NEWS ROUND-UP
Training expert Roche targets travel companies
Former Training For Travel managing director Joanne Roche is targeting travel firms again with her new employer. Roche left the specialist travel
training provider in 2010 after 13 years. The company later went out of business. Having set up online
cosmetics retailer The Best Beauty Store, she returned to training in March 2015 when she joined the Northern Training Academy. The academy is an officially
approved provider of training for firms with annual wage bills of more than £3 million that must now pay the Apprenticeship Levy. Although it has a number of major clients in general retail, until now it has not sought to target travel. However, Roche said travel
remains her passion and she is looking to use her experience and those of the trainers in the academy, including former Training For Travel colleagues, to help firms adapt to the new levy-funded regime. Roche said she was delighted
to have been able to revive the successful Training For Travel formula with a team of sector experts. Of the 10 training
professionals employed by the academy, six have a travel background. Roche said: “Because travel
is such a specialist industry you have to have a travel background, and a lot of the big training companies don’t have that as a focus. “The travel industry has
always been my love and my passion, so I’m excited to get back in properly to push it forward. It feels like just as exciting an opportunity as it did 20 years ago when we set up Training For Travel.”
‘Tap into apprenticeships as source of free recruitment’
Ben Ireland
ben.ireland@
travelweekly.co.uk
Small and medium-sized agencies are missing out on free recruitment and training if they don’t take advantage of the new apprenticeships regime, an industry provider haswarned.
Andrea Fielding, director
of TrainingStation, said apprenticeships are a way to introduce the “staff of the future” to the travel industry for little or no cost. Speaking ahead of National Apprenticeship Week (March 5-9), she said: “It’s an easy, free way of getting somebody into the travel industry. They can learn on the job and are provided with knowledge and training while earning a wage.” Employers with an annual wage
bill of less than £3 million do not have to pay the apprenticeship levy and can claim full funding for apprentices aged 16 to 18. Apprentices aged 19 and over
can take the course, but employers must pay 10% of the training fees. This is often used to “upskill” existing staff, said Fielding. There is also an ongoing £1,000
incentive for businesses to hire 16 to 18-year-old apprentices. It is paid in two £500 instalments and can be spent on anything the business decides.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Tui offers job shadowing for students interested in travel
Students interested in a career in travel will shadow travel agents and be shown booking systems at 20 Tui branches during National Apprenticeship Week. In 2016, Tui committed to hiring 2,000 apprentices by 2020.
British Airways creates 145 apprenticeship roles
British Airways is seeking 145 apprentices to fill roles in operations, engineering and in head office. Workshops and roadshows are being held this month as part of the airline’s recruitment drive.
Virgin showcases apprentice opportunities at south event
Virgin Holidays and airline Virgin Atlantic were among the 100 exhibitors at the National Apprenticeship Show. The two- day event for London and the southeast took place at Sandown Park on Monday and Tuesday.
LEARNING ON THE JOB: Apprentices at Hays Travel celebrate National Apprenticeship Week as the UK’s largest independent travel agency chain begins its annual recruitment drive. Hays has 213 apprentices, and is looking to recruit 160 this year – roughly one per branch. It is hosting six open evenings this week.
haystravel.co.uk/careers/apprenticeships
But Fielding, who was an
apprentice travel agent before becoming a store manager aged 20, said there was “a lot of confusion” around apprenticeships in travel. “Employers aren’t always fully aware of what can be offered,” she said. “But it’s really straightforward.” Apprenticeships can be offered
in customer service or as an industry-specific travel consultant level three qualification. The latter is a two-year course that includes modules on geography, industry bodies such as Abta, legislation and regulation. TrainingStation has offered such
courses since May 2017. Fielding added: “We find that in travel, compared with customer service, apprentices really want to learn.” She said apprenticeships can also be used to train future leaders with the skills needed to become good managers, as opposed to the common practice of promoting a long-serving employee regardless. “Apprentices are the staff of the future, not just someone to fill a space. They have a thirst for learning. For a small employer, it’s essentially free training, and free recruitment, so we are urging
them not to miss the opportunity.” › A Day in the Life, page 32
10
travelweekly.co.uk 8 March 2018
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