TC claims top marks for its Apprentice programme
Thomas Cook UK & Ireland claims it has achieved the highest rating for a large national travel retailer in the first inspection of its Government-funded Apprentice programme across its retail and sales centre businesses.
It achieved a Grade 2 ‘Good’ status following an inspection, carried out by Ofsted, which included visits to 23 stores around the country and its Peterborough sales centre.
Pete Constanti, CEO for Mainstream Travel, said: “We are delighted that the support that our Apprentices receive has been recognised in this way and that we are the first national travel retailer to receive such a high level of award.
“Much of our programme has been identified as ‘best practice’ and this remarkable achievement reflects what we already know – that our people continue to be our key differentiator and the reason for our on-going success.â€
Aimed at school leavers, the Thomas Cook Apprentice programme offers the opportunity to achieve NVQ Levels 2 & 3 over 18 months, whilst gaining work experience.
Some 160 young people across the UK have joined the programme this month.
Recruitment for 2010 starts next March for school leavers with a passion for travel and GCSEs in Maths and English.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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