Graduate says skills learnt at UWTSD helped him contribute to national fight against Covid-19

UWTSD Leisure and Tourism graduate Scott Wilson-Evans says transferrable skills learnt during his time at university have helped him deliver a strong and effective communication strategy during Covid-19 in his role as a National Communications manager for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

Scott was speaking to current UWTSD students as part of a series of industry collaboration talks aimed at sharing knowledge and expertise. 

Scott said: “My background within leisure and tourism has armed me with transferable skills to now take on National Communications within NHS Wales during the biggest health crisis our nation has faced in nearly a century. 

“I have found it highly important in my career to be professionally self-aware of skills I have developed and how they are transferable between industries. Everything from simple things such as time management, budgeting through to crisis communications I picked up from my time within leisure and tourism and I now use daily within my work for the NHS. I urge students to take a step back and really consider their qualities and what those qualities could also be used for in industries they may not even have considered. 

“I never had a solid career plan; I was very much about seizing the opportunity for development. I have worked across both international and local tourism brands as well as other industries such as numismatics, public sector and commercial. I knew I eventually wanted to end up in health and I took every opportunity along the way and I have had the pleasure of driving behaviour change across a large variety of campaigns and brands. 

“I came to university slightly later than most but the support and connections I forged whilst at university I know will last a lifetime, especially with the inspirational lecturers I have had the pleasure of learning from at UWTSD. 

“It was an immense pleasure to return and talk to the future generations of tourism pioneers. We have such a challenge ahead of us in terms of mental health and wellbeing, and tourism has a major part to play in that. The students may not realise it yet but they will graduate at a time where our nation will need them, and the contribution they will have will be imperative to pulling the spirits of our communities up and giving the gift of happiness and that much needed emotional lift.”

Jacqui Jones, Programme Manager for International Events, tourism and leisure resort management programmes at UWTSD said: “For over 30 years UWTSD Tourism and Events have been offering our students unrivalled opportunities for global industry engagement and professional skills development. Our current students always enjoy listening to our graduate success stories, and Scott’s reflections on his industry and career experiences inspired them. Thank you, Scott!”

Scott, who graduated from UWTSD with a first-class honours degree in 2016, has worked with the EDQDF programme since 2019 as a Communications Consultant. After his successful national #StillHereForYou campaign during the first Covid-19 lockdown he was appointed on a full-time basis in 2020 as National Communications Manager, to drive the communications strategy for the Unscheduled Care Programme.  

He has a diverse background in leading teams to drive behaviour change campaigns across a variety of industry’s including Emergency Services, Health, Government, Adoption and Fostering as well as the commercial sector.

Scott leads the communication strategy across a variety of projects within the unscheduled care programme including the Emergency Department Quality & Delivery Framework (EDQDF), Welsh Access Model (WAM) and National Contact First.

He has built relationships across health boards, Welsh Government and wider stakeholders to create an extensive network of communications specialists within emergency health care. As part of this work Scott formed the Behaviour Change Communications and Marketing (BCM) group which consists of local representative across Wales, to shape the national communications for a variety of behaviour change campaigns.

One of Scott’s key visions is to ensure that communications published can be understood by a variety of audiences regardless of their relation to health care. This was demonstrated in Scott’s recent campaign for the launch of the new Emergency Department Measures, with a multi message approach ensuring that both internal and external communications landed with the correct audience. 

Scott is also working with health boards to develop communications strategies for their local ‘111/Contact First’ programmes alongside developing the national communications plan.  

Further Information

Rebecca Davies

Swyddog Gweithredol Cysylltiadau â’r Wasg a’r Cyfryngau

Executive Press and Media Relations Officer

Cyfathrebu Corfforaethol a Chysylltiadau Cyhoeddus

Corporate Communications and PR

Mobile: 07384 467071

Email: Rebecca.Davies@uwtsd.ac.uk