p6 news July10 8/7/09 20:50 Page 6
news
ttglive.com
Barrhead dangles £2k
Duo thrive after
Cook redundancy
incentive to graduates
TWO former Thomas Cook agents who set up
their own business after being made redundant
are poised to expand the number of homeworkers
Martin Ferguson.
Munro said the they employ.
BARRHEAD Travel will initiative was similar to Julie Parkin and Amanda Banks had 27 years
entice university gradu- a previous recruitment at Cook between them before leaving last April
ates struggling to find drive by Trailfinders, and setting up independent agency Passports 2 Go.
work in the recession to which targeted gradu- Having launched its website last week, the
join its business with a ates who had taken a gap business has four homeworkers lined up to join
promise to help pay off year to travel abroad. to add to the two it already has.
their students loans. “Knowledge of travel Banks admitted she was apprehensive before
The agency is working is an obvious benefit but setting up the business: “When Julie suggested
with development agency we also recognise the it I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.
Scottish Enterprise to advantages of bringing in “But a few days after leaving our jobs we were
target those struggling to Bill Munro: Barrhead can offer graduates a real future educated people to the Hays Independence Group members, computers
find work having attained business,” he added. and phone lines were installed at our homes and
degrees. Munro dismissed a recent radio report in we had bought three pages on Teletext.”
Under the deal, new recruits will have their Scotland that claimed graduates were difficult The firm’s homeworkers take calls generated
salary topped up with a one-off cheque for employees because they were “full of their own by the pair, who spend their time visiting firms
£2,000 to help pay off student debts if they stay importance”. like Landrover to drum up business from staff.
with the agency for at least three months. “We think we can offer graduates a satisfying
Bill Munro, the company’s founder, told TTG: career path and sufficient financial reward,” he
“The newspapers are full of stories about how said.
graduates in Scotland can’t find work. Barrhead Travel, which already operates 11
“We want to attract graduate-calibre people branches in Scotland, is to open an Aberdeen
into our business and believe we can offer a store in September and another in Inverness
career with a real future.” early next year.
Amanda Banks (left) and Julie Parkin
‘Time-wasters’ rife
in corporate sector
TRAVEL management companies are losing money
preparing tenders for time-wasting corporates,
according to a leading business travel figure.
Norman Gage, director of business travel at
the Advantage consortium, said TMCs were fed
up pursuing business from companies that had
no intention of buying their services.
He said corporate procurement staff were
touting contracts to TMCs because “they have
to be seen” by their own bosses to be actively
trying to cut costs.
“It’s a widespread problem,” he said. “But too
often the procurement people don’t know what
HEARTS AND STRIPES: The Wild West came to the Birmingham Kings Heath branch of they are looking for aside from the best price.”
Midlands Co-op last week as it celebrated Independence day on July 4 by raising money
for charity. Manager Denise Matthews (left), Sam Sherlock and Leah Morris dressed up ■ Surviving the perfect storm: Prospects for
to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, and offered US holiday deals and prizes the business travel sector, p26
06 10.07.2009
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