New report reveals how HLTT businesses are coping

Companies within the battered travel industry are under great pressure to radically rethink their employee training and development strategies to avoid becoming yet another business casualty, an industry report launched today reveals.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for the industry. ‘State of the Nation 2009’ produced by sector skills council, People 1st, predicts that while current trading will be tough, the sector should make a strong comeback if businesses review their approach and ensure they have, and continually develop, the right people with the right skills.

In the biggest research report project undertaken by People 1st into the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism labour market in the UK, ‘State of the Nation 2009’ provides a definitive snapshot of how the travel and tourism sector has fared over the past five years and forecasts what the future might hold.

Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People 1st warns that in the current climate more of the same is no longer an option. ‘It’s encouraging that employers are increasingly recognising that highly trained and motivated people are the key to business success but much more still needs to be done.’

The report highlights that two-thirds of businesses (66 per cent) invest in staff training and a quarter (25 percent) plan to increase training despite the recession. Worryingly though, half of respondents (51 percent) plan to cut back on training. ‘This is a false economy,’ claims Wisdom. ‘Companies that grow their staff and provide good value for money without compromising on quality, should be in pole position when the economy picks up.’

More employers are re-appraising the value of apprenticeships as an effective means of attracting new blood and investing in their future workforce with three-quarters (77 percent) of those surveyed stating that apprentices made their company more competitive. Over half (59 percent) of employers also reported that training apprentices was more cost effective than hiring skilled staff. 4

While apprenticeships are proving to be an effective source for recruiting staff, employers are struggling to fill specific vacancies, particularly for travel consultants (28 per cent of respondents reported difficulties). Meantime, the number of travel consultant jobs has declined by 30 per cent over the last three years, likely to be as a result of the growth of internet bookings and increases in people taking short breaks, affecting the number of travel and tourist services businesses. However, the report found that the travel and tourism sector has an average annual staff turnover rate of 17 percent, one of the lowest within the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector which, as a total industry, averages 31 percent.

Whilst, along with the rest of the economy, trading will be tough in the short term, in the long term the sector is still predicted to grow and remain an important contributor to the UK economy as long as the industry has the right people with the right skills in place to provide a first-class customer service and experience.