Neilson has created an inhouse training programme and its first ‘talent database’ to identify the next generation of managers for its overseas Beachclubs.
The active holiday specialist’s first Jump Up Programme is being taken by 37 of its 800 summer overseas staff, all of whom will be monitored and fed into its first database – The Talent Bible – of potential managers for 2020 .
The operator hopes to create a career path for its overseas employees, from sailing instructors to hotel staff, to move up the ladder.
Neilson hotel general manager Stephen Satterthwaite, who is overseeing the project, believes the scheme is the only one of its kind in the activity sector.
He said: “We are trying to get the word out to 16 and 17-year-olds that a job in travel is a career, not just a gap year. As we grow as a business we will need more people to manage our Beachclubs. We are investing in our young people overseas and giving them an opportunity to develop.”
A similar scheme failed to get off the ground a few years ago. He added: “It was admin-heavy and fell flat. This is more about hands-on experience in resort, for example learning how to deal with the disciplinary process.
“It gives everyone a fair chance [to become a manager]. In the past we have been guilty of putting people into management roles without giving them the skill set.”
The Jump Up programme is six to eight weeks on average at the end of the season.
The database has been set up as a way to track the company’s future managers. It will include courses staff have taken, their key skills and help identify staff to fill management roles.
The company is running a Talent Roadshow in May or June next year when ‘Team Talent’, Neilson’s human resources and recruitment staff, will tour the Beachclubs, give presentations on career opportunities and meet staff.