4 SCHOOLS HOSPITALITY EXCELLENCE
KIRWAN
State High School student Alyse Parsons has taken out one of the top hospitality and tourism honours at the 2017 Salute to Excellence Awards.
Alyse was awarded the winner of the food and beverage category with two other Kirwan State High finalists, Jade Field in the cookery category and Kayleigh Bull in the food and beverage category.
The three finalists travelled to Brisbane for the awards in June. Hosted by the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, the awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of Year 11 and 12 students from Queensland’s secondary schools studying tourism and hospitality.
The winners took out the awards from a group of 24 finalists from across the state including Rockhampton, Townsville and Charleville.
QTIC chief executive Daniel Gschwind said the Salute to Excellence Awards was an important program for promoting the many career opportunities on offer in the industry.
“The awards are an important link to the tourism and hospitality industry and this year’s finalists were an outstanding and knowledgeable group,” he said.
“Over the years we have seen past participants go on to further their studies and build successful careers from hotel managers and chefs to travel and event managers.
“There has never been a more exciting time to consider a career in tourism with an incredible pipeline of tourism projects across the state and billions being spent building a future for tourism — there is also a significant skill shortage across some areas in our industry, including cookery.”