Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships don’t just benefit the learner, as they’re an excellent opportunity for John Good Group to retract, train and retain the very best talent. Many apprentices have gone on to become valued members of our team and together they help us to make positive change on a daily basis.
Q&A with Business Travel Consultant, Ellie.
Business Travel Consultant, Ellie Lammiman, recently joined a panel hosted by the BTA discussing ‘New Year, New People’ which focussed on recruitment and attracting new talent to the business travel industry.
Ellie gave her perspective on what attracted her to the industry, how she was supported in her development on the apprenticeship scheme at Good Travel Management, and what can be done to make sure that the industry engages with new talent through new mediums and ideas.
We caught up with Ellie to discuss her role as Business Travel Consultant, her responsibilities, and the sectors she specialises in.
Q: Tell us about your role
A: My role as a business travel consultant is to make organising travel plans much easier for business travellers. This is a range of different travel such as flights, hotels, car hire, trains and can be based in the UK, the rest of Europe or international travel across the world. I source the best and most cost-effective options for the traveller and can offer advice and guidance on their travel plans. After the travel is booked our system monitors that trip for any changes to the booking, allowing me to contact the traveller, offer alternatives and find as solution with the airline or other provider, preventing the traveller having to spend any additional time trying to re-organise their trip as we can arrange this for them and have their trip be as hassle-free as possible.
Q: Which industry sectors do you specialise in?
A: I book travel for a range of different sectors, such as Construction, Engineering, Entertainment, Offshore and Marine. Every day is different which makes the role so varied and interesting.
Q: How has your role and responsibilities as a Business Travel Consultant evolved during and since the pandemic?
A: A lot has changed since the pandemic for the travel indsutry. Travellers are still having to think about documentation, including tests, visas and vaccination certificates that they need to have in order to enter certain countries, or even if they are permitted to enter the country in the first place due to everchanging restrictions. We are able to advise travellers what the current restrictions are according to the UK Government website and help organise visas for their trip if this is required.
Booking with a Business Travel Agency ensures that travellers feel that they are being looked after and that they have someone on the end of the phone or email whenever they need to answer any questions they may have about their trip. It gives travellers the peace of mind that if there is a problem when they are travelling, they have someone they can rely on to help. I think the pandemic showed the value that this peace of mind can have to a traveller, as many people who were not working with travel agencies at the time really struggled getting in touch with airlines, hotels and other suppliers due to high demand and were not sure on what their next steps should be.
Q: What aspect of your role do you enjoy the most?
A: I enjoy working on complex itineraries for travellers, this may be a multiple destination trip or a destination that is fairly complicated to get to or if there is limited availability. I enjoy the challenge that each day brings and the satisfaction of finding the most cost-effective options for the travellers.
Q: How has your role here helped you develop both personally and professionally?
A: : I have been working at the company for 6 years and in this time I have learned so much about travel and my role as a business travel consultant. A lot has changed since I started already and it is lovely to be a part of something that is always changing, it keeps it interesting! I started as an apprentice, learning about the travel sector as a whole, widening my knowledge on customer needs within the business and how our role improves a travellers’ experience. This has really helped me improve over my time here and I have really learned a lot from my colleagues and their experiences within the business.
I feel that even personally I have grown massively with the role, from starting at 17 years old, straight out of college to now being 23, starting my first full time job in an industry I had no experience or even real knowledge in at all, to now being confident in my role and having built strong working relationships with both my colleagues and clients. The role has taught me so much about myself, such as my strengths and weaknesses and how to work well within a team and improve on anything I need to work on. I have grown up so much working with those around me and having responsibilities within my role which helped me develop so many skills that I use not just inside work but in the real world too!
Q: Why would someone choose GTM as a business travel partner?
A: GTM are a family run SME business which means we value building relationships with each of our clients and always bring a personal approach to booking travel. We are not a call centre which means that our travellers speak to the same consultants when they are making their plans, they have a point of contact and always know there is someone on the other line that can help. The personal approach we give makes sure that all clients are receiving a dedicated and meaningful experience when they are booking their travel.
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We are continuously looking for tomorrow’s talent. If you are seeking an apprenticeship with one of John Good Group’s companies – fill our your details below.