Barrhead Travel holds graduation ceremony for its latest apprentices

Barrhead Travel has held its first official graduation ceremony for its latest cohort of apprentices.

 

The employees were recognised for completing their apprenticeship programmes at the travel agency’s Glasgow HQ before they move into full-time positions at the company.

 

In total 20 apprentices working in roles including sales, business development and marketing for the company across the UK took part in the ceremony. All have been offered and accepted full-time roles in the business.

 

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More: Barrhead boss champions apprentices and women’s issues

 

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The company re-launched its apprenticeship scheme in 2023 with a bespoke programme and earlier this year announced it would double its current intake, taking on an additional 20 new apprentices in 2025.

 

The full-day graduation event included a panel discussion with Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson and managing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell, who both began their careers as trainees in the travel industry more than 30 years ago.

 

Head office teams also gave presentations to provide insights into the wider business and a short ceremony was held to officiate each apprentice’s graduation. The event finished with a celebratory dinner.

 

Tempest-Mitchell said the company was intent on closing the career gap in the sector caused by the defunding of travel and tourism courses.

 

She said: “Creating strong talent pipelines and nurturing homegrown talent is the backbone of businesses like ours.

 

“This is why we have consistently championed the need for strong government investment over the past few decades.

 

“Unfortunately, in recent years, many courses have been defunded, leaving businesses to shoulder the responsibility of investing in and supporting the future careers of young people. We remain dedicated to closing this gap through our tailored apprenticeship programmes and creating lifelong careers.”

 

She hailed apprenticeships as beneficial to young people as they provided “real work experience and development” as well as to businesses as they bring fresh ideas and approaches.

 

She added: “Over the years, we’ve seen real innovation driven by some of our young people. We are very proud of our graduates and delighted to be able to say we’re expanding the programme for 2025, doubling our intake of apprentices for the coming year.”

 

Barrhead’s apprenticeship programme offers positions in marketing, HR and IT as well as sales positions in all of the agency’s branch locations.

 

The company has taken on “thousands” of apprentices in its 50-year history and more than half of its senior management team began their careers as trainees and understand the benefits of blending education with on the job learning.