The journey of an apprentice at Hays Travel: Amelia Hart
Date Posted: 11/04/2017
Amelia is one of the company’s best examples of how going the extra mile to train and motivate your employees can result in something truly inspiring. She joined Hays Travel as an apprentice back in August 2014 after finishing a two year Travel and Tourism course at college – today she’s the assistant manager of our branch in Chard.
In July 2016, she was one of the six finalists in the country for Travel Weekly’s Young Leisure Agent of the Year awards and only six months after she was named Hays Travel Apprentice of the Year.
She said: “I had recently finished my college course when I first joined and was planning on becoming cabin crew. I saw this job advertised and thought I'd enquire to see if anything came of it - two and a half years later I'm still here and enjoying it!
“My advice is if you are thinking about applying for the apprenticeship, stop thinking and do it, as Hays Travel is a great company to work for and the progression and opportunities are endless!
“Since I started I have been on a number of ship visits including P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Fred Olsen & Saga, which has been a great experience as it has allowed me to see how much cruise lines and ships differ and the clientele they would appeal to.
“I have had two educational trips with Hays Travel - one was a river cruise with Avalon Waterways going up the Seine River from Paris to Normandy and one to Abu Dhabi – somewhere I’d never travelled and never really appealed to me but I’m actually going back this year on my own holiday.”
When talking about her success Amelia doesn’t forget to mention the challenges she faced while climbing the career ladder.
“I would say my first six weeks of the apprenticeship were actually quite challenging as I am a perfectionist and like to know what I am doing and at the time this was a new job doing something completely different to what I had done before (waitressing/shop assistant and bar work).
“It took me a bit of time to build my confidence up but my team were very supportive. The management are fantastic and very motivational. If you do well it is really noted and recognised. I feel like everyone always receives a lot of praise and feedback, which helps them improve.
“I also really like the fact we are an independent company so we have a huge variety of different operators we can use to ensure we found our clients the right holiday for them.”
