“In all honesty, when I was 16, I just wanted to play football,” says Tui’s head of retail, who now looks after 331 shops and 3,500 staff.

“I was on the books for Manchester City – even though I’m a Manchester Utd fan!” Stephen Bracegirdle says.

But making the big time wasn’t to be and Man City’s loss was Tui’s gain. Keen for her son to be gainfully employed, Bracegirdle’s mum encouraged him to go for an apprentice role at a Lunn Poly store – he picked up an application form and she drove him back to the store to hand in the completed version the very same day.

He spent two years as an apprentice, in Sale, Greater Manchester, before securing a job as a travel advisor.

It might not hold the glamour of Premiership football but Bracegirdle soon fell in love with the idea of a career in the travel industry.

“Holidays are a great product to sell,” he says. “Customers are happy (well, most of the time!) As an advisor, you have opportunities to experience destinations through staff discounts and educationals. You get to work as part of team, and that social aspect is good for wellbeing. And travel has great opportunities for progression. For example, Tui’s 331 shops all have different levels of management, and you can branch out to other parts of the business as well, such as the airline.”

His very first booking now escapes his memory, but Bracegirdle does remember, early on, being chuffed to land a big multi-centre booking that included Hong Kong: “It’s a great feeling when a customer leaves with the holiday of a lifetime,” he said. “By then, travel was really growing on me, and that customer followed me to my next store.”

His management potential stood out early on: “I enjoyed doubling up with colleagues, helping advisors to close a sale when I’d been to the destination in question. Developing and coaching people has always been in my skillset.”

He moved to the city centre Manchester Market Street store as deputy manager in 2000 then became a manager in the market town of Altrincham. His dream, however, was to manage The Trafford Centre, and in 2006, that wish came true: “The store had 25 staff at the time, was open 12 hours a day and only closed on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday. It was the biggest [travel retail manager role] out there,” he says.

Bracegirdle’s next promotion was deputy regional sales manager role – he looked after 10 shops in the north Manchester area. He then progressed to regional sales manager, with 30 shops in his patch.

A step up to divisional sales manager brought a new challenge: “Managing regional managers rather than people in shops is very different,” he says.

Nine years ago, he reached the top of the retail tree as head of retail, a workforce that includes Tui’s 225 homeworkers.

“From a retail perspective, I’ve done every job there is,” he says. “But the shop floor is very different now. The internet didn’t exist [as a way to book] when I started. Everyone booked in shop. Although the majority book online now, we still have 1.4 million customers a year choosing to book in our shops.”

Within Tui’s retail estate there are currently 189 apprentices (46% of the overall number across the business) including 159 travel advisor apprentices and eight retail manager apprentices.
 

What words of advice does Bracegirdle have for Tui’s current young apprentices? 

“Make sure you give enough time to your qualification. Sometimes the formal learning doesn’t get the time it needs, and it will definitely benefit a young agent in the long run, particularly if they want to progress in the company.”

“And be a good all-rounder,” he adds. “I was never a super seller. I focused on the quality of what I was booking, such as delivering on experiences overseas (which we know attracts greater customer loyalty), the pre-departure packages we offer through Holiday Extras and the insurance we offer through Allianz.”

He’s come a long way since he was a teenage apprentice, so what’s been the proudest moment? “When Manchester won region of the year in 2011. The region had missed out on that top spot a few times previously, which was frustrating, so it was a very proud moment – the whole vibe that night was electric.”

And what of Bracegirdle’s mother who coaxed him into the apprenticeship all those years ago? “Yeah, she’s proud of what I’ve achieved. She still goes into the Trafford Centre to book her Marella Cruises. They know she’s my mum so she helps keep the team there on their toes!”