China travels

Hospitality students and teachers have been travelling and working in China on two separate missions. Two students, Cassandra Edgar and Kelly Golding, studying Diploma of Events, won a VET Mobility scholarship funded by the Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations.

The opportunity, facilitated by International Projects, enabled local students to have an international experience by undertaking a two week industry placement at the Intercontinental Hotel in Shenzhen.
At the same time, Cate Hamill, Events Program Coordinator, and Lisa Confoy- Blackshaw, Manager Culinary, Events and Hospitality, were going to help teach at a school in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province.

All four firstly journeyed to Hong Kong and Macau, for some fun, relaxation and importantly so the girls could gain an understanding of Chinese culture before they went to work. They then caught a train to Shenzhen, about 40 minutes from Hong Kong. “I was there for four days to help with their induction at the Hotel Intercontinental”, said Cate, “then I flew to Jinan to teach with Lisa and eventually returned to Shenzhen to assess the work place activities undertaken by girls and travel home with them”.

“The Intercontinental connection worked for us because of our contacts in China. It was a new experience because we hadn’t done a placement there before. The standard of the hotel was excellent”.

Cassandra and Kelly recalled, “At the Intercontinental we spent time in housekeeping, laundry, room attending, uniform station and floor supervising which included two overnight shifts. We encountered many differences between Australian and Chinese cultures. For instance, in China you can smoke anywhere you like. There are differences in food, language, religion and family structure. We’ve enjoyed all our experiences though and are both very grateful to have been given the opportunity. We would highly recommend it to other students”.

To contribute to the cost of the project, a trivia night fund raiser was organised by the girls at Bunurong restaurant. All the Diploma students contributed and the night was sold out. The result was a boost towards the girls’ expenses and meant they could also go to Hong Kong and Macau.

Commenting on the teaching assignment in Jinan, Lisa Confoy-Blackshaw said, “Chisholm’s relationship with the Women’s Academy Shandong is very strong and rewarding. It is a pleasure to work with the Hospitality and Tourism teachers and our Chinese students who are eager to learn about western culture and service standards”.