ABTA has denied being forced into an embarrassing
U-turn over its insurance training scheme despite yielding to demands for lower
fees.
Reduced costs and the provision for alternative
providers to TTC Training were rubber stamped this week. But chief executive
Ian Reynolds insisted: “This is not a climb-down”.
The new terms were agreed following a series of
showdown talks between ABTA and the large operators. The big four companies
faced a potential total bill of £400,000 for all staff to achieve the mandatory
level-one qualification.
“We can’t go ahead with a scheme like this unless all
the major players are on board first. It became clear they weren’t happy,” said
Reynolds.
The new TTC fees mean operators with 5,000-plus
members can pay £17 per head if exams are held on their own premises and £15 if
they provide their own training materials and invigilator.
Reynolds said the principle had always been to pass on
savings. The highest fee remains £25 per head for companies with fewer than
1,000 staff, £23 for those with 1,000-4,999 staff and £20 for firms with more
than 5,000 employees.
“The prices are still the same, all we’re doing is passing
on savings,” said Reynolds. “We’ve taken out some elements that members didn’t
require.”
But retailers have not confirmed they will stick with
TTC. Both MyTravel and Thomas Cook said getting low-priced exams was their
priority, while TUI said it was “happy
with progress”. Thomas Cook director of trade relations Ian Derbyshire said:
“We’ll look at all the options that meet ABTA’s criteria and evaluate which is
the most cost-effective.” Thomas Cook is meeting the Institute of Travel and
Tourism next week to discuss joint training programmes.
Midconsort chief executive Charles Eftichiou said the
consortium had already launched its own training scheme and plans were underway
to develop its own exam.
The deadline for qualification has been postponed from
January 2005 to September 2005 to allow other companies to set up training
programmes.
Alternate providers will have to be accredited by
vocational training companies such as City and Guilds or Edexcel and be
approved by ABTA.