Second cohort of tourism ambassadors graduate from Leicester College course

Leicester College has announced that the second cohort of students on its new volunteer tourism ambassador course have graduated.

The course was launched in 2024 and focuses on customer care and related key skills for Visit Leicester’s Volunteer Tourism Ambassador programme. The programme aims to help the Visit Leicester team welcome visitors to Leicester and promote the city’s tourism offer.

The volunteering scheme is aimed at getting a diverse range of people involved in showcasing heritage events, cultural activities, visitor attractions, venues, and hotels throughout the city. It offers participants a chance to get free training, learn new skills and gain access to tourism events while being part of a busy team promoting the best that Leicester has to offer.

Along with welcoming visitors to the city, work could include providing information, guidance, and recommendations on what to see and do during their visit; conducting tours; sharing local knowledge about the city’s history, culture, architecture and communities; and supporting the city’s annual festivals and events programme.

Tourism Ambassador Alan Coltman says that he “heard about becoming a tourism ambassador by seeing an advert in the local paper. It sounded like an interesting job. I have lived in Leicester all my life and thought that I'd give something back to the city.

“The tourism ambassador role is developing my knowledge of Leicester to pass on to other people. Although I've lived in Leicester all my life, I've learnt about a few new places, and it has given me access to places that I wouldn't necessarily be able to go. The course is interesting, you meet great people, and you get to learn about your own city.”

Jean Matthews commented: “To begin with, the tourism ambassador role was quite daunting, as even though I'm Leicester born and bred, I didn't feel that I had too much knowledge about the city, but they teach you lots of details about Richard III, the Old Town and places that I hadn't even visited.

“Since being on the journey, I have learnt so much about Leicester that I didn't know or had forgotten! I’ve met lots of nice people and am educating myself at a late stage in my life.”

Anzar Popat, Programme Area Manager - Travel & Tourism at Leicester College, added: "We’re delighted that the second cohort of students on this course have graduated. We’ve been equipping them with key skills to help with the volunteer roles, but these skills will also help with their employability. This is another example of the College’s commitment to delivering meaningful volunteer or employment opportunities for adult learners.”

Sarah Harrison, City Centre Director at Leicester City Council, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Leicester College to deliver the training course for our Volunteer Tourism Ambassador scheme. Together with the guided tours provided by the city’s tourism venues and attractions, this course has provided the volunteers with the knowledge and skills they need to engage with visitors to the city.”

More details of the tourism volunteer programme are available from Visit Leicester or by contacting Gitte Magielse, Leicester City Council tourism project officer, at Gitte.Magielse@leicester.gov.uk or by phone on 0116 454 0199. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and will need to be able to commit to a minimum of 12 volunteering sessions, spread over one year.

Leicester College currently offers Travel and Tourism courses at Levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 full time and level 2 part time courses. These courses offer different modules, which include areas such as aviation, cabin crew, resort representatives, travel services, tourism, customer service, planning and promoting events, and marketing.