Apprentice lands same assessor as agency boss by ‘sheer fluke’

An agent has been reunited with his apprenticeship teacher after more than a decade after his own shop trainee was allocated the same assessor.

Jack Green started his two‑year apprenticeship in-house with Thomas Cook in 2011 and now runs his own two-branch agency, Promenade Travel, in Yorkshire.

He has just taken on his second apprentice, Adam Nicholson, and put him forward for a one-year Level 3 travel consultant apprenticeship through provider AS Training.

By chance, Lynn Corr, who taught Green 14 years ago as one of her first apprentices at Thomas Cook, will also now teach Nicholson, 17.

“It was sheer fluke,” said Green. “I contacted Michelle Van Sprang at AS Training and she said they had a new assessor called Lynn, and that was when it came to light.”

When Corr got in touch with the agency, Green was able to catch up with his old teacher.

“We were reminiscing about the last 14 years,” said Green, adding: “I was one of about 10 in the first cohort of in-house apprentices at Thomas Cook and Lynn delivered the training in person. I got to know her quite well and when I qualified at Thomas Cook they offered me a permanent job.”

Green left Thomas Cook in 2016 to work for Hays Travel as a branch manager and then left a year later to set up his own agency in Bridlington. He opened a second branch, in Filey, in 2022.

Corr was recruited by AS Training as an assessor coach and internal quality assurer in 2024 after working for the Northern Training Academy.

She said: “I am delighted to be back in contact with Jack. He was always a flying star back then at Thomas Cook, and by the end of his two years he was more or less doing everything within the store. 

“He was capable of running an agency and confident dealing with customers. Anything that came his way he tackled with ease. I feel really proud he has done so well. It gives me a buzz and makes the job worthwhile.”

For Green, taking on apprentices in his branches was a no-brainer after his own positive experience. 

“Being an apprentice cements the practical learning on how to sell a holiday into the bigger picture and gives you transferable skills,” he said.