The talent pool is buoyant and our sector is at the start of a renaissance, says Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson
At the time of writing, the nation has been celebrating National Apprenticeship Week.
Across LinkedIn, Twitter and the general media are stories of success: from engineering to fashion and from IT to marketing. It seems that everywhere you turn, there are reports of incredible young people taking their first steps on the career ladder.
Virtually every industry seemed to be represented in government-backed targeted campaigns. Every industry except travel, that is.
Speaking as someone who, like many of my colleagues in Barrhead Travel and across the travel industry, began their careers as a trainee, I pay particular attention to content about apprenticeships in travel and tourism.
Usually, travel and tourism dominate much of the dialogue when it comes to apprenticeship campaigns, but the notable absence of our industry this year was fundamentally frustrating.
Yes, travel has had an incredibly tough time over the past few years. It was hardly a marketable vocation during the pandemic given the unthinkable challenges we all endured. And we can’t blame our young people for turning to alternative career options – especially when the industry lost people who were travel veterans to other sectors.
Talent pool
Having said this, the talent pool of those looking for an apprenticeship is still buoyant. In fact, just as demand is releasing for holidays, I would expect demand to be releasing for apprenticeships, given the halt on opportunities caused by the pandemic.
According to the UK government’s apprenticeship statistics for the academic year of 2020-21, there was a dip of 20% in apprentice intake. This is understandable given the circumstances with lockdowns, but surely this means there is a broader talent pool available as the country bounces back and looks forward?
We have such rich opportunities within our industry. Travelling the world is the most obvious, of course, but there are myriad experiences that I just don’t think are as accessible in any other industry. We meet people from all walks of life – at all stages of their careers – and this broadens our minds and provides unrivalled education about culture and heritage.
Travel isn’t simply about selling holidays – and I believe this is where we need government support to change perceptions.
Core values
Of course, selling holidays and visiting destinations sounds glamourous, but we’re much deeper than that. What other industry, for example, is as invested in global sustainability challenges or has such a strong commitment to delivering positive impacts through tourism to communities across the world? In my opinion, there are few other industries whose core values resonate so strongly with world issues.
I strongly believe that travel recovery is tied to our pipeline talent, which is why recruitment and attracting young people must be at the top of every business leader’s agenda this year.
So far, we’ve shared detailed feedback on our concerns with the Scottish government and various national business recovery groups. It may come as no surprise that colleagues throughout leisure, hospitality and retail echo our thoughts.
So how do we address this? Change categorically starts at government level and, like everything, over the past year, it calls for a collective effort. That travel is overlooked in all areas of government policy – including apprenticeships – only accentuates the absence of a dedicated minister.
Travel is at the beginning of a renaissance – dusting off the pandemic ashes and ready for a new era where travel agents are a necessity, not an option.
Next year, I hope we will be at the forefront of National Apprenticeship Week campaigns to share our stories of our people – recounting how the young people in travel today will become the industry leaders and innovators of tomorrow.