The national awarding body (NCFE) has joined forces with the regional tourism organisations (RTO) to launch a new qualification across colleges in September.

The Certificate in Customer Service for Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism will cover a number of areas, including communication skills and how to deal with difficult situations effectively.

Students will also learn basic foreign language skills and the importance of understanding different cultural needs when dealing with international visitors.

Paul Shipley, head of qualifications at the NCFE, said: “This qualification has been developed from the existing Welcome to Excellence courses currently run by the RTOs, but will have a more structure approach, resulting in a Level 2 Certificate in Customer Service.”

Newcastle-based NCFE provides a range of vocational qualifications to over 750 colleges and centres. Details: www.ncfe.org.uk