The first of Virgin Holidays' cohort of one hundred apprentices have just completed their three-week induction, and are even now starting their training as sales consultants.
Located in Essex, Central London, Croydon and Guildford, they're working a four-day week and studying towards their City & Guilds Level 2 Certificate in Customer Service. At the end of a year, there'll be a full-time position waiting for them.
Virgin Holidays' Marketing Manager, Philip Taylor - coincidentally a former contestant on the BBC’s "Apprentice" series - thinks the company will quickly reap the benefits of offering apprenticeships, while Managing Director Amanda Wills is calling on other travel companies to follow Virgin's lead. “There are over a million young people nationwide who can’t find employment", she says. "It’s a criminal waste of potential. "It’s madness that travel isn’t capitalising more on the schemes that allow us to supplement the expertise and experience of those already working in it with the energy, enthusiasm and skills of this demographic. “We can only hope others follow our lead; youth unemployment is something every business leader should be concerned about.” Perhaps its not the aspect of unemployment amongst young people today that's really concerning business leaders.
It could be that they're concerned more about the employability of those young people, fresh from school and without any experience of living and working in the real world. However, thanks to schemes like the one offered by Virgin Holidays, business leaders should have no worries about the job prospects of any young person smart enough to choose the apprenticeship route.
