Conference turns attention to staff training for millennium push
The key: with all the changes in the industry, the GBTA will be looking at what type of value it will be offering in the future
At this year’s conference we have chosen to look at how we are investing in our people simply because it is critical.
We need to look at how we’re going to make our staff better qualified to handle the demands of the new millennium.
In today’s cost-conscious climate, we’ve got to offer more and more for less and less. The key, of course, is training.
The GBTA offers a wide range of training courses and qualifications for all levels of the industry.
We offer courses at introductory, consultant, supervisory and management level and we are now looking to develop a Masters in Business Administration.
At the conference we will be asking if all our members are taking advantage of our training programmes and finding out whether they meet their needs.
We will also be looking at the significance of our qualifications to our customers.
The key requirement for any business is to generate profit. With the move to management fees and service charges, there is an even greater need to provide value to our customers.
Given all the technological and economic changes in our industry, we need to look at what type of value we will be offering in the future.
In the past, I think we have been guilty of hiding our light under a bushel, but we are now professionals, like solicitors and accountants.
The training programmes which are now in place are a means to that end.
In my view, technology will not replace people. Instead, it is a tool which allows people to do things easier, more efficiently and with greater accuracy.
The fact of the matter is that you still have to talk to your customers.
If you book your flights from the PC on your desk, that’s all very well, but what happens if anything goes wrong? Who do you talk to then? You talk to a person, not a computer.
At the conference we will also be discussing other issues affecting our industry.
I would like to think the issue of airlines separating out Passenger Service Charges will have been put to bed by then. But I think our members will be discussing how we can ensure there is a reasonable level of remuneration between the airlines and the agent.