Travel Consultant Apprenticeship Programme

Wednesday, Dec 08, 2021 0

Travel is a part of life. Whether it’s travelling to work, travelling for holidays, or travelling for friends and families, it’s a critical feature of modern society. Over 10% of all employees globally are associated with travel so to see the impacts the pandemic has had on the industry is alarming.

At Mitre, we love travel. Our team are made up of ex-Travel Industry colleagues and travel fanatics. We decided to put our heads together to work out what, as an educational training provider, we can do to play our part in supporting travel organisations.

Over the past 12 months we’ve been working on expanding our apprenticeship portfolio and as of January 2022, we’ll be offering the Travel Consultant Apprenticeship Programme.

How Can an Apprenticeship Programme Help?

A result of the pandemic for travel agencies and tour operators has in some cases been an inevitable reduction in staff numbers; valuable experience which can be hard to rebuild.

As bookings and confidence in the industry returns, travel organisations will be dealing with the pent-up demand for travel. That may mean rebuilding through recruitment.

Here’s where Mitre can step in.

Finding new staff with the expert travel knowledge can be challenging. But what if the perfect candidate applies for a role, without travel experience?

The Travel Consultant Apprenticeship Programme can step in here. It’s a 12-month training programme that will equip new staff within depth knowledge of the Travel Consultant role, giving them a fast-track pass to becoming an efficient and successful member of your team. What’s more, they’ll have access to an industry mentor to support them through their first year of learning, someone they can rely on for advice and guidance as well as the support afforded to them by their Manager.

What will they learn?

The programme is made up of 12 Modules;

Geography
Travel Information
Industry Practice
Travel and Transport Options
Products and Service
Knowing Your Customers
Legal and Compliance
Travel Technology
Business and Sales Techniques
Teamwork and Performance Management
Communication
Sustainability

Right now, Apprenticeships are the most heavily funded training programmes available to businesses and their staff.

What are the Government Levy and Incentives?

Apprenticeships are 95% funded by the government. To put that in context, the cost of the Travel Consultant Apprenticeship Programme is £7,000 however, it’ll only cost your business £350 per staff member (Free if you’re organisation has a payroll of more than £3,000,000).

There’s more; If your organisation enrols a new staff member onto an Apprenticeship Programme by January 31st 2022 then you will benefit from the current Government Apprenticeship Incentive, providing employers with up to £4,000 per staff member as a bonus.

+ £3,000: Receive £3,000 from the Government for recruiting a new staff member and enrolling them onto an Apprenticeship programme, regardless of age. (deadline 31st January 2022)

+ £1,000: If the recruit is aged 16 – 18, you’ll receive an additional £1,000, totalling £4,000.

I’m looking for someone experienced, not an Apprentice….

Apprenticeships are commonly misunderstood. In fact, there’s now over 700 professional standards to support individuals into meaningful careers.

– There is no age limit to access an Apprenticeship

– Provided the Apprenticeship will provide new knowledge, they can have any previous experience (including educational degrees, management experience…)

– The job offer is up to you to decide. The salary, for example, is at your own discretion provided it meets the minimum wage for an Apprentice.

If you’re involved in travel; share the word! This programme may not only help individuals into incredible roles within the travel industry but help business leaders to rebuild talented and experienced teams whilst benefitting from cash incentives available from the government.

Mitre Group also run an extensive Level 3 Marketing Assistant programme, as well as leadership and management programmes at Level 3 and level 5 to support the next wave of industry leaders into their new roles.

Let Mitre help you to build travel back together. Contact us now.