Benjamin Colling to become Canadian Tourism College's CEO

VANCOUVER, Nov. 3, 2016 /CNW/ - Sometimes things come full circle. Benjamin Colling started his hospitality career at the age of 22 with The Westin Bayshore Hotel as their Tour and Travel Sales Manager. A small-town boy from the town of Vanderhoof, B.C., with a population of 4,500, Colling remembers being amazed that he was lucky enough to work at a beautiful hotel on the edge of Stanley Park that could house 10 per cent of his town's population.

A few decades later, after a career that featured the opening of two Vancouver hotels, a sojourn as one of the youngest directors to work at The Vancouver Board of Trade at the age of 30, and then a move to the education industry where he worked for three notable private post-secondary institutions (including Vancouver Film School and The Art Institute of Vancouver), Colling has come full circle, rejoining the hospitality industry, but this time as an educator. Benjamin Colling has been named as CEO of the longest-running tourism college in Western Canada, Canadian Tourism College (CTC).

Colling, who starts his position on December 1, stated, "I am humbled by the opportunity that I have to work with a dedicated group of individuals at CTC in helping students gain access to the more than 192,000 tourism jobs in British Columbia and the millions of tourism-related jobs world-wide." CTC specializes in hospitality, tourism, adventure tourism, travel agent, and flight attendant education.

Colling will also act as CEO for a new entrant in B.C.'s post-secondary education circles, the Asia Pacific Education Group (APEDU). APEDU is an education investment company that specializes in the acquisition, merger, and growth of private post-secondary schools in Canada. APEDU is chaired and owned by Feroz Ali, a long-time acclaimed educator from New Zealand. Ali founded New Zealand Career College in Auckland in 2004, helping over 4,500 students before selling that school to ACG Group, New Zealand's largest provider of private education with 12,000 students in classes from kindergarten to college. Ali became a Divisional Chief Executive for ACG in 2014 until he decided to immigrate to Canada and move to Vancouver, where his wife is originally from. Feroz Ali was recently asked to serve on the Board of Directors for the BC Council for International Education by the Ministry of Advanced Education.

Background

Canadian Tourism College (CTC)

CTC is proud that much of its education is considered intense, hands-on training. This includes courses such as river rafting, heritage interpretation, and wilderness training for the Adventure Tourism Diploma program and cabin firefighting, assisting travelers with disabilities, and first-aid training for the Flight Attendant Diploma program. Owned and operated by the Asia Pacific Education Group (APEDU), CTC has been dedicated to providing quality post-secondary education in tourism since 1980. Diploma and certificate programs are offered in Hospitality, Flight Attendant, Travel & Tourism, and Adventure Tourism specializations.  Designated by the Private Training Institutions Brand of BC (PTIB) and having earned the Education Quality Assurance (EQA) from the Government of BC, CTC welcomes both international and domestic student at their Vancouver and Surrey campuses.

Benjamin Colling, MA, Leadership

Benjamin is an education leader who has been passionately involved in changing lives through the power of private education, in the post-secondary world, for the past 20 years. With roots in the hotel industry, Benjamin has been in leadership roles at The Vancouver Board of Trade, the Vancouver Film School, and the Art Institute of Vancouver. He has a proven track record of growing the enrollment, revenue, and reputation of the institutions he's worked for. He is also a proud husband and father of three.

As the CEO of APEDU, Benjamin will be responsible for overseeing the growth and operations of all APEDU owned institutions, with his initial focus being APEDU's primary college, CTC. 

Benjamin's vision for the future includes helping APEDU grow to become one of the largest and most ethical private educational organizations in North America. His secrets of success include an undying work ethic, an incredibly positive outlook, and a focus on building comradery through the organizations he has worked with.

SOURCE Canadian Tourism College

Image with caption: "Canadian Tourism College logo (CNW Group/Canadian Tourism College)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161103_C5182_PHOTO_EN_811548.jpg