Hoseasons chief executive Richard Carrick has backed moves to demand more support from hospitality and training body People 1st.
Carrick, who sits on People 1st’s council of members’ advisory board, said “banging on the drum” was what was needed to develop close ties.
The first crunch talks between trade representatives and People 1st, the sector skills council tasked with overseeing the travel and hospitality industries took place last week (Travel Weekly, January 19).
“To date, the council has worked more closely with the hospitality sector than it has travel,” Carrick said. “It is as critical of us as we are of it. It is vociferously critical of our failure to engage. But, whether we like it or not, it is our sector skills council.”
He said the council was an obvious route to pursue much-needed Government support and industry resources.
If this fails he said the industry should go to the Government directly. “We are poor at lobbying but we are one of the biggest employment sectors in the country. We have a voice but we do not articulate it.”