Travel agencies looking to recruit amid an industry staffing crisis are increasingly turning to applicants from outside the industry.
Roles are available across travel’s retail sector as sales begin to bounce back with Covid restrictions easing.
Don Bircham, managing director of Hays Travel North West, said recruitment was “a challenge”, but this was the case “for all industries”.
He said: “People have changed their priorities and adapted new lifestyles. They’ve got used to more time at home or having weekends off. That’s an obstacle.”
Hays Travel North West has grown from 38 shops to 44 during the pandemic, having taken on some ex-Thomas Cook branches from Hays Travel, which owns 40% of the agency. It has hired 30 apprentices, but still has roles to fill.
Bircham reported receiving applications from experienced sales staff from outside travel. “Over the years, we’ve looked for more ‘mature’ individuals, and recruited staff from our competitors,” he said.
“But now we’re open-minded about people with transferable people and sales skills. We’ve had great successes already. Hopefully we’ll be fully staffed by turn-of-year.”
Alison Earnshaw, managing director of Cruise118 parent World Travel Holdings, said the firm had recruited sales people from sectors such as retail and insurance, as well as some former cruise ship staff.
“There’s been a bit of an exodus from travel,” she said. “The industry’s been hit badly. We’re slowly starting to recover, but the bounce-back was always going to be sharp – and because rebookings are still here, and increased customer service is here to stay, we need more people.
“We’ve had success recruiting from outside travel, although there is still a way to go [to fill the roles]. Generally, you’re either a seller or not, but you can learn new product.”
Clare Dudley, managing director of one-branch Ponders Travel, has taken on an apprentice having struggled to find experienced applicants – partly because wages were “at the lower end of the spectrum” as businesses struggle for cash since the pandemic. She said: “Many of us need staff to handle sales and enquiries to bounce back. In the past, I used to be wary of taking on an apprentice – now I love the scheme.”