 357 316 to enrol with Crown today!