Trade slams plans to cut manager apprenticeships
Juliet Dennis
The trade has warned that plans to defund management-level apprenticeships will result in a skills gap due to fewer training opportunities for aspiring managers. The government is to axe funding
for 16 Level 3 to 5 apprenticeship courses, which cost from £4,000 to £22,000 each. They include popular industry courses such as team leader, operations manager and coaching professional. No cut-off date has been given. The government’s biggest shake-up
of apprenticeships in a decade, which includes an incentive of £2,000 for small and medium-sized businesses that take on a 16-to-24-year-old, aims to create 200,000 jobs for young people. Education and training experts
welcomed the pledge to invest in attracting young people into the workplace but said cutting funding for existing apprenticeships would hit training and career progression.
There’s a real risk of
creating a gap at entry- level leadership, with limited progression routes below Level 4
Vicki Wolf, Abta’s head of
education and career development, said members were “very concerned” about the “detrimental impact” of the cuts, with a “significant” number affected. She insisted the expectation that employers would foot the bill for management apprenticeships was unrealistic. “Bearing in mind the already
rising costs businesses are having to cope with, the reality is few will be able to fund those opportunities to the extent they have been able to use the apprenticeship levy,” she said. Training provider AS Training
said it was working with the Department for Education to ensure its new eight-month Level 3 team
CELEB BACKLASH: Inspire Europe chief executive Lisa Henning said she would welcome any conversations to champion “proper travel agents” after her social media post, triggered by celebrities promoting recruitment events, prompted an outpouring of reaction from the trade. Henning said the timing of an advertisement by Katie Price to recruit “part-time” agents in the midst of the Iran war was a “slap in the face” for those working round-the-clock to support clients. Henning’s post prompted widespread criticism of celebrities including Price, Danielle Lloyd and Kerry Katona, whose promotional efforts are understood to be run in conjunction with PlanNet Marketing, but also drew defences from InteleTravel agents who said they too were scrambling to support clients and sought to distance themselves from the recruitment activity.
8 19 MARCH 2026
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leader course could go ahead as planned later this month. Managing director Michelle
Van Sprang said there had been “significant demand” for the course as she feared a future skills gap. “It would be disappointing if
cohorts like this were impacted, particularly given the clear need to develop first-line managers,” she said. “There’s a real risk of creating a
gap at entry-level leadership, with limited progression routes available below Level 4.” Claire Steiner, UK director of
the Global Travel and Tourism Partnership, which promotes talent and skills in the sector, was also disappointed by the cuts but welcomed further entry-level investment to “help our sector bring in fresh talent and open doors for the next generation”. But she added: “It remains up to
us as an industry to ensure we are promoting travel and hospitality as offering exciting, accessible career paths for young people.”
Audley Travel boss Longman steps down
Audley Travel chief executive Nick Longman has stepped down after nearly eight years at the helm. He has been replaced by Richard Hodgson, who brings more than 30 years’ experience in the grocery, hospitality, retail, manufacturing, restaurant and franchising sectors.
Hurtigruten appoints UK sales director
Matthew Stuart is moving from Celebrity Cruises to join Hurtigruten as UK and emerging markets sales director. He will lead the Norwegian coastal voyage company’s trade sales strategy from early April. The appointment follows James Howlett moving to Solmar Villas from his role as UK and EMEA sales director.
Vote for your Hotlist 2026 favourites now
Voting has opened for Travel Weekly’s annual poll of agents’ favourite suppliers in the cruise, touring and adventure sectors. The Hotlist 2026 recognises suppliers across 25 trade-voted categories split by region and customer demographic. i Competitions, page 25
PICTURE: Katie Price/Instagram
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