The Manchester College launch a new employer Alliance for Performing Arts and Hospitality and Catering

The Creative Alliance and Hotel Alliance will enable students to benefit from the experience and insight from industry experts in their chosen subject as they work towards their dream career.

The Alliance Model is a new initiative developed by the employability team at The Manchester College that aims to enhance the students’ experience in their programme of study by giving them access to a variety of employers and industry experts to gain opportunities and insight into the world of work in their chosen career.

Each Alliance will focus on an industry sector, with partner employers offering their skills and expertise to support one or more activities, including co-designed curriculum, guest lectures and masterclasses, work placements, live briefs.

The College’s Performing Arts students are the first cohort to benefit from the new model, with the launch of the Creative Alliance. Eight employers from the sector have signed up the Creative Alliance and have started to work with tutors and students to bring their industry expertise to help prepare and equip students with the skills that they will need to thrive in the industry. 

The Hotel Alliance brings together experts from national and regional hotels to provide opportunities and support to students studying on Hospitality and Catering courses. The Alliance is currently made up of five hotels including Holiday Inn Manchester, The Edwardian Manchester, Kimpton Clocktower, The Lowry and Treehouse Hotel Manchester, which is due to open in spring 2023.

Carol Whitworth, Assistant Principal - Industry Excellence and Business Relationships, at The Manchester College, said: “This is a really exciting model that will enable us to take the next step up with our employability offer.

Having such a diverse range of employer partners working together opens up the opportunities we can offer our students on their journey to industry excellence.

“The flexibility of the model not only benefits our students, but the employers themselves. We have already started to see the opportunities and benefits from our Creative Alliance and Hotel Alliance and can’t wait to develop the model across all our curriculum areas.”

Anyone interested in partnering in an Alliance can contact cwhitworth@tmc.ac.uk.