| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 28/08/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 70 |
| Copyright: Other |
Recruitment consultancies
A helping hand to find the cream of the crop
Employers look to recruitment consultants
As A new survey conducted by NSM Research reveals, 62% of companies have used a recruitment consultancy to fill vacancies at some point (34% said they are currently doing so), Travel Weekly is introducing a new category to the Globe Awards – Best Recruitment Consultancy.“Travel companies are still lagging behind other sectors, such as information technology and catering, when it comes to using recruitment consultancies but in the past two years, the number of consultancies has grown and the number of employers using them has increased,” said the managing director of one agency.
Employment in the travel sector is always buoyant and the influx of dot coms has created even more opportunities. Although salaries in business travel are improving, the pay in the leisure sector remains comparatively low, ensuring a high turnover rate among staff who are frequently lured to better paid jobs in other sectors such as banking.
Skills shortages continue to dog the travel industry, particularly in the business sector, where in spite of the better salaries on offer, recruiters are struggling to fill vacancies. A handful of business agencies have introduced conversion courses aimed at training leisure agents to be business agents, and recruitment consultants are persuading business agencies to focus more on hiring people with the right soft skills rather than specific business-related qualifications.
As with so many parts of the trade, new technology has had a major impact on this sector.
Multi-sited consultancies share candidate databases and CVs can be e-mailed around the country. Many agencies are in the process of launching their own Web sites that allow candidates and recruiters to search on-line for job matches.
One agency is also putting training on-line so agents can access courses on the Web. It is an exciting time for agencies and this new award will recognise those providing the best service.
Growing trend:more and more employers in the industry are using recruitment consultants
Best Recruitment Consultancy
Vote for the consultancy that has given you thehighest level of servicein either securing a job or filling a vacancy.
Time saver: agencies will do the hard work for you
viewpoint
Jose Cofone, 27, has worked on both sides of the fence – as a travel agent and now as a recruitment consultant for one of the biggest travel recruitment agencies in the UK. Here he talks about the transition from agency work to recruitment.
I have worked for both Thomas Cook and Lunn Poly as an agent and for a tour operator. I really enjoyed working in the travel industry but Ineeded a new challenge.
I started my current job in February this year. It was daunting doing something that I had never done before but I’ve found Ineed many of the same skills I used as a travel agent. In both jobs, you have to be an adviser, a problem solver and be ultra professional while remaining relaxed and approachable. If you make a mistake as an agent, you can ruin someone’s holiday. If I make a mistake now I could ruin someone’s job prospects.
The other advantage is that if someone has a problem with an area of their work, I can relate to it. At the moment I am dealing with a candidate who was working in a shop that was held up during a robbery – Ihave been through that too so I understand what they are going through.
Finding a candidate a job is a bit like booking a holiday. We have to find out why they want to go, exactly what they want, and make sure we don’t just match them to the first job that comes along.
We are looking to place someone where they will enjoy themselves. I think a lot of agents are slightly wary about recruitment consultants. There are good jobs out there. It’s just a case of knowing where to look and using a recruitment consultancy takes all the hard work out of the process.
For jobs in the travel industry see our travel jobs section or visit our partner, totaljobs.com for travel and tourism industry vacancies with some of the UK’s largest companies