Name: David Scott
Age: 24
Education: University of Leeds, BA French 2007
What made you apply for a career in travel and
tourism and why choose TUI Travel?
Having studied French Literature and History
at the University of Leeds, the search began
for a career. I was fortunate enough to travel
fairly extensively throughout the world
during a gap year I took before University as
well as the summer holidays between terms,
and having fallen in love with travel found
myself pushed in the direction of tourism.
Given it is such a massive industry it quickly
became apparent that there are hundreds of
opportunities, however what I also found out
is that in many cases they are often simply
sales based positions based in city centre
travel agents that are badly paid and force you
to start at the bottom of the pile. I was looking
for something that would provide more of a
challenge: something that would stretch me
mentally and culturally and also allow me to
make use of what I learnt during my studies.
The TUI Travel trainee scheme appealed
because of the opportunities and diversity of
the placements spread out over an 18 months
contract. With more than 47,000 employees
across the world and over 200 brands,
including two out of the three largest Travel
companies in the UK (Thomson and First
Choice) it was clear that it was more a case
of deciding what route I personally wanted
to explore rather then being told in which
areas of the business I should gain work
experience. With the Group split into 5 main
sectors, Mainstream, Activity, Specialist and
Emerging Markets, Joint Venture and Online
Destinations Services, there was certainly
no lack of choice, and I was excited about
the opportunities available to me not only
in the UK but also abroad, for example at
TUI Espana in Spain or TUI Deutschland in
Germany or further opportunities in Russia
and China. TUI Travel is listed on the FTSE
100 in the UK, however it is very much an
international company, something that is
reflected by the trainees on the scheme.
With a mix of English, German, Chinese,
Bulgarian and Swedish to name but a few
of the nationalities, the trainee scheme feels
about as diverse as the company we all work
for.
Upon Starting with TUI Travel
Although the assessment centres are carried
out in several different locations, all people
offered a trainee contract meet for the first
time in Hanover for an induction - this was
certainly the time when the sheer scale of
the Group and international nature of the
organisation hit home. We spent two days
on the Harz Mountains about a three-hour
drive from Hanover where we took part
in various team-building exercises that
stretched us and pushed us to perform as a
group, a fantastic opportunity to get to know
the other new graduates. Upon our return, we
all set off for our first placements across the
globe. I spent my first week on an intensive
German language course staying with a
family and then spent the following four
months in Hanover (although rarely for more
then a week at a time!) working for Group
Audit Services, which provided a fantastic
introduction to the Group as a whole. I worked
throughout Europe in Germany, Belgium,
London and Paris on a range of IT Audits,
Retail Audits and business assurance. My
second placement where I am currently based
could not be more different, working for one
of the small Activity Sector companies based
in the UK. Working between the product,
commerce and marketing teams I have been
involved in a range of projects ranging from
the implementation of a new sales system to
putting in place contracts based on potential
ancillary revenue as well as redesigning
the inside back covers of the company's
brochures - a diverse and challenging set of
projects about as far removed as one could
get from working for the Internal Audit
Department.
And here lies the crux of the appeal; working
for an organisation the size of TUI Travel
provides the opportunities abroad that we
all long for, integrating travel as part of ones
further education as well as chances to manage
projects that would simply not be available in
a smaller organisation. However, although the
organisation is large, the number of trainees is
not. With around 16 graduates at any one time
this group is large enough to provide a strong
support network but small enough to mean
that there is never competition for placements.
In fact, the opposite is true - there are more
departments looking for trainees than people
able to take them up - meaning that wherever
your interests lie, in whatever department,
country, even sector, there are numerous
possibilities to stretch and develop oneself
on the TUI Travel international management
trainee programme.
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