Tourism is New Zealand’s largest industry and offers a world of career opportunities.
Why tourism?
- Tourism is a global industry with exciting career pathways. It’s fun, it offers travel, adventure and life-changing opportunities, and the people are passionate and committed to creating unique, memorable experiences for their customers. This is a fast-growing, dynamic sector where people can advance, gain transferable skills and apply them worldwide.
- The tourism and hospitality industry is always on the look-out for highly skilled, enthusiastic young people to become the business managers, leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
Fast-track your career
- QRC is an award-winning tertiary provider which specialises in offering internationally recognised tourism and hospitality management qualifications.
- We’re committed to excellence and have earned a reputation for producing industry-specific management graduates who are the employees of first choice.
- We are extremely proud of our student outcomes, with 97% of graduates going directly into the industry or on to further study. This strong graduate employment rate can be attributed to our learning model, which blends theory and practical learning taught by industry experts, and our strong network of industry partnerships.
- With a combination of 4 intakes per year, small class sizes, current content, industry immersion, and a Professional Excellence System, our focus is on ensuring our graduates are well-rounded, personally and professionally, and ready to enter the workforce.
Internationally recognised qualifications
- QRC is classified as a Category 1 Provider by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Our qualifications are internationally transferable and offer excellent career opportunities within New Zealand’s tourism industry and overseas.
Starting your career
- The knowledge and experience you gain at QRC can be applied across the spectrum. Graduate roles are diverse and include marketing and communications, sales, customer service, operations, food and beverage, eco-tourism, health and safety, human resources, technology, and finance.
Industry Internships
Putting theory into practice is one of the highlights of an education at QRC. Our diploma students complete a fully paid 9-month internship as part of their qualification, giving them invaluable work experience and professional mentoring with a successful hospitality or tourism business, either in New Zealand or overseas.

Exciting Opportunities
“QRC’s internship programme is designed to give students the opportunity to get real-life workplace experience; practice and broaden the skills they have acquired at QRC; and increase their network of industry contacts.
“The self-belief and personal growth they also gain through their experience instils a confidence and maturity that helps prepare them to make informed career decisions”, says QRC Chief Executive Charlie Phillips.
As part of our Adventure Tourism and Hospitality Management diplomas, after 6 months of study all students complete a fully paid 9-month internship in their chosen industry either in New Zealand or overseas. Then it’s back to college for a final 6 months of study before graduation.
Internships start in Terms 3 and 4 and the start dates are negotiated between the student/employee and the employer, with expectations set out in a formal employment contract. Some internships may vary depending on seasonality.
QRC’s Internship Team
Our Internship managers are dedicated to helping students find the right placement for their career ambitions and preparing them for job placements. This includes:
- Coaching students on how to create a standout CV, conduct themselves in a job interview and bring the right work ethics and attitude to their roles; and
- Being a professional conduit between the industry and our students. This includes facilitating placements and opportunities within the industry and matching our students and partners to ensure the right fit.
Our industry partners
- QRC has tourism and hospitality internship partners across New Zealand and around the world. All are carefully chosen for the opportunities they provide and for their commitment in fostering the personal and professional development of our students.
- Check out our interactive Internship Map below to see where some of our students have completed their placements. Or read about their experiences and find out where in the world our alumni are now!
Become an industry partner
- If you’re a tourism business and would like to partner with QRC to foster the development of our students, please email our internship team for more details:
Cass Laverty (Hospitality Management); or
Lizzie Morse (Adventure Tourism Management) - Mandy Kurien (Certificates and Hospitality Management – Tai Tokerau)
Graduate Profiles
No posts found.
Make sure this account has posts available on instagram.com.