FOR years Mary Ballard worked among a backdrop of beans and washing powder in her local supermarket, yearning for a more glamourous job.
Now, at the tender age of 57, she’s changing her career and is learning to sell dreams in her high-street travel agency instead.
Mary, from Warwickshire, is one of the first batch of recruits on the Going Places’ Mature Trainee Travel Adviser scheme, which was launched earlier this year.
The training programme, which officially starts on November 1, offers older people an opportunity to enter a career they may previously have felt excluded from because of their age.
Mary, who is based at Going Places’ Kenilworth branch, said: “Working in the travel industry was something I really wanted to do.
“It has always appealed to me, every time I went in to a travel agency I thought it seemed like such a glamourous and interesting place to work.”
Attempts to follow such a career were scuppered several years ago when Mary applied for a job as a travel agent with a different company, but was told she lacked the relevant experience, despite being employed in sales throughout most of her career to date.
Recently, while working in the cash office of a large supermarket, a colleague went in to Going Places to book a holiday, heard about the MTTA scheme and told Mary.
“I can’t praise Going Places enough for their attitude towards older people, because although I’ve personally never had a problem with my age a lot of people can feel they are on the scrap heap when they reach 40,” she said.
“This is a great opportunity for people like me to actually get the chance to do something they may always have wanted to do.”
The MTTAscheme, targeting people over 30, was introduced by Going Places as part of a new strategy designed to create a better balance of young and older workers.
Surveys undertaken by the company also showed that customers often prefer to deal with older staff.
Going Places corporate programmes manager Judy Woods said the scheme was introduced following demand from shops and their customers.
“The shops have been crying out for older people and we have had an excellent response to the recruitment campaign,” she said.
“This is the first year we’ve introduced it, so it will be good to look back at the end of the programme and see how such a cross-section of people have fared.”
Other organisations are following Going Places’ lead and are making efforts to offer older people a foot in the door of the travel industry.
New Durham College, for example, runs two courses aimed specifically at mature students and women returning to work.
The college offers a National Vocational Qualification level three in travel services and Guild of British Travel Agents introductory certificate to business travel. Both courses have students aged up to their 50s.
Travel and tourism lecturer at the college Shelley Clough said both courses have proved very popular with mature students following efforts to make the courses easily accessible to them.
“It is a huge commitment on behalf of a mature student to give up full-time employment and study, which is why we have organised it as much as possible to suit their needs,” she said.
The courses last just one year and offer practical experience in the workplace. Hours are also tailored to meet the needs of parents with school-age children.