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(26 May 2005)


Picture: Image Bank

Finding the right staff for your business is a constant bugbear in the travel industry. Whinges from potential new recruits and employers alike usually boil down to the same thing – lack of experience.

While school-leavers and students claim years of studying are worthless without hands-on experience when applying for a job, company bosses similarly moan interviewees have never worked in the industry and constantly favour anyone who has dipped their toe in the trade.

One obvious way to solve the dilemma is to give potential staff a chance to work in the industry while studying. It may also attract recruits who have not previously considered working in travel.

Club 18-30 has taken this route with a student placement scheme, recruiting three out of seven undergraduates on placements since 1998. All placements are responsible for helping to recruit the next student.

Parent company UP Trips managing director Andy Tidy said employing students ensures its youth brand keeps in touch with the needs of its core market as well as helping improve the pool of potential new recruits. “We are all getting older and it’s good to get views from students. You have to be careful not to tailor the business around your own needs which may be different to the customer’s,” he said.

Travel Weekly spoke to two Club 18-30 staff who are former student placements and the company’s current student recruit.

Case study one:
Simon Short took a one-year placement in 1999-2000 in his third year of a four-year degree in leisure marketing at Bournemouth University.

Five years on Simon, now 27, is the company’s new media controller after being recruited in 2001 to work on new media projects.

“Benefits of the work placement were numerous,” he said. “I got to experience every aspect of the business which was beneficial for me. I also went back into the final year of my course with more discipline and hit the ground running.”

Simon kept in touch with the company during his final year and just before his exams heard there was a job vacancy. “They put me through the same interview process as everyone else and I wasn’t convinced I’d got it. Just doing the placement doesn’t mean you’ll get the job,” he added.

Case study two:
Nicky Moody is Club 18-30’s marketing controller. The 26-year-old was on a work placement with the company in 2000-01 during a tourism studies degree at Bournemouth University and worked mainly in brochure production. Taking the leap from studying and part-time holiday work was a shock to the system but gave her experience she could never have gained in the classroom.

“It was a complete switch from studying. I’d had jobs before but not 9am to 5pm and it was a complete contrast to what I was used to. But it was easy to settle in, partly because of the team I was working with, and the fact I was interested in marketing. Your opinions are also valued and you have input into the company. “

Nicky went for an interview as she finished her degree and was up against other external and internal candidates for a job as marketing executive. She is convinced her placement helped her get the job. “They had invested a year of time in me and obviously I knew the business quite well by then.”

She landed the job in 2002 and has recently been promoted to her current role.

Case study three:
Thea Howden is in her third year of a degree in retail and business management at Oxford Brookes University.

The 22-year-old said part of the reason for joining Club 18-30 was based on the fact she recognised the brand.

“I was not specifically targeting travel, I just wanted to work for a business that would give me different jobs to do,” she said.

Thea started working for Club 18-30 last July, and had to relocate to Brighton for the placement. The first eight weeks were hard. “It was constant learning before you could start honing your skills. But I’ve learnt to be organised and work to deadlines.”

Thea has spent much of her time working in the finance, product and commercial division. “The best thing is just being part of a company. It makes you feel valued.”

Thea still doesn’t know what career she will take but is already a fan of the industry. “It’s fast moving,” she said.

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