k wage survey, but some travel companies report signs of recovery
for academy
other tough year of pay freezes
or cuts. Travel Weekly’s exclusive
research conducted by
AA Appointments (page 16)
revealed that most industry
staff will earn the same or less
than last year.
Redundancies and a fiercely
competitive jobs market have
forced many travel staff to leave
the industry, with many taking
actor ‘will
recovery’
again in the first quarter of
2010, adding: “Real growth is
more likely to start to come
through later this year and
take more foothold next year.”
The news came in the same
week as the International Air
Transport Association said
passenger demand fell 3.5% in
2009, while the CBI revealed a
sharp fall in retail sales in
early January.
www.travelweekly.co.uk
Maureen ‘One journalist asked whether the buffalo were local, and
another wanted to know how the buffalo had strained itself!’ page 31
temporary jobs in other sectors.
Trainee and graduate entrants
will also continue to struggle as
employers recruit experienced
staff for less money.
AA Appointments chief
executive Theresa Dempsey
said: “Sadly some candidates
had no option but to choose
other areas. However, a lot of
people have great loyalty to the
industry and will do their best
to get back in.”
g Firms emerge from the
recession, see below;
Salary survey, page 16
WHAT WILL ACADEMY DELIVER?
If successful, the new
National Skills Academy for
Travel and Tourism will:
M Simplify the educational
and training system
M Provide a continuing
development programme
for industry staff
M Work with best practice
colleges, learning
providers and universities
to develop training
guides for employers
M Increase the number of
apprenticeships in travel
and tourism, particularly
among small and micro
businesses
M Provide a training package
to retrain people from
other industries who have
been made redundant
M Develop regional centres
of excellence to share
best practice and raise
standards
M Work with employers
to develop cutting-edge
learning programmes
from entry level through
to management and
leadership
Attraction World
joy at turnaround
Tickets specialist Attraction
World has told how the
commitment and dedication
of its staff helped it get
through the recession last
year without having to make
any employees redundant.
The firm ended the year on
a high, turning its fortunes
around from being 30% down
in February to 10% up by its
November year-end.
It was also elevated
by Thomas Cook to gold
supplier status.
Tony Seaman, sales and
marketing director, said this
achievement was in no small
part due to the “Dunkirk
spirit” of its 40 staff who, in
order to save jobs, agreed to a
four-day week during 2009.
He said the move was so
successful that after just two
months, bosses were able
to reinstate everyone to
five days and even pay an
end-of-year bonus, meaning
no one was left out of pocket.
“We are a service provider
to our trade partners so we
have to do our job so well that
they can’t do what we do,”
said Seaman.
“We retained all our people
and expertise so were able to
continue doing what we do.
“The team was very
aggressive and we grew our
business, which was pretty
good in what could have
been a very bad year.”
Seaman recalled how bad
things had looked at the
beginning of 2009.
“The business was never in
trouble, but it’s like steering
a ship through rocky waters.
“You have to get it in a
seaworthy state because,
looking at the forecast, it was
going to be really tough and
no one knew whether it was
going to pick up.”
g Former staff of failed
Scotland-based operator
Globespan consider
tribunal action, page 10
COMMENT
Support plan for
skills academy
Robin Searle
Assistant editor
Get a crosssection
of
travel staff
together in
a room and
ask them why they got
into the industry and
very few will say it was
for the money.
But while for many
the perks of the job
have traditionally been
enough to offset the
lack of financial reward,
research carried out
for Travel Weekly by AA
Appointments appears
to demonstrate that is
increasingly not the case.
With pay freezes
equating to real-terms
salary cuts, and cashstrapped
companies
unable to splash out,
more and more talent
is draining from the
industry or failing to
reach it in the first place.
We need to ensure
that travel is
still seen as a
vibrant industry
that offers its
staff genuine
opportunities
for progression
and personal
improvement
and invests
in its people.
That is
why the first
concerted
bid for a
National
Skills
Academy for travel and
tourism is so important,
and why Travel Weekly is
giving it our full support.
It’s not just about
ticking a few HR boxes
and paying lip-service to
“It’s about
creating a more
productive
and profitable
industry”
a worthy aim. As People
1st strategic director Phil
Raynsford rightly says,
it’s about creating a more
productive and profitable
industry that benefits
everyone.
The government’s
stated aim is to have a
National Skills Academy
for every major sector of
the economy.
The likes of financial
services, construction
and manufacturing have
previously had bids
accepted.
So once again,
the travel industry
is faced with
the challenge
of persuading
government that the
value it brings
to the UK
economy
makes it
worthy
of a
place
at the
same
table.
Do you agree a Skills Academy would
benefit the industry? Get talking at
www.travelweekly.co.uk/travelhub
Janaury 29 2010 | Travel Weekly | 5
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