Tourism Management degree course leader at Leeds Beckett University – Dr Lisa Gorton - awarded ‘Industry Partnership Award’ for fantastic partnership with Jet2

 Jet2 centre at Leeds Beckett

We were delighted to catch up with Dr Lisa Gorton, Course Director for the BA (Hons) International Tourism Management at Leeds Beckett University, to find out more about the fantastic partnership she has developed with leading airline and tour operator Jet2 (their HQ is in Leeds).

The success of this partnership has resulted in Lisa being awarded the inaugural ‘Industry Partnership Award’ at Leeds Beckett University in June.

Read more

Dr Lisa Gorton

Lisa explains:

‘We have developed a very strong partnership with Jet2.

It has significantly evolved in recent times to the extent that Jet2 has become a cornerstone of the students' journey towards enhanced employability: 

• At L4, Jet2 participates in our aspirational career fair to showcase graduate opportunities.
• At L5, Jet2 now offers several work placements across multiple business functions and also assessment centre experience and feedback to all applicants.
• At L6, students engage in real-life consultancy projects and case study learning with Jet2. They also profit from networking and work shadowing opportunities in their final semester.

Industry placements with Jet2 have doubled in number every year since 2021: 4 students successfully secured placements this year, following my suggestion that students could help address the post-Covid employment challenges faced by Jet2. The placements are meaningful and valued by students:

Hannah Harrison (placement student) commented:

'I’ve seen a huge positive change in my self-belief through this placement'. 

The collective impact of this collaboration is not limited to placements: 15 students have secured graduate roles with Jet2, crediting this partnership as instrumental in their success.

Jet2 supports my innovative teaching of a contextualised case study at L6. This helps students understand organisational culture, values, and future directions. As students generate commercially viable ideas for Jet2's future through a progressive series of tasks, the module inherently cultivates and enhances the students' readiness for their transition into industry.

Haytham Acharki (2023 graduate) commented:

'I believe that learning about Jet2 gave me the opportunity to demonstrate excellent knowledge of the business in the interview. This proved essential in making me stand out from the other applicants.'

Leeds Beckett student Nichole Dodgson, who secured a permanent role as Overseas Operations Executive with Jet2.

Other students agree: Nichole Dodgson (2021 graduate)

'I honestly feel that this module helped me get to where I am now leading a team and mentoring 3 current Leeds Beckett students who are on placement year with Jet2holidays'.  

Saffron Burrows (2021 graduate):

'I had already met some the recruitment team through networking opportunities on my course and they encouraged me to apply for a role as a graduate revenue analyst. I now travel to various destinations in Turkey as I take responsibility for the commercial performance of our package holidays.'

The sustainability of this partnership is demonstrated by its seamless and wide-ranging integration into Jet2's daily operations. Fraser Munro (Overseas Operations Support Manager) stated:

'Lisa and I have worked together to provide these brilliant opportunities and I can’t thank her enough for allowing us the platform to meet, get to know and recruit multiple members of her class'.

Katie Rankin (Emerging Talent & Careers Manager) described the relationship as:

'characterised by a shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and the development of future talent.'

TMI would like to warmly congratulate Lisa establishing such a positive partnership with Jet2 which has delivered not only fantastic work placement and case study opportunities for their students but also resulted in many students securing graduate jobs with Jet2.