Training for Travel (TFT) is launching a Programme Led Apprenticeship (PLA) scheme for 20 16-18 year-olds in search of travel industry qualifications.
The government-funded programmes are usually run by employers that are keen to take on apprentices but unable to support them. Under the TFT programme, the apprentices will have three months of training at TFT’s head office in Bury, Lancashire, and three months’ work experience with an employer identified by the training company.
The PLA is designed to appeal to both college leavers and young people wanting a way into the travel industry without having to go to college, said TFT.
While on the programme, the learners will be able to apply for Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and the successful applicants will undertake an NVQ, either in customer service or preparing young people for overseas seasonal work. They will be required to do at least 16 hours per week, commencing January 2010.
The programme is free to all applicants who should email their CV to jordan.makin@trainingfortravel.com.
The announcement follows figures released in August this year that showed the number of 16-24 year-olds not in education, employment or training – so-called NEETS – had risen to 935,000 or 16%.