Up to 10 graduates from The Apprentice-esque Future You Pitch Challenge will win places on the Travel Counsellors Academy programme, which will equip them to launch their own travel businesses by October.
Applicants will need to submit a business plan, which will be screened and scrutinised by the homeworking giant’s recruitment team. Successful applicants will then be invited to pitch their plan to a panel of industry experts, with all participants receiving constructive feedback on their submission, regardless of whether they are successful or not.
The final 10 will complete a six-month training and onboarding programme, as well as 10 days’ virtual classroom time and a further six months’ ongoing training delivered by Travel Counsellors.
Graduates will also be paired with a dedicated mentor as well as an industry mentor, and will receive 12-month ITT and Clia memberships, a laptop, business phone line and access to Travel Counsellors’ Phenix platform.
ITT Future You Foundation co-founder Claire Steiner said she hoped the scheme would "inspire the next generation of industry talent". "It’s never been more critical to inspire and attract talented individuals to our industry, and this competition – aimed at young entrepreneurs – will do just that."
Matt Harding, Travel Counsellors general manager, added the initiative sought to identify "passionate entrepreneurs" keen to be their own bosses and forge a successful career in travel, safe in the knowledge they will be supported throughout their journey by Travel Counsellors.
"Our ongoing commitment to attracting future talent into the industry is something that we are really excited about," said Harding. "We can’t wait to see who applies to be part of our community and are looking forward to having them pitch their travel business ideas."
Applications are now open via the ITT Future You website and close on 21 July 2023.
