Jamie Wooden

Why did you choose to come to Petroc?
I felt that Petroc had so much to offer me with personal/professional growth that six-form just would not be able to offer me. Petroc also had a better variety of courses, which lead me to complete two years on the Travel & Tourism course.

And what made you pick this particular study programme/course?
I have always had a desire to travel the world and be paid while doing it, some would think I am crazy, but actually it is possible and this course opened my eyes to the different possibilities in which I could take my career forward after college.

What have been highlights so far?
When I was studying at Petroc the highlight for me was planning our residential trip to Barcelona, where we planned/budgeted our very own holiday (whilst still being educational and tying in with our unit). This was so much fun as each group was designated to plan and control a day that we were there, giving us all the experience of planning and preparing a trip.

Another highlight was planning a charity event which was part of our Events unit, this was a great exercise to plan a real-life event in aid of helping a local charity in the process. We managed to raise over £1,000 in our successful event which we sourced venues, entertainment and prizes for our raffle draws.

What do you most enjoy about studying at Petroc?
What I enjoyed the most about studying at Petroc, was the diversity of the college and the feeling of being surrounded by many open-minded people allowing myself to grow as I completed the course. You were treated like an adult and made to make proactive decisions for your future, which I was grateful for.

What do you plan to do when you leave Petroc?
Since leaving Petroc I have been working in the travel industry ever since. I have travelled around the work with my jobs. First starting as a holiday rep for TUI in the sunny destinations in Europe where I lived various countries such as Tunisia, Sicily and the Canary Islands helping customers have the best holiday experiences. After a year and a half, I changed from land to sea and started as a destination services advisor onboard Thomson Cruises, now Marella Cruises where I travelled around the globe on a cruise ship taking in different countries every day! I was fortunate to progress quickly to a manager and helped launch the company’s inaugural season on Asia. In late 2019 I then join Richard Branson’s brand-new cruise company, Virgin Voyages and help launch a cruise ship like no other and created shore excursion experiences like no other line has done before.

And now I am currently the U.K Cruise Manager for a tour operator, controlling and overseeing all cruise ship operations and logistics for our portfolio of clients bring their guests to UK waters for a holiday. I love to be able to plan exclusive and exciting experiences for guests to take in the best parts of our country.

One day I hope to become a Leading manager for one of the big cruise line corporations, driving forward their brand in our forever growing and developing industry.

Any advice for someone thinking of choosing the same course as you?
My advice for anyone thinking of taking this course, DO IT! The course covers so many different areas within the tourism industry that are so valuable/transferable to employers in the future. It can open so many doors/opportunities that you may not have thought about before. I was never strongly academic, but I pushed myself to achieve the highest grades in ever module so that I could say, I was ready to tackle the industry head on with my knowledge.