The chance to “road test” dream holidays will be perk of the job at a North Wales-based travel firm that’s launched a search for 44 new apprentices.
With business booming, Hays Travel North West, which has outlets across North Wales and the North West, will be holding local open days at Liverpool, Manchester and Wrexham for young people keen to work in the holiday industry.
Hays, which has 44 shops across the region, is enjoying a surge in bookings in March as pandemic travel restrictions ease with the business reporting holiday bookings are up by 10 per cent on the figures for the same month in 2019 – the last pre-Covid month.
Regional Sales Manager Simone Murphy, a former Hays apprentice, said: “We are seeing a real boom in holiday bookings as the world opens up again and we’re expecting that to continue through the year and into the future.
“That’s why we have decided to change the way we recruit apprentices, starting earlier than usual to reach more candidates and ensure we are giving the opportunity to individuals who are passionate about a career in travel.
“We want to give them the chance to come along and meet us, learn more about what we do and see if a career in travel and tourism is for them.
“We provide our new recruits with a comprehensive training package with a nationally-recognised qualification at the end of it to help them make the most of this opportunity to work in this exciting sector – all that has helped me and many others succeed at Hays.”
The closing date is April 11 after which all candidates will have a telephone interview and successful applicants will be invited to attend the open days in April and May in Liverpool, Manchester and Wrexham.
The open days will be a chance to meet staff at Hays Travel and to learn more about the travel industry and the opportunities it provides after which the successful applicants will be invited for an interview with the manager of the branch they have applied for with a projected start date in July.
Their in-house training will lead to a nationally recognised qualification, an NVQ Level Two/Three in Travel and Tourism and the opportunity to seed the world themselves.
Simone started her career with Hays Travel at 16 straight from school in 2005 at the Bebington branch of the business and progressed to Assistant Manager at a new branch in Connah’s Quay, then to Manager’s jobs at Mold and Wrexham before being appointed Regional Sales Manager.
Her first educational trip with Hays was a year into her apprenticeship and since then she has been to many bucket list destinations including Mexico and South Africa’s Garden Route and has won a number of awards.
Another success story is Dion Hanmer, from Wrexham, who began as an apprentice five years ago and now manages one of the company’s biggest stores in her home town.
The former Apprentice of the Year has been to Tenerife, Lanzarote, Majorca, Almeria and Iceland and she said: “I did a two-year qualification which meant I could earn and learn while doing a job I love.
“Hays Travel is like one big family and it is such a rewarding job. I love helping customers and seeing them happy makes me happy.
“I am so glad I pushed myself because I would have never imagined myself to be where I am now”
Hays Travel North West, which is fully ABTA and ATOL-registered, was set up by Don Bircham in Mold town centre, in Flintshire, in 2000, and has grown rapidly since then across North Wales, the North West and West Midlands.
