It is really important that, as a travel industry, we are constantly innovating in order to stay ahead and continue to respond to what customers want and need. To do this we need the right people, with the right skills, experience and drive.

Being able to attract, develop and retain the right talent can be a challenge for many industries, and travel is no different. That’s why ABTA has been working closely with Members and education experts to understand the skills needed to support career development in the travel industry.

In the last couple of years in particular, we have brought our Members and education partners closer together through the ABTA Education Partner Scheme and have grown the range of learning opportunities for industry staff through our expanded events and conferences programme.

Today we launch the next stage of our work in this area – a new digital education and careers hub for people interested in developing their career in travel (abta.com/education).

The purpose of this hub is to provide employees of today and the future with the resources to discover the opportunities on offer, and to help connect our Members with education providers.

The hub will help to identify learning and development opportunities, including information on the range of careers in travel, the different routes to entry and networking opportunities. It also provides information on apprenticeships and details of universities and colleges in the ABTA Education Partner Scheme.

The hub is an important part of our goal to facilitate relationships and opportunities between travel and tourism education providers, Members and the wider industry; we will be launching more e-learning training in the near future.

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive