Two servers with a man in a suit by a restaurant serving area
Two servers with a man in a suit by a restaurant serving area

UWL hosts conference on Progressing Policy for Tourism, Hospitality and Events Education

Intro

An estimated £131.5 billion of Britain’s gross domestic product is generated by the tourism and hospitality sector*. Moreover, the UK aviation industry is worth £24 billion to the UK economy, supporting over a million jobs**. With over six decades of teaching excellence in the service industries, London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism at the University of West London was the ideal host venue for a new conference titled Progressing Policy for Tourism, Hospitality and Events Education.

*Statista 2021 **Airlines UK Report 2023 

Main body

The one-day event was a collaboration with the Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE) and The Association for Event Management Education (AEME) in collaboration with LGCHT. It was attended by a diverse mix of hospitality and tourism academics from universities across the country. 

The conference explored important tourism education related topics including research findings, government policy and the direction of further education, skills gaps and sector support, creating meaningful career pathways, professional body perspectives and workshops. 

In one session titled "Collaborating with Industry – Working Together to Tackle the Challenges Faced by the Aviation Sector,” LGCHT senior lecturer Kanchana Gamage and Department of Transport (DoT) Policy Advisor Nathan Shah discussed an innovative UWL partnership called Generation Aviation which has been running for just over a year. 

The initiative is the only one of its kind at UK universities. Generation Aviation’s vision is to build an aviation workforce attracting diverse and talented people into aviation career paths and inspiring the next generation. LGCHT is the only DoT higher education partner.

In her role as a Generation Aviation ambassador, Kanchana’s role is to represent UWL, work with skills funding agencies, upskill Department Work and Pensions work coaches so they can promote the aviation sector to job seekers, and work with the Department for Education to map and address aviation sector skills requirements.

Kanchana said:

I am passionately committed to ensuring that the aviation sector is a more inclusive and diverse environment. My conference session was a great chance to exchange knowledge with other universities. It is essential that we support underrepresented communities and young people by providing accessible aviation career opportunities now and in the future.”

  • LGCHT offers a wide variety of courses unlocking a variety of career aspirations. To find out more about hospitality, tourism, and aviation degrees at UWL to accelerate your career visit the LGCHT page

London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism

We are an award-winning school with over six decades of teaching excellence in the service industries. Explore our undergraduate and postgraduate courses today.

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