Business Bulletin March 2026

Hospitality and Tourism

March has been an incredibly rewarding and inspiring month, filled with opportunities to connect students with industry, strengthen partnerships, and celebrate the value of experiential learning within hospitality, tourism and travel.

A particular highlight was hosting the ITT Future You event at the University of Wolverhampton. It was fantastic to see such strong engagement from students, colleagues, alumni, industry professionals and local colleges. The energy in the room really reflected the importance of creating spaces where students can explore career pathways, build networks and gain real insight into the industry.

A huge thank you goes to our outstanding alumni panel — Kimberley Maloney, Maggie Rayner, Seyam Safrain, Yvonne Collier and Lapik Karki — who shared honest and inspiring reflections on their career journeys. Their stories provided invaluable guidance and reassurance for students considering their own futures in the sector.

We were also incredibly fortunate to welcome a range of inspiring guest speakers including Charli Preston, Carmen Roberts, Lisa Francesca Nand, Danny Thompson and Naomi Weston. Their expertise and real-world perspectives brought the event to life and reinforced the diversity of opportunities within hospitality, tourism and travel.

Special recognition must also go to our ITT student ambassadors, Leon Ajimal and Lola Bond, whose professionalism and dedication behind the scenes played a key role in delivering such a successful event.
Beyond Wolverhampton, it was inspiring to see the continued impact of ITT Future You across the sector, including the event in Wales and the conference at University College Birmingham. These events highlighted the strength of collaboration between institutions and the shared commitment to supporting the next generation of professionals. It was particularly meaningful to see students taking leading roles in organising and delivering these experiences.

This month also included attending the British Tourism & Travel Show at the NEC, where I had the opportunity to network with industry partners, explore potential collaborations, and identify opportunities for student trips, guest speakers and live industry engagement. Discussions around emerging travel trends were particularly insightful, with a clear emphasis on the continued growth of domestic tourism in response to global uncertainty. It was also great to reconnect with colleagues and see our students engaging confidently within a professional environment.

Across all of these experiences, a consistent theme has been the importance of connecting education with industry. These interactions not only enhance student learning but also support the development of confidence, professional identity and employability.
Overall, March has been a powerful reminder of the strength, resilience and opportunity within the hospitality and tourism industry — and the vital role that education plays in preparing students to be part of it.

Marketing

Luke Green recently visited our careers session and delivered an inspiring and practical talk for our students. He shared valuable interview tips - from how to prepare effectively to the small details that make a big impact.  He openly discussed his own personal career journey, including the challenges and turning points that shaped his path. Luke also offered clear, actionable advice on how to stand out in today’s competitive job market, leaving our final year students better equipped for their next steps.

Human Resource Management

March has been a busy month for our HR students in terms of careers and employability!
Helen Smith, Assistant People Business Partner for City of Wolverhampton Council gave valuable insights into industry experience, including career journey and top tips. We were also joined by Tom Coker, COO of Intangles who provided an engaging and informative talk on the role of AI and predictive analytics. Huge thank you to both Helen and Tom for sharing their expertise!

In early March, we also held our very first Business and Law School Employability Webinar, featuring David Ball from Wolves at Work, Emma Holmes from SPEED, Suneeta Duroch from the University of Wolverhampton Careers Service, and Jennifer Dixon, Business School Employability Lead. The webinar featured hints and tips for undergraduate and postgraduate students looking to enhance their employability skills. Thank you to everyone who took the time to engage with this event, particularly our guest speakers who were able to share valuable, career related guidance.

Final year students are working hard to consider their next steps, post-graduation (time flies!). While some are registering for our postgraduate courses, others are preparing for entry into the labour market. Career action planning, CV development and networking are all high on the agenda in our ‘Transitioning into the HR Profession’ module, where students spend 12 weeks focussing heavily on their individual skills, attributes and abilities that add value to contemporary organisations. There are some fantastic things happening in this space!

And our employability efforts don’t stop there! Our Course Leader visited Dudley College this month to speak to the L2 and L3 students about their next steps. Conducting recruitment and selection activities, while developing decision making and problem-solving skills proved useful in understanding more about Human Resources, and the significance of this function in supporting organisational success. We are delighted to hear that some of their learners are now considering the University of Wolverhampton as their next step, where they will gain valuable knowledge and skills that will support future employability prospects. A huge thank you goes to Kerry Woodall for arranging our visit; it was great to meet everyone.