High street agency Oneworld Travel Group has opened its fourth branch in a college campus, which will employ two apprentices.
The shop will be in Stockton Riverside College and act as a training centre for new agents to forge their careers in the travel industry.
It will offer courses for its apprentices while operating as a fully-fledged travel agency and travel management company, selling both business travel and holidays to staff and students at the college and a nearby Durham University campus.
The apprentices will be supported by a branch manager and part-time assistant manager and study for a Level 3 Travel Consultant Apprenticeship, which is recognised by Abta and the Guild of Travel Management Companies.
Samantha Harvey, managing director of Oneworld Travel Group, said: “We’re a small business, so every employee has the capacity to make a significant difference. It’s because of this we see the value in offering this training – we can equip young people with the skills they need to make that difference throughout their careers.
“We see our new branch at Stockton Riverside College as opportunity for young people from the region to get the best possible start – so for me, the venture is already a success.”
OneWorld Travel Group, which has been trading for 16 years, has branches in Wakefield and Beverley in Yorkshire and Yarm, in Stockton-on-Tees.
Harvey said she had struggled to find experienced staff in recent years. “It’s very hard for us to get what we need [in terms of recruitment],” she said. “It’s difficult for independents. We don’t have a high turnover of staff and even if they come from Tui or Thomas Cook we have to train them in other products.
“But the college is amazing and will not only help us but the wider travel industry.”
Harvey said there was an opportunity in business travel because travel management firms that had been based in the area had shut down in recent years with the closure of local steel works.
Harvey, who is also a councillor on Wakefield District Council, said she was open to the idea of more branches at colleges to help boost skills for young people.
“It’s a different kind of market, because you don’t get footfall,” she said. “People like to go to the high street to book their holidays, but today lives are so busy that if there’s an easier option they will take that.
“There are 30,000-40,000 students in the area, so we expect a lot of students booking their own holidays and we will also specialise in group tours – whether it’s travelling for study or on holiday, or booking travel for lecturers to speak at seminars.”
Meanwhile, Oneworld Travel Group has raised more than £4,500 for three local charities: £2,019 for Wakefield Hospice, upwards of £1,500 for St Catherine’s Emergency Food Bank, and £1,000 for the Wakefield Cathedral choir.