The TraveL Training Company is experiencing a record year for the number of recruits taking its National Vocational Qualification courses in travel, despite claiming that the industry is becoming less aspirational.
Head of sales and marketing Peter Holyoake said: “We are finding that we can recruit people easily enough but they are not necessarily of the same calibre as three or four years ago.”
He pointed to more 16-year-olds attaining good GCSEpasses and choosing to move into higher education rather than the workplace.
Holyoake also pins a lot of the blame on the industry’s poor pay structure. “Parents have a great deal of influence in their children’s career choice and are guiding them into better paid jobs,” he said.
The media too has had a detrimental effect. “There has been a lot of bad press about the industry. Every Watchdog chips away at its image.
“The industry needs to readdress the balance and increase its public relations efforts so that more of the positive aspects of working in travel are promoted,” said Holyoake.
He pointed out that while starting salaries may be below the national average, the long-term aspects can be very renumerative for those in management positions. “And the good thing is that management comes quickly,” he said.
The opportunity to travel on educationals is another major draw as is the social side of the industry.
Over 1,100 recruits have joined the Travel Training Company’s NVQ course since August last year, up 10% on 1998. The course is assessed via work experience.
However, Holyoake says many see the course as a link into other areas. “Not a lot of our recruits actually want to be agents. Many see it as a stepping stone to areas such as overseas repping or cabin crew.
“They may enter being aware of the low salaries but they are not aware of the hard work involved. The pressure to sell, the long hours and the intensity of the day is what surprises a lot of people,” he said.