LUTON, England, May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — TUI UK & Ireland, parent company of Thomson and First Choice Holidays, becomes the first tour operator to introduce NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Tour Operations to its 800 overseas holiday advisor roles.
The ground-breaking programme has been tailored to the needs of the tour operator, and has been certificated by City & Guilds, so both managers and holiday advisors will gain professional qualifications whilst driving even higher standards in holiday experience. Based on UK National Occupational Standards, this pioneering work-based qualification will differentiate the tour operator’s people and service from its competitors and will ensure that its customers continue to receive industry leading standards of service.
Resort team managers are being trained to become professional assessors and will be awarded the Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement.
Overseas holiday advisors will have ownership and responsibility for their own targets and objectives, and will be assessed against national standards, with topics including customer service and presentation, effectiveness at work, health & safety, planning and delivering welcome events, sales and transfers. The initiative will enable the tour operator to roll out further additional qualifications tailored to meet the personal development needs of overseas teams.
Ian Chapman, director of holiday experience commented: “This pioneering NVQ scheme demonstrates our commitment to offering the highest standards of customer service. It’s an exciting way for our team members to gain a credible qualification in the workplace, and not only ensures that they are trained to the highest level, but also means that we can continue to attract, develop and retain the highest calibre of overseas holiday advisors in the industry.”
In addition TUI UK will continue to offer its childcare team the “Certificate for the Children & Young People’s Workforce” apprenticeship which was successfully introduced in 2010.
