LEAVING CERT students are often attracted by the glamour of the travel business but their hopes may not always be fulfilled, cautions Mary O'Rawe of DIT Cathal Brugha Street. Starting salaries are quite poor with smaller travel agencies often offering less than £7,000 a year. Larger agencies, tour operators and airlines may offer better initial salaries.
However, it's not all bad news. Most people who stick with the industry for six or seven years earn good money, have exciting jobs and good travel opportunities, says O'Rawe. Theresa Ryan, class tutor in Colaiste Ide, Finglas, Dublin, notes that many agencies regard the initial few years as a training period.
The two main types of job available in travel agencies at junior level are courier and counter staff. Couriers are based in resorts, dealing with clients. Good interpersonal skills are needed, explains Maura McCabe, training manager with the Irish Travel Agents Association. It's mainly a service job with a small amount of selling and promotion involved.
Counter staff, however, need strong selling ability as well as inter-personal skills. This job is usually called travel consultant and they provide information on air, sea, rail and road transportation as well as booking accommodation, sight-seeing tours and insurance. It may be possible to specialise in a particular area, such as corporate travel.
Fifteen years ago most people seeking work in the area had no formal training - there are now 10 full-time courses listed in the ITAA's careers leaflet and there is also a part-time option (see Fact File below). These courses all include the qualification supported by IATA - the International Air Transport Association/ Universal Federation of Travel Agent's Association diploma.
For instance, graduates of Colaiste Ide's travel and tourism course leave with an NCVA level 2 qualification as well as the IATA/UFTAA standard diploma. In addition, they study for a certificate in travel operations in Ireland. Class tutor Theresa Ryan says that the college has 75 places each year and prospective students must have five passes in the Leaving Cert including maths and English.
As with most PLC courses, the interview is the most important part of the selection process and students need to have done their homework on the travel business and the course itself. As well as studying, the two main IATA/UFTAA subjects - air fares and ticketing and travel agency operations - students take communications, French, business calculations, computer applications and word processing. There is a two-week work placement.
There is a very good success rate in gaining employment, says Ryan, with graduates usually finding work in travel agencies or airlines. Graduates of the first year also have the option of returning to the classroom for a further year to study for the advanced IATA/UFTAA diploma.
A variety of other courses in the travel and tourism area are offered by the Post Leaving Cert colleges and the regional technical colleges.
