Securing internships at the G20 was quite a coup for the Adelaide-based International College of Hotel Management (ICHM), and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the students.
The students were from South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria, and were selected for their leadership qualities, communication skills and experience in industry. They also needed to be Australian nationals to meet G20 security requirements.
It was the third or fourth internship for the group and, according to Chief Executive Gerald Lipman, an ideal launch pad for successful careers in hotels.
For every six months studying on campus, ICHM students spend six months in industry putting their knowledge into practice, a minimum of 1500 hours over the life of the program.
Most students do at least one or more of their placements in Australia; others head further afield to Asia, the USA, China and the United Kingdom.
ICHM had a number of links to the G20—graduate Jaime Svensson was director of accommodation on the G20 Taskforce and came to campus to recruit the students. A number of others have management roles in hotels booked for the forum.
‘The G20 is the most significant gathering of world leaders ever hosted by Australia, and we were thrilled that one of our graduates was in a position to reach out to our young up-and-comings and offer these internships’ says Gerald Lipman.
The G20, held at the Brisbane Convention Centre on 15–16 November, hosted 4000 delegates, including 20 world leaders and 3000 journalists. More than 7000 hotel rooms were booked and 11 hotels were earmarked for leaders,
ICHM is the Asia-Pacific basin campus of the famed century-old Swiss Hotel Association. Its students graduate with two degrees: the Bachelor of International Hotel Management (Swiss Hotel Association) and the Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management).
Since it opened its campus in 1993, more than 2000 young people from Australia and 85 other countries have passed through its doors.
