04 Apr
2019

ABTA’s 5th intern is Charlene Pink from the University of Surrey

ABTA interns 2019

ABTA has chosen its 5th intern from a shortlist of five students from ABTA Partner Universities.

Charlene Pink, from the University of Surrey, impressed the interview panel with her knowledge of the travel industry and excellent essay on the impact of sustainability on the purchase decisions of UK travellers.

Charlene will be working with the Travelife team for the month of July. Five candidates were shortlisted for the internship from essay applications from ABTA Partner Universities. They were Stevie Maher from Plymouth University, Eleanor Greatorex from Leeds Beckett University, Caitlin Pickford from Cardiff Metropolitan University, Melissa West from Bournemouth University and Charlene Pink, from the University of Surrey who was awarded the internship. 

The candidates all travelled to ABTA for the selection day on 20 March and heard from various teams to showcase the range of roles and the work they do.

Vicki Wolf, Education Partnerships Manager at ABTA said “All of the candidates impressed our team. The standard was extremely high and it was very difficult to make a decision. Charlene particularly impressed the interview panel with her clear, well thought through answers in the interview. I would really encourage ABTA Members who are considering an intern to advertise their opportunities to our Partner Universities. All the students have chosen to study travel and tourism and therefore have a sound knowledge of the industry and a passion to work in the sector. Every one of our interns, since 2015, have been excellent and have made a valuable contribution to the team, in a short space of time. They really do hit the ground running.” 

ABTA has 12 Partner universities and three colleges. All of these are always looking for internships, placements and work experience for their students. If Members have not taken on a student before, the placement officers and lecturers at the university or college will provide support and advice. 

Members should also look out for ABTA Education Partners at regional meetings as they often attend, along with keen students. 

If any ABTA Members would like to get in touch with Partner universities they can do this through contacting Vicki Wolf on vwolf@abta.co.uk or the universities directly. They are all listed in the Partner services area of abta.com and also in the Education zone.