NEWPORT, Wales, January 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The Celtic Manor Resort, the Welsh Rarebits Collection and University of South Wales (USW) have joined forces to help fill a predicated shortage of hotel and hospitality managers.

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/459577/USW_Hospitality_Degree.jpg )

From September, students on USW's new Hotel and Hospitality Management degree course will get first-hand experience of working in the sector.

The three-year course will combine practical exposure with classroom lectures, designed to make the students 'industry ready'.

During the first and final year, the work-based elements - which will provide sector-specific skills at operational and management levels - will be at Celtic Manor.

Year two will also involve external placements, either at the smaller luxury boutique establishments offered by the Welsh Rarebits Collection, or through other hotel and hospitality partners, both in the UK and abroad.

In the classroom-based learning at USW's Newport City Campus, students will learn vital skills such as marketing, sales, human resource management, financial management, and entrepreneurship.

Professor Helen Langton, USW Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said: "The hotel and hospitality industry is telling us that there aren't enough graduate-level candidates available to fill the number of vacancies, as there is predicted shortfall of 66,000 hospitality and tourism managers by 2022.

"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.

"It's the first course in Wales that will run through a hotel school model in conjunction with a range of high-quality partners."

Celtic Manor Resort Chief Executive Ian Edwards said: "We are excited to partner with the University of South Wales to deliver this new degree course.

"This will be a pioneering course in the levels of hands-on industry training and experience the students will gain during their three years of study. 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, and the enthusiasm, dedication and experience of our team."

Mike Morgan, Director of The Welsh Rarebits Collection, said: "Tourism and hospitality is a fabulous career path, which is why I am delighted that so many of our membership, leading figures in the independent boutique Welsh hotel sector, have got right behind this ground-breaking partnership with such a forward thinking University." 

SOURCE University of South Wales