Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), part of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), runs the first-of-its-kind multi-disciplinary educational platform in the region to create a dynamic, global and forward-thinking workforce of talent sourced from Dubai for Dubai.
The College offers courses specifically designed for young students aiming to work within the tourism industry. The curated certificate and diploma courses span five programme areas – Tourism, Hospitality, Retail Business, Events and Culinary Arts, offering a pathway for students to achieve professional success through world-class academic offerings. Earlier this year, DCT and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), one of the oldest and largest higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, announced a new pathway for Dubai College of Tourism students. With the new pathway, students who graduate with a DCT Advanced Diploma and the required GPA, will be able to continue and obtain a ‘top-up degree’ as a student of LJMU and graduate with a BA (Hons) from the highly accredited UK institution.
Aiming to bridge the gap between in-house training and a full bachelor’s degree, and as a vocational college, DCT focuses on providing students with practical experience to complement their theoretical knowledge. As part of Dubai Tourism, DCT is uniquely positioned to provide students access to a number of high profile city stakeholders from large hotel groups, to retail stores and restaurateurs. Placing emphasis on real-world skills, internships are a crucial element of DCT’s courses, as they empower students with the confidence and experience they need to succeed as the city’s next generation of tourism leaders.
Students from previous cohorts have been able to work with partners of the College including major events within Dubai’s calendar including the Dubai Fitness Challenge, Dubai Food Festival, and Arabian Fashion Week amongst others. The practical experience students can gain as part of DCT’s courses furthers the College’s proposition to help its students achieve professional success through training and world-class academic offerings.
Essa Bin Hader, General Manager at Dubai College of Tourism, commented: “Dubai is a world leader in tourism. The city is celebrated for offering guests the true essence of Emirati hospitality and providing the highest standards of customer service and operational best practices to visitors.”
“We at DCT recognise the need to educate and inspire young students to fulfil their dreams of working within the tourism and hospitality industry, while driving Dubai’s tourism offering forward and making the city the world’s most visited and revisited destination. We frequently refresh our courses in line with changing travel trends and we are strong advocates for practical, hands-on training. To ensure we equip our students with the skills required to achieve professional success, we provide each student that enrolls in our courses an internship experience with our industry partners including Hilton, Jumeirah Group, THE One, Dubai World Trade Centre and many more.”
The College is also committed to ensuring students are career-ready, and offers modules including ‘Career Preparation’, which educates students on the importance of personal branding and professionalism in the workplace, while guiding students through the job application process from curriculum vitae creation to interview preparation.
Peter Payet, CEO Desert Adventures, who welcomed the tourism students said: “It was a pleasure for us to support the students – our new generation of tourism professionals. It was great to see their passion for our industry and love for the destination. We will be delighted to continuously support the students in the best way we can.”
Natalie Crampton, Founder and Director of The Event Company (TEC) also said: “We have had several students from Dubai College of Tourism intern with TEC over the years, and it’s always a pleasure having great young talent supporting our team. We have found that the students are very keen to learn, and are knowledgeable about the fundamentals of events management, and with some hands-on experience at TEC they are then able to go back to their studies and thrive! We were so impressed with a recent intern that we offered him a full-time position and he is now part of the TEC team. I am passionate about supporting students in the events industry and look forward to welcoming more DCT interns in the future.”
Clare Abad, Retail Operations Manager, THE One Total Home Experience, the UAE’s homegrown furniture brand, commented: “With our core purpose of Changing the World Together and our core values of Love, Live, Dare and Believe firmly at our roots, we at THE One offer and promote a supportive and all-inclusive work environment that encourages diversity. Our Tribe, of different nationalities and abilities, help us in bringing individuality and different thinking, attitude, culture, and perspectives, which also contributes to our success. We are very proud that our young professional DCT students chose to be part of THE One Tribe and work together with us on our mission of ‘Changing the World Together’.”
