The tour operator launched the Appoint an Apprentice scheme last year with a fund of £650,000, which was utilised by agencies such as Cumbria Travel, Now Lets Travel and Sunlounger Travel to take on new staff.

Jet2holidays said it was investing more money into the scheme this year after receiving “overwhelmingly positive feedback” from independent agents. In its first year, the operator handed out apprenticeship levies adding up to nearly £500,000 to 50 different companies, which allowed them to recruit 72 new apprentices in total.

The company also provided a further £150,000 to help fund the salaries of new apprentices working in independent agencies across the UK for one year.

Alan Cross, director of travel agent relationships at Jet2holidays, said: “Since launching our Appoint an Apprentice scheme, we have been truly amazed by the response from our independent travel agency partners, and the feedback we have had from them has been fantastic.

“As part of our commitment to investing directly into our independent travel agency partners to help them grow their business, we are making the scheme even bigger and better this year, with over double the amount of funding available.”

Blue Bay Travel was one of the agencies to take advantage of this scheme and recently recruited two apprentices into the business.

Bethany Brown , who is learning and development manager at Blue Bay , called Jet2holiday’s apprenticeship initiative a “brilliant idea”.

“Our two new additions wouldn’t have been possible this year without the levy transfer funding from Jet2holidays, so we really appreciate it,” said Brown.

Jet2holiday’s Cross added: “Apprentices are integral to the future growth and success of Jet2holidays, and we recognise the importance they play, both within our own business as well as the wider industry.”