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Fears of large-scale exodus unless industry finds jobs for Thomas Cook staff
Travel recruitment experts are calling on the trade to pull together to make sure the Thomas Cook job cuts don’t lead to another widespread exodus from the travel industry.
They are calling on companies across all sectors to look closely at their recruitment needs to see if they can find room for redundant Thomas Cook staff.
They said Cook’s staff are target driven, trained to a very high level and have top product knowledge.
"It would be tragic if these people left the travel industry," said C&M Recruitment sales director Barbara Kolosinska.
"All sectors of the industry – cruise companies, travel management companies, online travel agents, tour operators, luxury operators, specialist niche operators – they would all be foolish not to look at their hiring plans right now and finding ways to squeeze these candidates in."
Kolosinska said the industry risks losing highly skilled people to other retail sectors, like banks or insurance companies.
"That’s what happened after 9/11, and then when things picked up again we ended up with a massive candidate shortage. We don’t want that to happen."
Meanwhile, she urged staff at Thomas Cook who face redundancy not to wait for the 90-day consultation to finish before they start looking for alternative jobs.
"They need to preempt the worst and get their CVs updated, register with an agency, use social media and use all the contacts they’ve got to get the message out there that they are looking for employment," she said.
"They need to target their skills, focus on their specialist product knowledge, and they need to shout about the fact that they’ve come from Thomas Cook as potential recruiters know they are well trained and target driven."
She said there were also opportunities with rival retailers who are bucking the trend and expanding their high street presence (see separate story).
But Harp Wallen managing director Kristina Wallen said a lot will depend on how mobile candidates are.
"If they have the flexibility to move across the country the opportunities could be greater," she said.
"Home working has to be a consideration for the many talented sales professionals who will be affected, but word of caution home working is not for everyone so it is important to be very self aware when making the decision."
by Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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