The NCUK Counsellor Training tour, was a major staff development programme initiated by the NCUK, and its owner universities on a multinational scale. Participants were drawn from the respective NCUK delivery centre partners namely; Nigeria, Kenya, China, Japan, Ireland and the UK.
On the whole, 18 counsellors attended the training programme with two representatives from Nigeria (Oxbridge Tutorial College and Chrisland Schools).
The purpose of this training programme, was:
- To build relationships.
- Refresh university knowledge.
- Planning the next 25 years of NCUK success.
Participants arrived on Saturday, 3 November, 2012, for the tour programme. We were lodged into Premier Inn Hotel in Manchester.
On Sunday, 4 November, 2012, a Welcome reception was held in honour of the Counsellors at Brown’s Restaurant in Manchester.
In her welcome address, the Chief Executive of the NCUK, Jean Krasocki, emphasized that Counsellors from the respective centres occupy an important position in the recruitment process and the overall success of the NCUK. To appreciate their roles, she said a record-breaking 1800 students were placed at the owner universities in 2012 alone. She therefore urged the counselors to seize the opportunity of the campus tours to get first-hand experience of the wide range of academic choices that are available in the various universities.
Alan White, NCUK’s Systems and Delivery Manager, later introduced some of the members of staff to the Counsellors, and gave them training packs. The packs contained the itinerary for each day of the tour.
Subsequent days saw visits to:
- Manchester University
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- Liverpool John Moores
- University of Liverpool
- University of Huddersfield
- Leeds Metropolitan University
- University of Leeds
- University of Sheffield
- Sheffield Hallam University
- University of Bradford
- University of Salford
The NCUK Counsellor Training tour, was a worthwhile experience given the exposure the counsellors received. Other areas of benefits:
- The opportunity to meet key NCUK staff one-on-one.
- Opportunity to see the NCUK universities in practical terms, and ask questions directly to their academic teams.
- Re-orientated perceptions about some of the universities. This will obviously assist greatly in giving our students the very best advice and guidance.
Here are a few pictures from Mr. Ojo’s trip:
Mr. Oye Ojo meeting up with some former Oxbridge students who have successfully progressed on to the UK 
Mr. Oye Ojo, Student Counsellor and Marketing Officer, Oxbridge Tutorial College
Mr. Oye Ojo visits our NCUK Partner Universities
