Munro’s Travel, which works exclusively with the global energy and maritime sectors arranging trips for offshore crew is tackling an industry-wide recruitment challenge head-on.
Driven by the need to meet growing demand in its essential travel management services for the energy sector, the Aberdeen firm is also looking to invest in its future. And that means getting proactive in training its own future talent, while enticing back and retaining experienced staff.
We need hardworking, experienced consultants that know their job and understand our client requirements to a tee.”
Cheryl Henderson, the company’s head of business travel, said it was essential to strike the right balance for sustainable recruitment and retention.
She added: “Having the ability to give our clients and travellers an impeccable service means we need hardworking, experienced consultants that know their job and understand our client requirements to a tee.
“However, nurturing fresh new talent with a passion for learning the travel industry is also critical. This means we always need to ensure we are recruiting both experienced and inexperienced travel consultants, with the correct ratio to allow Munro’s to continue growing.”
When it comes to new talent recruitment, the UK’s business travel sector has recently suffered a setback following the news that work-based programme provider City & Guilds is to scrap its aviation, travel and tourism qualifications from this December.
The Business Travel Association (BTA) has warned this may negatively impact the professional knowledge and face-to-face interactions valued by members’ customers.
In-house training academy is proving to be a major asset for Munro’s
Munro’s said it was already “uniquely placed” to respond to clients’ expectations.
Since 2010, the firm has had its own in-house training academy, and Ms Henderson said this was proving to be essential for taking the business forward post-pandemic.
She added: “The biggest challenge for Munro’s has been recruiting staff locally. As we specialise in oil, gas and renewables, we find that people from Aberdeen – long described as the oil capital of Europe – understand the sector or at least know people who do this type of travel.
“Homeworking has offered us the ability to expand our recruiting UK-wide, but when it comes to bringing on new talent, we would also like to keep it local.”
New graduates join Munro’s team
Munro’s “travel academy” welcomed its first intake in May last year, following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. After a year of training, the students recently graduated as business travel consultants and are now working as part of Munro’s team.
More new recruits for the industry are halfway through the firm’s 2023 training course.
Ms Henderson is now working to nurture relationships with local education providers and has recently presented to travel and tourism students at Aberdeen College to promote Munro’s training academy. She sees this proactive approach to recruitment for the industry as essential for raising the profile of business travel as a fulfilling career.
Munro’s working on accreditation target to help plug City & Guilds gap
She said: “Our travel academy has gone from strength to strength, with new developments and material being added each year to ensure we are training our students with the most up-to-date and relevant information.
“Our biggest goal now is to get our travel academy material accredited through CPD (Continuing Professional Development) Certification Service, which we are working hard to achieve.
“City & Guilds scrapping aviation, travel and tourism qualifications from the end of the year could mean the pool of new professionals coming into this industry becomes even smaller. I hope that with the hard work and determination Munro’s Travel continues to provide in promoting this industry, we can remain relevant to local students looking for a career in business travel within Aberdeen.”
A recent report commissioned by the BTA showed business travel is now worth nearly £30 billion a year to the UK economy and supported just shy of 300,000 jobs in 2022.
Despite higher costs of air travel and accommodation, signs are that demand for business travel is also on the rise, with the global market expected to grow by 188% by 2028.
