Preparing for Employment

in
Travel and Tourism
Unit 15
 CORE COMPONENTS OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM

Tourism
Attraction Transport organisation Ancillary
s Accommodation
(governing services
bodies)

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS I
N
T
Tour E
Operations Travel Agents
R
N
E
T
CONSUMERS

Tourist
 Topic preparation
Using different sources prepare for a
work experience placement in the
travel and tourism sector by:
Researching 2 suitable work placements
(jobs) in T&T
Brief research on the organisation job
specifications, work patterns & pay
Explain constraints facing this process
Feedback to the class.
 Aim
To introduce you to the varied
employment opportunities which exist
in the travel and tourism industries.
Objectives
Identify and describe job roles/duties in the UK travel and
tourism industry

Identify the advantages and disadvantages of working in

the travel and tourism industry

Identify requirements/qualifications related to

employment within travel and tourism

Identify skills and qualities required for employment

within travel and tourism
 Key information needed when preparing for
employment the travel and tourism sector
Potential work placement organisations: e.g. travel agents, tourist
information centres, tour companies, tour operators, transport
operators, hospitality providers

Contacts: e.g. tutors, colleagues, careers advisers, family and

friends, human resource departments

Other resources: e.g. newspapers, trade magazines, centres

placement database, websites, job centres

Constraints: location; transport access; travelling time; hours of

work; personal commitments

Complete documentation: letters e.g. letter of enquiry, letter of

application; CV; interview checklist e.g. company background
information, applicant questions; acceptance of offer

Set objectives: personal e.g. developing new skills; career e.g.

gaining knowledge, networking, gaining experience, qualifications,
references; curriculum e.g. collecting evidence for assignment
 Tourism employment summaries

Employment in UK tourism industries increased between 2009 and

2014, from 2.66 million to 2.97 million

The largest contributor to this increase is the number of main and

second jobs in food and beverage serving activities, which has
increased by approximately 170,000 jobs

Almost 50% of workers in culture, sports, recreation or conference

activities work either a Saturday, Sunday or both

Only 5.04% of tourism workers are casual employees; 89.57% of

tourism workers are permanent; 5.39% of tourism workers are in
other forms of temporary employment
 A quiz on variety of jobs in Travel and
Tourism jobs
http://
discovertourism.ca/en/interactive_
zone/take_tourism_career_quiz/how_
much_do_you_know_about_your_dream_
job/reservation_sales_agent
 roles/duties in the UK travel and tourism industry
what is the difference give examples

Roles: travel agents; tour operators; air cabin crew; overseas

resort representatives; tour guides; employers eg transport
operator, tour operator, airport, accommodation provider,
tourist information centre, visitor attraction, museum, art
centre, fun fair, theme park, heritage centre

Duties: advising customer; making bookings and reservations

for customer; providing accurate information e.g. about
accommodation, visitor attractions; updating customer when
things change; welcoming customer; being aware of
customers wellbeing; presenting information
 Activity
Within groups, discuss & feedback
your findings on advantages and
disadvantages of working in the travel
and tourism industry
working in the travel and tourism industry
Advantages: e.g. pension, season ticket loans, bonus for overtime, uniform/clothing
allowance, subsidised/free meals, training/professional development, opportunities
for travel, opportunities to live abroad, concessionary travel/holidays, work patterns

Disadvantages: e.g. work patterns, being away from home for long periods,
travelling long distances, seasonality,

Both +/-

Work patterns: hours of work, work patterns; shift work, e.g. early starts, late
finishes, night work, weekend work, bank holiday work, irregular work pattern;
flexitime; days off during week; annual leave

Pay: types of pay pattern e.g. hourly, weekly, monthly, salary scales, increments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRfb9XlTtYA WTM 2013 - Employment in Travel and Tourism: the
Responsible Tourism Agenda
 Activity 2
Working in pair and using
mytravelandtourism.weebly.com/ topic
5/ write your ideas on Padlet:
Give a definition of what we mean by
skills, qualities and behaviours. Using
the jobs found previously list
examples for each needed for
effective performance in the
workplace.
 skills and requirements for job roles

Qualifications: essential and desirable; general

qualifications e.g. GCSEs, GCEs; work-based
qualifications e.g. NVQs in Travel and Tourism,
customer service, management; vocational
qualifications e.g. BTEC Firsts/Nationals in Travel
and Tourism

Skills and qualities: communication skills e.g.

written, verbal; social skills e.g. friendly,
approachable; listening skills, ability to deal with
problems and complaints, ability to deal with
administration; reliability; punctuality
 UK work/business etiquette
Read the article/handout given and
discuss this to the group or write
your comment on weebly/padlet
http
://businessculture.org/northern-europe/uk-business-culture/business-e
tiquette
/
Be able to demonstrate the skills, qualities and behaviours needed for effective performance in the workplace

Code of conduct: e.g. good timekeeping and attendance,

demonstration of honesty and reliability, accepting authority,
responding to instructions, accepting responsibility, adhering
to dress code, using appropriate language, being courteous,
adhering to rules and procedures

Demonstration of skills, qualities and behaviours: e.g. social,

technical, problem solving, action planning, self motivation,
customer care, research, personal presentation, honesty,
reliability, hard-working

Monitoring progress: keeping own records; employer

feedback; tutor review
 Activity 2
or as a homework
Using the sheets provided
evaluate/compare your skills,
qualities and behaviours to jobs you
have selected and write action plans.
Be able to evaluate own work experience placement

Evaluation: attendance; punctuality; skills,

qualities and behaviours in the workplace;
meeting personal objectives e.g. technical skills
development, interpersonal skills development;
meeting career objectives e.g. employment
opportunity enhancement, gaining experience,
part-time employment; networking, new
contacts, references; meeting curriculum
objectives
Supporting evidence: eg diary, logbook,
employer feedback records, attendance records,
skills audit, witness statements