Industry bodies have united to form a working group to co-ordinate the sector’s response to government plans to scrap travel and tourism qualifications for those aged 16-19.
News of the group’s formation came as qualifications awarding body City & Guilds confirmed it will scrap aviation, travel and tourism courses from the end of this year.
The announcements follow news that the government plans to stop funding travel and tourism qualifications as part of Department for Education (DfE) plans to streamline the post-16 Level 3 qualifications system with a focus on A levels and technical T levels.
Luke Petherbridge, Abta’s director of public affairs, said: “Abta is extremely concerned about any limiting of opportunities to pursue qualifications and careers in travel and tourism, particularly at a time when the industry is already struggling with recruitment issues.
“We know our members really value these courses as an important route into the sector and their businesses.
More: Government plans to scrap travel courses will hit pipeline of talent for employers
“We are forming a working group with other travel bodies, including the Business Travel Association, Institute of Travel and Tourism, UKinbound and the Tourism Alliance, which will also include awarding bodies, members and our education partners to understand the changes and to develop a co-ordinated and collaborative response.
“Together we are committed to identifying solutions to adequately replace defunded qualifications and to fulfil the future skills needs of the travel industry.”
City & Guilds offers a range of aviation and travel and tourism qualifications at level 1, level 2 and level 3.
A City & Guilds spokesperson said: “City & Guilds have decided to focus on delivering industry specific qualifications to a smaller number of sectors in the future.
“This is to enable us to provide a broader range of services to our learners and customers in the industries where we believe we can have the most significant impact.
“As part of this move, City & Guilds has unfortunately made the decision to withdraw from offering aviation, travel and tourism qualifications in the future.
“In the short term, we wanted to reassure all learners and customers that we will continue to support people who are already enrolled on our aviation, travel and tourism courses.
“Affected qualifications will close to new entrants between December 2023 and August 2024.”
Lisa Rowbotham, Level 3 tourism course leader at Runshaw College in Lancashire and a committee member of the Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE), said her college offers qualifications from NCFE so it is not directly affected. Another major provider of travel and tourism courses is Pearson.
But she added: “This [City & Guilds] news is devastating for travel and tourism lecturers around the country.
“We value our subject area and see daily the worth our qualifications bring to young people daily.
“We like many other colleges around the country have had more people than ever apply to study travel, tourism and aviation courses – which makes the decision by the DfE more unbelievable.”
She said Travel Weekly’s coverage of the issue last week prompted the calls for collaboration between industry and academics to lobby against the defunding of travel and tourism courses.
Claire Steiner, co-founder at Future You Foundation, added: “It is disappointing that City and Guilds are withdrawing their courses thus further limiting choice for future students interested in pursuing a career in travel.
“However, we remain hopeful that travel and tourism will continue to be an option for young people to study at a time when they are considering their career options.
“Awareness of this issue has grown since the Travel Weekly article last week and we have been inundated with offers of support from across the sector.”
John Garside, aviation, travel and tourism lecturer at Birmingham Metropolitan College, commented on City & Guilds’ decision: “Sadly this does not come as a surprise, with the announcement of government funding for travel and tourism qualifications from 2026-27.
“I don’t believe that the industry is fully aware of the situation or the extent of this at the moment.
“The fantastic coverage that Travel Weekly gave the story last week means that awareness is increasing quickly and it has clearly been capturing attention on social media this week.”
The closure of travel and tourism courses also means lecturers like Garside face an uncertain future.
“Having had amazing career working in travel industry, I opted to work as a lecturer in education with the future of the industry,” said Garside.
“That is set to change and so will my plans.”
Dr Peter Robinson, ATHE co-chair and head of the centre for tourism and hospitality management at Leeds Beckett University, said universities award their own qualifications but commented: “It is inevitable, but disappointing, that qualification providers will withdraw travel and tourism qualifications in response to the government’s decision not to fund these qualifications after 2025.
“This will create an inevitable skills gap for those businesses that recruit students with BTEC qualifications.
“There will also be an inevitable impact on the number of students progressing to university which will mean that there are fewer graduates entering the industry.
“This is not just a further skills gap, but also impacts on the opportunities for employers to recruit graduates with a range of highly developed skills, in-depth knowledge and innovative ideas which are attuned to the challenges our sector will face in the future.”
Clive Wratten, Business Travel Association chief executive, said: “The business travel industry alone contributed £27.5 billion in GVA to the UK economy and supported over 280,000 full time jobs in 2022. City & Guilds’ decision to officially withdraw its travel and tourism qualifications in an attempt to focus on industries with the most “significant impact” is therefore ironic and misguided.
“The travel industry not only contributes to the UK economy but significantly impacts the operations of the country.
“ In our recent report on the industry’s contribution to the UK economy, 51% of businesses outlined face-to-face interaction as the number one success factor in winning new clients, with wider in-person interactions facilitating trust and strong working relationships. This is why it is paramount that travel and tourism courses remain open to all students.
“As an industry greatly impacted by this decision, we urge the Department of Education to reverse this decision to ensure other educational institutions do not follow suit and prevent any more damage.”