Fred Olsen Travel unveils academy Juliet Dennis


Fred Olsen Travel is creating an in-house training academy to attract agents who have no industry experience as well as ease the pressure on branch staff to teach new recruits. The company has partnered with


AS Training to create the Fred Olsen Travel Academy, which will offer a one-year, Level 3 travel consultant apprenticeship or a three-month intensive training course tailored to recruits’ needs. The academy will provide classroom-based learning at the firm’s Ipswich head office as well as online modules, fam trips, and conference and ship visits.


Director of retail Paul Hardwick


said the firm had recognised the need for a more “joined-up approach” to training, as it aims to grow its high street presence from 18 branches to 25 by 2025. “It’s been hard to find anyone with


high street retail travel experience for the past three to four years,” he said. “We were already seeing our


growth being stunted by not being able to recruit. This academy will see a pipeline of talent coming through.” Hardwick said the academy would


help the business attract new staff as well as ensure shops’ profits are not hit by staff having to split their time between training and selling. He admitted some branch


Jet2 to give away unused £500k levy to support partners


Juliet Dennis


Jet2 has said it will give away up to £500,000 in unused apprenticeship funding to agents and charities through its new Appoint an Apprentice scheme. The firm is inviting eligible trade


and charity partners to apply for a slice of its leftover government Apprenticeship Levy funds to pay for their own apprenticeships. Up to a quarter of a company’s


levy funding can be donated to other organisations under the government’s scheme, which is available in England. It is the first time that Jet2, which employs 15,000


6 12 OCTOBER 2023


staff at Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, has donated unused levy funds. The move follows claims that


billions in levy funds nationwide have gone unused or been lost, as the government says firms must ‘use it or lose it’. Jet2 has more than 150


apprentices. Of these, 50 are staff on courses to support their development to Level 7 senior leader, which is equivalent to a master’s degree. The company, which has 2,500


trade partners, said by sharing its levy funds it hoped to help smaller businesses by saving them money and allowing them to invest further in developing talent.


managers felt “nervous” about taking on recruits because of the workload involved in bringing them up to speed. “We felt it was becoming


unsustainable to recruit more and put pressure on branch staff to train them when it’s so busy this year,” he said. The academy is aiming to train


eight to 12 new staff a year, from those with no retail experience to those who just need to learn about travel product. It will take on its


Miriam D’souli


first cohort of seven agents later this month. Hardwick said: “We are looking


for people who are new to travel but may not be new to sales, as well as those coming out of college or looking for a complete career change. “We are a growing business; we’ve


opened five stores in the past two years. To keep doing this, finding new people is vital. Fred Olsen Travel product and


sales specialist Sharne Algar has been promoted to manage the new academy. Meanwhile, Fred Olsen Travel


has acquired Ipswich-based Idelo Travel, located 50 yards away from its existing branch on St Nicholas Street.


Speaking at the Travel Weekly


People Summit, Jet2 human resources director Miriam D’souli said: “We will probably not use up all of our levy and in the past this has been forfeited. We thought, ‘Why don’t we support our trade and charity partners to attract and develop their people?’” D’souli said some travel agents


may have run out of funding and could benefit from additional funds to train new or existing staff. She said it made sense to help


agency partners develop their staff, particularly as many consultants progress to roles within Jet2 or other parts of the industry.


“It’s in our interests,” D’souli said.


“A lot of people land up with us. It’s about supporting each other.” She added that the funds could


be used for training and career development by staff at all levels of the business, from travel consultants to managing directors. Katie Rankin, Jet2’s emerging


talent and careers manager, added: “We have worked hard to ensure we are using our levy rather than losing it. However, we are also conscious that due to the size of our PAYE bill, this fund is growing and we therefore want to use it as a force


for good within the industry.” i Travel Weekly People Summit, page 12


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURE: Sarah Lucy Brown


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