Virgin Holidays managing director Amanda Wills has called on more travel companies to follow its lead by starting apprenticeship schemes to ease youth unemployment.
Wills said it was “madness” the industry wasn’t harnessing the “young energy and talent” that young apprentices offered.
The comments come as the first of its 100 apprentices start at the operator’s shops as salaried sales consultants. The first seven have just completed a three-week induction.
Four have joined the operator’s Essex stores in Bluewater shopping centre, Romford, Chelmsford and Basildon, while the other three have started at the Kensington, Croydon and Guildford stores.
All apprentices work a four-day week while studying towards a City & Guilds NVQ Level Two Certificate in Customer Service for a year, before being offered a full-time role.
Wills said: “There are over a million young people nationwide who can’t find employment. It’s a criminal waste of potential.
“It’s madness that travel isn’t capitalising more on the schemes that allow us to supplement the expertise and experience of those already working in it with the energy, enthusiasm and skills of this demographic.
“We can only hope others follow our lead; youth unemployment is something every business leader should be concerned about.”
Wills said there were preconceptions that apprenticeship programmes were costly and resource intensive, but said working with the City of London Corporation to set up and run the scheme had been “incredibly easy”.
Philip Taylor, the corporation’s marketing manager and a former BBC The Apprentice contestant, said: “I’m sure Virgin Holidays will quickly reap the benefits.”