This isn’t just a job carrying people’s suitcases; it’s more about being sociable and ensuring that your customers are being taken care of. Everybody starts somewhere in this business and learns the ropes before really taking off.”

These insightful words from 19-year-old Noureldin Ahmed, one of 13 students who took part in an intensive and unique work experience challenge at the London Marriott Hotel County Hall in March, underline how beneficial real-world professional experience can be for vocational courses.

Of course, work experience on a vocational course is nothing new. However, this was not your usual “tick the box” week of work experience that employers and students tend to dread. Instead it was an ambitious, immersive, “real-life” challenge that saw students given real responsibilities in ensuring the smooth operation of the hotel - helping them gain a true understanding of the career options available to them.

The “lucky” 13 were chosen from dozens of hopeful students the previous month, following interviews with hotel managers, which helped them all gain real-world experience of the interview processes they will likely face when they complete their courses. Roles were available in a range of departments, including: general management; door, porter and concierge; housekeeping; sales; marketing; finance; HR and events; engineering; culinary; and food and beverage.

Once selected, each student took part in the same staff induction programme that all hotel employees have to go through.

The students are enrolled on various vocational courses, ranging from hospitality and business to engineering and Esol (English for speakers of other languages). But, of course, none had ever worked in a hotel before in the roles they were going to take on now.

‘Super Marriott Takeover’

The idea of the challenge was to help them understand how the skills, knowledge and behaviours they are learning in the classroom are applied in the professional working environment. This includes everything from turning up on time to understanding how to engage with customers.

With this in mind, there was, of course, an element of risk for the employer to let students work in front-facing, operation-critical roles, but it was managed via a programme of engagement, which was established several months before the takeover happened. This included regular meetings with the Marriott HR team, site visits and the sharing of curriculum plans and learning aims.

Such preparation was key, as we were keen that the students should interact fully with hotel guests and be encouraged to engage with them in the same way as all other employees do. Having the opportunity to outline this to the hotel and get them on board with the plan was crucial. Only then would this initiative be a fully immersive and meaningful experience of work.

Clearly, finding an employer willing to give students such responsibility is not something that happens overnight.

We were lucky that an alumni connection worked at the hotel. Our travel and tourism tutor, in particular, works hard to keep in touch with her former students, and this provided a crucial link to what turned out to be a very supportive employer.

Initially, we set up a one-day industry visit for students. This proved so beneficial that I thought we should do something grander. I sought out the director of HR for a wider conversation, with a view to inviting the hotel to become a member of our college’s Employer Advantage programme.

The scheme is aimed at building strategic relationships with businesses rather than focusing on transactional arrangements. It’s very much a two-way partnership, which looks to benefit students and employers, particularly at a time when many sectors are facing significant skills gaps.

Plenty of businesses bemoan the lack of potential recruits, but projects such as this give them access to a skilled, enthusiastic and “ready to go” pool of talent, and helps them offer insightful feedback on what they want new recruits to be trained in.

This is important for us as we look ahead to the introduction of T levels. With industry placements being a key feature of these new qualifications, creating strong employer partnerships is a vital part of our ongoing T-level preparation.

From our conversations around these issues, a productive partnership emerged and an action plan was agreed. This included: industry updates for college staff, masterclasses for students, apprenticeship opportunities and, of course, the “Super Marriott Takeover” as we dubbed it.

It was this last idea that really generated excitement among staff and students. Most vocational tutors have a background in industry and so understand the importance of meaningful work placements.

I use the word “meaningful” deliberately as there is a vast difference between this sort of placement and bog- standard work experience. We have all seen students being thrust on to an employer for a week or two, often within an industry they are not the least bit interested in, and without any consideration of what the students will do once they are with the host employer. Such a scenario has no benefit for either party and can put employers off opening doors to young people in future.

That was why we made sure our students were not there simply to shadow and observe. They were involved in every aspect of the day-to-day running of the hotel, taking on a wide range of roles and duties within their area, and acting as additional members of staff, with guiding and mentoring throughout.

The input from staff was fantastic. They provided students with a range of tasks that challenged them not just within their roles but in terms of wider ad hoc but still highly relevant skills, such as making conversation with guests and being attentive to queries they may get - whatever role they were in.

The world of work

This all helped the students see the reality of working in the profession. What’s more, by working closely with the other staff and learning on-the-job skills, they were able to get a sense of the people that work in the profession, the skills they have and the fun, enjoyable careers that can await.

This is what made our takeover project so rewarding - as a college, we showcased the talent of our hardworking and passionate students to a major potential employer, the hotel got to boost its appeal to a future recruitment pool and, most importantly, the students benefited enormously.

For example, Lucy, who’s currently studying level 2 hospitality, wants to become a professional pastry chef. She explained that she had been given a huge welcome by staff and that the atmosphere was more like a “family business” than a big corporate one, giving her the confidence to consider future employment with a major hotel chain or similar organisation.

Meanwhile travel and tourism student Nick also had a fantastic experience. He donned a traditional Crombie coat and welcomed all arriving guests. He said this proved a real eye-opener about what the working week involved, which was a common theme for all students throughout the week.

“There’s a lot more to this job than meets the eye. Working alongside and observing my two bosses has led me to consider this as a potential career - I hadn’t even thought about it before.”

Nick’s realisation of a potential career option is exactly what we set out to achieve with this project, complementing our learning with real-world vocational insights and expertise. As college educators, this is vital. Employers are crying out for work-ready young people, and real collaboration between colleges and industry is undoubtedly the best way to achieve this.

Immersive and meaningful work placements are not always easy to establish. They require time, commitment and a certain amount of goodwill from both sides.

However, as our Super Marriott Takeover highlighted, there are clear and tangible benefits all round - and this is something we, as a college, will continue to work hard on for our students.

Neil Coates is vice-principal (adults, apprenticeships and partnerships) at London South East Colleges

This article originally appeared in the 10 April 2020 issue under the headline “Students check in to a five-star work placement”