(Photograph) - Students from Greenwich College became VIP tour guides for the day as they showed Thai lecturers and college principals the sights of London, writes Joseph Lee.

The tour, which took in sights ranging from Southwark Cathedral and St Paul’s to Tate Modern, was part of an exchange visit by staff from six colleges in Thailand backed by the British Council and the Association of Colleges.

Staff from Greenwich College, Bournemouth and Poole College, Lewisham College and South Trafford College, all centres of excellence in tourism or hospitality, have already visited Thailand to outline ways the countries can learn from each other in training for the tourism industry.

Greenwich College’s tourism and heritage studies focus on training in tourist attractions such as Southwark Cathedral and the Old Royal Naval College. Tate Modern and the British Museum will be included soon.

According to the British Council, the UK has been closely involved in supporting Thailand’s neglected vocational education system for more than five years. Now a new Thai Vocational Commission hopes to learn from the Centre of Vocational Excellence system and the new national skills academies as it seeks to imitate Britain’s attempts to involve employers in course design.

Photograph: Robin Hammondiconphotos