NEWS — SPECIAL REPORT
Abta LifeLine is seeking industry applicants for its second educational bursary. The first recipient tells JULIET DENNIS how the bursary helped her career prospects
From left: Luxy Huxley, Travel Weekly Group; Trudie Drake,
Abta LifeLine; bursary winner Melissa Camp; Valerie Heal, Colin Heal’s widow; and Justin Fleming, former Abta president
Without the Abta LifeLine bursary, Melissa Camp faced giving up either her job or her business management degree course – or both.
The sudden death of her father
from lung cancer last year left Melissa, a business trainee with Classic Collection, to take care of her younger brother Stuart, who suffers from Asperger syndrome. With debts
mounting, she feared she would have to give up her studies to work full-time to pay for food, rent and bills.
of the Abta LifeLine bursary, in memory of industry veteran Colin Heal, who died two years ago. The £2,000 bursary has funded the second year of her day-release degree course.
Melissa said she would be The
bursary showed the interest the industry has in looking after
people working in the sector
“The bursary made things a lot easier, since I would have had to quit my job or degree,” said Melissa, now 21, who was signed off work with depression and anxiety last summer.
Industry benevolence “I hadn’t been able to get any benefits for my brother and I was getting into debt. The bursary restored my faith in people in general, and showed the interest the industry has in looking after people working in the sector.” Melissa was the first recipient
forever grateful as the bursary has allowed her to stay in an industry she loved and improved her long-term career prospects, not to mention helping her get her life back on track. “It’s made me
fall in love with the industry,” added Melissa, who studies one day a week and
works for Classic Collection for four days. Learning process
As part of the bursary, Melissa has also been invited to high-profile industry events – she will be attending Abta’s Travel Matters conference on June 24. “It is a great opportunity for me to meet senior people in the industry, and fantastic as a way to learn more about the industry,” she added.
Melissa plans to stay in travel
after she completes her degree. “I can’t imagine leaving the
16 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 21 May 2015
travel industry,” she said. “It’s so fast-paced and interesting. I am really enjoying being in travel.” Just over a year on from her
father’s death, Melissa has moved into a rented room and her brother, now 17, has moved to Surrey to live with their mother, where he is about to start his first part-time job, during a gap year, at Chessington World of
Adventures Resort, before going back to his studies. They recently held a family get-together to mark a year since her father’s death. “The one silver lining is that this has brought both sides of the family closer together,” said Melissa, who added: “I am really proud of my brother and how well he’s done.”
Bag a bursary: Abta invites 2015 entries
Abta LifeLine is seeking applications from industry employees for its 2015 bursary. This will be the second year of the bursary, which awards up to £2,000 a year for up to three years to assist with course fees for a vocational or professional qualification. The bursary is supported
by Travel Weekly in memory of Colin Heal, a long-serving industry leader and Abta LifeLine trustee, who died in May 2013. Abta LifeLine director Trudie
Drake said: “The idea is to work with Abta members to enable people who would not otherwise reach their aspirations, because of financial limitations, to have a
relevant vocational education, giving them the right skills and practical experience.” An applicant will be recruited
each year and will be allocated a mentor from the industry. There will be an opportunity
to attend key industry events and spend a day with an Abta member company – Midcounties Co-op Travel or Kuoni – to gain experience of a different organisation. The recipient will be asked to
contribute a blog to be featured in Travel Weekly and on the Abta LifeLine website, and may be asked to speak about their experiences at an event. ❯ The deadline for entries is July 17. Full details at
abtalifeline.org.uk/bursary
SPECIAL REPORT
Abta bursary is lifeline for Melissa
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