A travel industry graduate scholarship programme worth £100,000 for budding entrepreneurs is being introduced by Travel Counsellors and the ITT Future You Foundation.
The Future You Pitch Challenge will see up to 10 graduates win places on a Travel Counsellors Academy programme worth £10,000 each and have their own travel business established by October.
Each applicant will need to submit a business plan, which will be screened by the Travel Counsellors’ recruitment team, before successful applicants are then invited to take part in a pitch session in front of a panel of industry experts.
Each applicant will receive constructive feedback on their business plan, regardless of whether they are successful or not. The deadline for applications is July 21.
Winners will receive a package of benefits as part of their place on the Travel Counsellors Academy including a six-month training and onboarding programme, 10 days’ virtual classroom plus months ongoing training, a dedicated mentor and an industry mentor, 12-month Institute of Travel & Tourism and Clia membership, laptop, business phone line and access to Travel Counsellor’s personal, digital platform, Phenix.
Future You Foundation co-founder Claire Steiner said: “We are so excited to be launching this innovative competition with Travel Counsellors, to inspire the next generation of industry talent.
“It’s never been more critical to inspire and attract talented individuals to our industry and this competition aimed at young entrepreneurs will do just that”.
Travel Counsellors general manager Matt Harding added: “We’re thrilled to be launching our Travel Counsellors ITT Future You campaign, designed to find the next generation of travel talent by identifying those passionate entrepreneurs who want to be their own boss and have a successful career in the travel industry.
“Travel Counsellors will provide 10 lucky graduates with the opportunity to start their own travel business through our Travel Academy programme, safe in the knowledge that they will receive our full support throughout their journey without having to pay the £10,000 franchise joining fee.
“Our ongoing commitment to attract future talent into the industry is something that we are really excited about. We can’t wait to see who applies to be part of our community and are looking forward to having them pitch their travel business idea.”
Applications are open via the ITTFutureYou.com website.