Business Travel

TALENT SHORTAGE

SPREAD THE WORD

Support has flooded in for our new campaign to promote business travel as a career choice

Professionals from across the

industry have signed up to join a campaign to help attract new talent into business travel.

The ‘Business Travel Ambassadors’ campaign gives a platform to people at all stages of their careers to share their stories in order to raise the profile of business travel and encourage potential candidates to pursue a career in the sector.

Spearheaded by The Business Travel Magazine and supported by the BTA, ITM, GBTA, Advantage Travel Partnerships and Focus Travel Partnership, the initiative is designed to help solve the talent shortage being faced by companies across the whole eco-system.

It was announced at the 2022 Business Travel People Awards in September, where the three winners of the ‘Rising Star’ award were invited to become the first official Business Travel Ambassadors.

“Even before I had got home after the awards ceremony I was contacted by people wanting to join the campaign. The support has been amazing,” says Bev Fearis, Editor of The Business Travel Magazine.

“Our Ambassadors come from all corners of the sector – travel managers, suppliers, associations and TMCs – and range from those early in their career to CEOs and business owners. But they all share a love for their jobs and for the travel industry and want to help promote business travel as a rewarding, fulfilling and enjoyable career.”

Ambassadors will be invited to speak at conferences, webinars, and careers events in schools, colleges and universities, and their stories will be shared in The Business Travel Magazine, its podcasts, website – thebusinesstravelmag.com – newsletter and on social media.

Here’s what the three Rising Stars and just some of the many other Business Travel Ambassadors had to say about why they love their jobs, why they’re supporting the campaign and what they hope to achieve...

Rising Stars SinÉaD ryan

Head of Account Management UK, ALTOUR We need to continue shining a light on the vital role corporate travel plays in the broader economy. I also think we all need to get out into our local communities – schools, colleges and universities – to showcase the benefits of working in corporate travel. I have had the opportunity to visit some amazing places which I never would have been to had it not been for working in this industry.

georgia Suttie

Venue Find Operations Manager, Agiito Travel is a fast-paced environment where each day brings new opportunities and challenges. By being a Business Travel Ambassador I want to inspire, motivate and educate our current and next generation and be a voice for the venue find and events sector within the business travel industry.

laura garton

Sales and Marketing Executive, Synergy Global Housing I want to raise the profile of our industry and the varied job opportunities available and inspire those who may have similar interests to me who haven’t yet considered business travel as a profession. I believe there is more of an opportunity to achieve this by attending freshers fairs and career events where our ambassadors can have one-on-one conversations and education sessions with people who are genuinely interested in finding a good job.

ana giBSon

Manager CBS - Workplace Services, Deloitte LLP We need to change the perception that the travel industry is just about booking a holiday. There are thousands of different jobs outside being a travel agent. We need to truly highlight all the roles that are available on both the leisure and corporate side and the skills necessary. We also need to let people know what a tight knit community the industry is, and how you have to be so multi-skilled to be able to work within it at a higher level.

aliCe linley-munro

Travel Manager, Oil Spill Response Limited We should be shouting about what we do from the rooftops. I know there is great work being completed by industry bodies around advocacy and lobbying the Government, however parallel to this we need to be engaging with careers fairs, universities and with courses in the travel and tourism space.

lynne griFFitHS

Founder and CEO, Sirius Talent Solutions I love working in travel because no two days are the same. When I started out, we had so much fun and lots of travel opportunities. It is a people business

We need to be part of the education process. Even those who study travel, tourism or even transport typically don't know anything about the travel industry”

and we are very sociable with teamwork at the heart of what we do. It takes everyone to make it tick and that’s why business travel is such an amazing industry.

Suzanne Horner

CEO, Gray Dawes Group If you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like a job. I love working with people, solving problems, developing others, driving change and winning, and travel is a world where you can achieve all of that. My career – in fact my life – has been travel and I would love to support and encourage as many people as possible to have a career like mine. I am very privileged and I owe it to the industry.

Dani iveS

Partnership Project Manager, Focus Travel Partnership What I love most about working in this industry is the people. It is such a lively, social industry. You get to speak with so many companies and cultures. Also I’ve got to travel the world and share that with family and friends. That is simply amazing.

Carol Peter

Consultant, Festive Road When I did my course at college it was still focussed on the leisure side of the business. It didn’t showcase the travel industry as a professional career. I think the industry could be presented better, like roles within other professional industry services.

SamantHa mCKnigHt

General Manager, CIBT We need to be part of the education process. Even those who study travel, tourism or even transport typically don't know anything about the travel industry. We don't need specialist qualifications but we need to be part of the conversation. Generalist roles – whether HR, finance or digital roles such as systems architecture – can all be part of the travel ecosystem once they know it's an option.

SaraH maia

PR/Media Relations Manager, Agiito The business travel industry needs to share the same space and platform as those of the leisure travel side to show people that there is a different side to ‘business travel’. Whenever spokespeople are selected for travel matters, the voices of the business travel industry should be heard, not just leisure travel.

guy Snelgar

Global Business Travel Director, The Advantage Travel Partnership

The industry needs to talk about itself, get in front of people looking at a career in travel and explain what we do and how varied, fast-moving and diverse business travel is. Currently I think many studying travel and tourism think they have two real paths open – leisure travel or hospitality. We need to get business travel into that discussion and help potential talent understand the sort of roles that could be open to them.

Steve BanKS

Chief Commercial Officer, Agiito I don’t feel the business travel industry is as cohesive as it could be and rivalry amongst agents and ‘smoke and mirrors’ can distort the true value. I want to be an Ambassador to share my enthusiasm and experience in the sector, transferring this into tangible career paths for fellow industry professionals

Karen mCKenna

VP Global Marketing, TakeTwo Travel Solutions I would like to inspire a new generation to join our sector, but most importantly to inspire those already here to want more and demand more in terms of personal and professional development. I also hope that all those companies making commitments about DE&I not only look at recruits but most importantly develop and promote these groups from existing staff.

Kevin trill

Director of Technology and Transformation, Blue Cube I want to tell people that this is an exciting service industry to work in. There is scope to undertake many different roles. You don’t just have to be a travel agent. In my career I have been to places I would not have gone to, met a wide range of people and done interesting things in IT.