Jet2holidays Elevates Apprentice Scheme with £1.2 Million Funding for 2024/25
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Jet2holidays has announced the continuation and expansion of its Appoint an Apprentice scheme for a second year, promising it will be bigger and better than ever.
Last year, the UK’s largest tour operator allocated nearly £650,000 to apprenticeship funding, aiding independent travel agent partners in nurturing new talent within their stores and the broader travel industry. The initiative received an outstanding response, prompting Jet2holidays to more than double its financial commitment for the upcoming year. For 2024/25, the company has pledged over £1.2 million in apprenticeship funding.
The decision to increase funding stems from the overwhelmingly positive feedback received since the program’s inception in 2023. During the 2023/24 period, the initiative saw Jet2holidays approve nearly £500,000 in apprenticeship levy funds for 50 different companies, facilitating the recruitment of 72 new apprentices. Many of these partners were small businesses that had never hired apprentices before.
Additionally, Jet2holidays provided £150,000 to support the first-year salaries of new apprentices in independent travel agencies across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as part of the Appoint an Apprentice scheme.
Blue Bay Travel, one of the beneficiaries of the scheme, recently welcomed two new apprentices into their business.
Bethany Brown, Learning & Development Manager at Blue Bay Travel, said: “The Jet2holidays team deserve so much credit for this brilliant idea which has given us the opportunity to bring on more apprentices within our team. Our two new additions wouldn’t have been possible this year without the levy transfer funding from Jet2holidays, so we really appreciate it.”
Today’s announcement highlights Jet2holidays’ unwavering commitment to supporting independent travel agents through its Partners2Success strategy.
Jet2holidays is dedicated to equipping agency partners with the necessary tools to boost sales and expand their businesses. This support includes customized marketing campaigns and comprehensive training programs. The significant investment in the Appoint an Apprentice scheme underscores Jet2holidays’ dedication to helping independent travel agents recruit and nurture talent, ensuring their continued growth and success.
Alan Cross, Director of Travel Agent Relationships at Jet2holidays said: “Since launching our Appoint an Apprentice scheme, we have been truly amazed by the response from our independent travel agency partners and the feedback we have had from them has been fantastic. As part of our commitment to investing directly into our independent travel agency partners to help them grow their business, we are making the scheme even bigger and better this year, with over double the amount of funding available. Apprentices are integral to the future growth and success of Jet2holidays, and we recognise the importance they play, both within our own business as well as the wider industry. That is why this year we are helping support even more independent travel agent partners, many of whom are small businesses, to develop their talent pipeline through apprenticeships.”
