Analysis: Will 2009’s travel and tourism graduates find work?

For students graduating from travel and tourism courses this year, the task ahead is incredibly daunting. With many companies making redundancies or imposing recruitment freezes, there has never been a tougher time to look for a first job in travel.

At a recent conference for academics and employers, lecturers hit out at the travel industry for failing to support their students. Conversely, employers criticised academia for not providing useful and relevant qualifications.

But what do the students think? Travel Weekly recently spoke to three travel and tourism graduates to find out how well their courses have prepared them for career in travel, and to reveal their first impressions of the industry.

Graduates Kelly Williams, Harriet Witchell and Rebecca Halvorsen have just graduated with travel and tourism qualifications from Oxford Brookes University.

Harriet Witchell, 22, from Belfast

Course: International tourism management

At school I was pushed to do law or medicine, but I really enjoyed languages and wanted to do something with that.

Travel was not highly regarded; I felt teachers and other classmates looked down on me for wanting to do it. People did not think a vocational course was appropriate for me. However, I visited universities and decided travel was what I wanted to do.

I’ve always been interested in operators and aviation, and I was lucky enough to get a year’s placement at TUI Travel during the course. I was in a big team of reps in a Swiss resort.

There was not much communication, in fact my boss didn’t realise I was on a placement, so I had to push to make sure I got feedback. But it was great because it was real experience, I loved being on the frontline dealing with customers and the pressure of transfer day.

Since leaving university, I have applied for the British Airways graduate scheme but they wanted a high level of maths skills and that caught me out.

I am confident I will get a job. I have made the effort to attend networking events and make contacts, rather than just applying online.

Rebecca Halvorsen, 23, from Islington

Course: Hospitality and tourism management

My career adviser suggested travel as a ‘fun’ option because I said I enjoyed travelling. Most people do not consider it a ‘proper’ degree, but something like English literature was not for me, so I decided to give it a go.

There was not much practical experience on my course, it was mostly theory. We were offered work experience in hospitality but not travel, which is what I was really interested in. It would have been better if we had people from the travel industry coming to speak.

Since I’ve graduated, people have said I didn’t need a degree to get into travel, which has been really demotivating, but I’m still glad I’ve got my degree. I haven’t decided which areas are best for me yet, but maybe human resources or events organising might be good. I’ve also thought about trying to get into a travel agency.

Kelly Williams, 22, from Ealing

Course: International tourism management

I was going to do marketing but then I heard a talk about travel and tourism and thought it sounded great. It is continually evolving and I have always been fascinated by air travel and seeing new cultures.

Since graduating, I’ve applied for the British Airways graduate scheme but found the maths element too difficult. I am now looking at working for Middle East airlines, as the ones in the UK are making heavy redundancies.

I would like a job in loyalty schemes as I am passionate about keeping loyal customers. It is really daunting to be looking for a job in this climate but I want to keep developing my skills and plan to learn a second language.

I feel our degree is not valued enough. We’ve got the knowledge that others don’t. It is a vicious circle; we need experience to get a job, but no one is willing to offer us experience.

What are the issues?

Oxford Brookes University undergraduate programmes director Angela Maher said travel courses have an image problem: “People have a very narrow perspective. All they know about it is air hostesses and tour reps. TV programmes showing these roles probably don’t help the image that travel is a low skills occupation.”

The result is that travel companies do not see travel graduates as the pick of the crop, preferring to recruit from finance or marketing courses. Around 50% of travel graduates leave the industry each year.

Some employers say the travel courses do not equip the students with the necessary skills and fail to take into account the many changes in the industry over the last 10 years. Others prefer to take on staff straight from school so they can ‘mould them’ themselves.

AA Graduates director Debbee Dale said: “It is difficult for employers to get their head around graduates because most of the top figures in the industry started when they were 16 and worked their way up from the bottom.”

Communication is key, said Dale. She said businesses could help by going to speak at universities and offering work experience to students. Academics also need to be speaking to employers to make sure their courses are relevant.

Work is needed on both sides, she believes, and it is needed urgently. She said: “If we don’t invest in the future, we will face a skills shortage, like the one after 9/11. We have to look past tomorrow and prepare for the future.”

Five tips for travel and tourism graduates

AA People Development managing director Debbee Dale set up AA Graduates last year to try and help graduates access jobs in the travel industry.

She acts as a conduit between graduates and travel companies and has successfully placed 36 graduates.

Here are Debbee’s top five tips for graduates:

• Give details of your coursework successes – add case studies to your CV, as well as a short personal profile
  
• Highlight any work experience have you gained – not just the job title but responsibilities
  
• Keep up with the industry through trade papers and websites – get on to the travelhub and get to know the movers and shakers of the industry
  
• Enhance and monitor your own skills – increase your travel knowledge ‘off curriculum’ by attending the Institute of Travel and Tourism networking events, reading the trade press, using Gazetteers and TWacademy
  
• If you show your talent you can be promoted fairly quickly, but you may have to take a lesser position initially