VCC students win big B.C. challenge

Vancouver Community College is all about real world training and tackling real world problems. So when it comes to tough questions facing B.C.'s burgeoning travel and tourism industry, VCC hospitality students are ready for the challenge.

And it shows.

Four students in VCC’s degree program finished in first place at the 7^th annual LinkBC Student Case Competition held at the Vancouver Convention Centre on Oct. 27.

Each year, hospitality majors from colleges and universities across B.C. gather to participate in the challenge where students put their heads together to solve tough problems facing their chosen line of work. VCC entered teams from the hospitality diploma and degree programs.

Degree students Khaled Attalaoui, Caitlin Cindric, Emma Dagg and Kathryn Gidluck put together a plan to recruit hotel employees in a sector that’s facing a shortage of 100,000 workers. Their case study won first place out of 16 teams.

"Earning first place at the LinkBC Student Case Competition is a prestigious accomplishment for our students and says a lot about the quality of our hospitality degree program at VCC," said Bob Aiken, VCC interim dean, hospitality and business programs. “We’re proud of all VCC students who participated.”

VCC is widely recognized as a leader in hospitality management training. In the Georgia Straight’s annual Best of Vancouver issue released in September, VCC was chosen as the region’s top institution for career training in travel and tourism.

Photo courtesy of LinkBC, an organization that works with tourism and hospitality programs in the province to strengthen B.C.'s competitive edge as a tourist destination.