AN organisation has been set up to co-ordinate and improve travel training.
The Government-backed Travel Tourism and Events National Training Organisation has been set up to ensure industry employers undertake training and development.
TTENTOchairman Colin Heal, who is also chairman of ARTACWorldchoice, said the body will help combat the negative image of the travel industry with regard to development issues.
Speaking at the launch of TTENTO, Heal said: “We need to improve levels of training. I am particularly concerned that we are quite good at the initial training but we need more middle-management courses.”
ABTA president Steven Freudmann welcomed the move, saying: “When GNVQs were introduced they were imposed on us and ABTAdid not have a say. It is nice to have communication in place.”
ABTA’s TTENTO representative Allan Beaver now chairs a travel sub-committee for the organisation on which Guild of Business Travel Agents manager Mike Riddle also sits.
Beaver said one of the first tasks of the sub-committee was to collate details of all the travel training courses to see what provision is needed before making improvements.