Level 3 Travel Consultant Apprenticeship
Our level 3 travel apprenticeship has been designed to empower your team with the essential skills, knowledge, and behaviours needed to excel in the travel and tourism industry.
At Damar, our travel apprentices develop the skills needed to provide outstanding customer service and deliver a range of complex travel arrangements, ensuring that travellers benefit from journeys and time at their destination that exceed their expectations.
Organisational benefits of apprenticeships in travel and tourism
Apprentices can add real value to your organisation by improving performance, enhancing reputation, and ensuring your company has long-term growth. Some of the ways that travel apprenticeships can create lasting value include:
- Increased ambition and morale: Apprentices can bring fresh ideas and a different perspective to the workplace, adding an entrepreneurial spirit.
- Developing a skilled workforce: Create a team that has excellent customer service skills, as well as basic travel knowledge.
- Increase admin support: An apprentice can take on admin support, freeing up time for senior members of the team to take on more strategic tasks.
- Enhance your brand image: Offering apprenticeships demonstrates a commitment to developing your team, demonstrating that you care about your staff.
Read our travel employer testimonials to discover more.
Discover the Damar Difference
We have the experience and passion to set us apart, allowing you to rely on dedicated and motivated individuals who will transform your travel organisation into a strong and resilient workforce.
Some of our unique approaches to our travel apprenticeship include:
Our coaching
We will deliver structured and engaging coaching visits and sessions that are tailored to your apprentice’s role and organisation. This means that they can directly apply their learning and enhance their workplace performance.
Our people
We’re incredibly proud of our expert team. They’ll offer support and empower you and your apprentice through every step of their learning journey, ensuring they achieve the qualification and make a lasting impact on your organisation.
Our processes
We offer a seamless, easy enrolment and onboarding process, thanks to our one-team approach. This leads into carefully planned and manageable chunks of learning.
Our systems
We’re dedicated to providing apprentices with a robust and streamlined approach to learning. That’s why we have accessible and engaging systems, including OneFile, Profiler, Damar OpenLearning, and our apprentice forums.
“Apprenticeships develop people so they are better at doing their job. They become more robust and efficient, elevating the overall productivity of the business. Apprentices not only embed themselves as valuable members of the team but also mature into role models for the next generation.”
Neil Wainwright-Farrar
Head of Learning and Development
Clarity Business Travel
Delivery of our travel and tourism apprenticeships
Wondering how our travel apprenticeships work? At Damar, our apprenticeship programmes are well-structured and clear, providing a comprehensive learning experience. Here is how our delivery works:
- Pre-work: The apprentice will engage with written and video content that relates to specific modules.
- Group coaching session: This session allows the apprentice to ask questions, discuss their learning with peers, and prepare themselves for their learning activity.
- Individual learning activity: Apprentices will work through an activity brief, building evidence as they go to support their portfolio and end-point assessment. This also allows them to embed and contextualise their learning.
- Main learning activities: Apprentices undertake self-directed and interactive content on our online learning platform.
- 1:1 coaching visit: Every six weeks, a Damar coach will meet with the apprentice to review progress, discuss personal development, and sign off any completed modules.
- Review meeting: Every 12 weeks, the Damar coach will meet with the apprentice and their line manager to review their progress.
The travel apprenticeship takes 15 months (including preparation for end-point assessment).
Travel apprenticeships formed of nine carefully planned and sequenced 6-week modules that help apprentices learn and apply the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for each of the core occupational duties undertaken by travel consultants.
- Module 1: personal development, geography
- Module 2: the customer, products and services, sales
- Module 3: the business, external factors, sustainability
- Module 4: travel options, transport & accommodation
- Module 5: legal & compliance, equality & diversity
- Module 6: interpersonal skills, communication, influencing skills
- Module 7: customer experience, feedback, team and personal performance
- Module 8: dealing with conflict and challenge, travel information
- Module 9: industry technology, industry practice
Employer partners and apprentices are supported throughout the apprenticeship. The apprentice has a dedicated coach who provides 1:1 support, alongside the group coaching sessions and apprentice forums where they can engage with other appentices on the same programme. Review meetings with the apprentice, line manager and coach are held every 12 weeks.
Apprentices with additional learning needs also have the opportunity to meet with our SEND Co-ordinator, who will put together a personalised support plan.
In addition, employer partners have a business development manager/executive they can contact at any time.
- Knowledge test. A 60-question multiple choice test, with both knowledge recall and scenario-based questions, covering knowledge and analytical and technical skills in key elements of the standard such as geography (55% weighting).
- Professional discussion. A 1- to 2-hour structured meeting led by the independent end assessor, involving the apprentice and employer (e.g. line manager). The meeting will reference the apprentice’s “My Journey” log and will focus on how they have performed during the apprenticeship and their overall achievement of the knowledge, skills and behaviours in the standard (45% weighting).
All travel apprenticeships embed the functional use of maths and English as well as personal development topics in areas such as equality and diversity and British Values. Apprentices unable to evidence maths and English at GCSE grade 4 or above may need to take functional skills exams as part of the apprenticeship. Additional training is provided if necessary.
People of all ages and educational backgrounds can undertake travel apprenticeships, but there are some restrictions, the most important of which are:
- The employer and the training provider must ascertain that the apprenticeship will allow the individual to gain substantive new skills. The training therefore needs to be materially different from any prior qualification or previous apprenticeship.
- The apprenticeship must align with the skills needs of the apprentice’s role.
- The apprentice must be employed, usually for 30+ hours a week, and work more than 50% of their time in England.
- All apprenticeships must take at least 12 months with apprentices spending a minimum of 6 hours per week in off-the-job training. All Damar apprenticeships plan for more than the legal minimum. There is more on how we maximise the benefits of off-the-job training here: https://damartraining.com/news/2023/so-what-is-off-the-job-training/.
If your annual UK wage bill is over £3 million, the cost of training can be funded via the Apprenticeship Levy. We can help you navigate your Apprenticeship Service account to access this funding.
If your annual UK wage bill is below £3 million, the government covers 95-100% of the training costs.
For apprentices aged up to 21, the apprenticeship is fully government-funded*. For apprentices aged 22 and over, the apprenticeship is 95% government-funded*. These new funding rules are applicable to apprentices starting from 1 April 2024.
*Please note: Some apprenticeships have accreditation costs which are not eligible for government funding
Travel apprenticeships are a springboard for progression to more senior roles in the travel industry or positions outside travel that require high level customer service skills. Damar travel consultant apprentices have progressed to other apprenticeships, most commonly team leader or supervisor.
We have regular start dates throughout the year for our apprenticeships. Please get in touch for more information.
Invest in talented individuals with Damar
Build a dynamic and capable travel team that propels your business forward with Damar’s specialist travel agent apprenticeships. We’ve got over 40 years of experience in the apprenticeship training industry, and an ambition for our employers and apprentices to achieve their full potential.
Beyond the travel consultant apprenticeship, many of our travel employer partners also use Damar for accounting, management and other apprenticeship programmes. We’re your perfect partner for ensuring that you have the skilled professionals needed to thrive in the travel sector.
Ready to learn more about our apprenticeship programme? Then please get in touch. A member of our expert team will be more than happy to chat with you.
Travel and tourism apprenticeship FAQs
As an employer of a travel apprentice, you’ll be responsible for providing your apprentice with relevant experience, alongside time to complete their apprenticeship work, typically at least six hours on average per week. The apprentice’s supervisor or line manager should also provide regular feedback and delegate suitable work activities which challenge the apprentice and build confidence. They will also need to attend the 12-weekly review visits with the apprentice and their coach.
If you are an apprenticeship levy payer, the training costs of the apprenticeship are funded through your levy account. For SMEs and non-levy payers, the government covers 95-100% of the training costs. In addition, employers must pay their apprentice a salary, but don’t forget that there are no employer NI contributions for apprentices aged under 25.
Hiring an apprentice for your travel organisation is a strategic and effective way to cultivate talent, enhance your team, and contribute to the future of the travel industry. It will allow you to build an enthusiastic and motivated team, with increased loyalty and retention.
If we haven’t answered your question above, have a read of our employer FAQs for more information.
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