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jade asks...

im 18 yrs old and i studied travel n tourism i cannot remeber what sort of course it was it was a yr long.
ive just realised how shit england is and how i cannot stand to be here any longer as am goin mad,
im quite shy until i get to know people however id like to do either reppin or transfers..
how would i go about this, pls will u give me sum general information about how i would apply thankyou very much x

What we suggest...

Hi jade, thanks for contacting q2a.

It sounds like you may have studied the BTEC First Diploma in Travel & Tourism, which is a good start because it demonstrates that you're interested in this kind of work. Any related work experience, or any voluntary work you've done, will give you an advantage, as will knowledge of a foreign language.

We hope that you can find more positive reasons for going rather than your present mindset about England! For example travelling, having new experiences, meeting new people etc. You don't want to take any baggage with you, or still be in fault-finding mode when you get there or you may not get the best out of going away. They'll also be useful when you're called for an interview because they'll be more interested in why you want to work for them than your reasons for wanting to leave the UK. Try and sort out any issues before you go or you could get overwhelmed by having to deal with a new job, new country new people, as well as any baggage from home.

Try not to worry too much about being shy; many people can feel a bit awkward at first with people they don't know. But when you're dealing with people as part of your job you won't be short of things to say because the work you have to do will give you a script!

To look for a job you can

- approach tour operators directly and ask if they are recruiting
- ask in your local Jobcentre, they have access to national as well as local vacancies: 80 Market Street, Colne. Telephone: 01282 663400. Open: Monday, Thursday, Thursday, Friday 9am-5pm, Wednesday 10am-5pm
- ring Jobseeker Direct, local call rate, 0845 6060 234, 8.00am-6.00pm Monday to Friday, 9.00am-1.00 pm Saturdays
- if you have access to the Internet you can look on job vacancy websites e.g.
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk, http://www.fish4jobs.co.uk, http://www.monster.co.uk.

If tour operators are recruiting they'll send you an application form to fill in and if they like what they read you'll then be called for an interview. If you're offered a job the usual procedure seems to be that you'll attend a short (2-3 weeks) in-house training course, then you'll work under an experienced holiday representative at first so that you're not thrown in at the deep end. Usually there is continual on-the-job assessment until they think you've had enough experience to take on more responsibility. There may be opportunity to gain further relevant qualifications on-the-job as well.

Some of the more well-known tour operators are:

- Thomas Cook, (recruiting for 2009 season this month), Central Recruitment Number on 0870 2412642. Website: https://www.thomascookvacancies.co.uk
- First Choice Holidays, Recruitment Team, HR Direct, Jetset House, Lowfield Heath, Crawley. West Sussex. RH11 OPQ. Telephone: 0800 169 5692. Email: mailto:firstchoice.recruitment@firstchoice.co.uk. Website: http://www.firstchoice4jobs.co.uk
- Club 18-30 Recruitment, Parkway Business Centre ,Parkway 2,Princess Road, Manchester M14 7QU. e-mail: recruitment@club18-30.com

You can find more by:

- browsing in travel agents
- looking at business directories in the reference section of your local library: Market Square, Colne. Telephone: 01282 865227. Open: Monday 9.30-19.00, Tuesday 9.30-12.00, Wednesday 9.30-19.00, Thursday 9.30-17.00, Friday 9.30-17.00, Saturday 9.30-16.00
- browsing on price comparison websites e.g. http://www.lastminute.com, http://www.travelsupermarket.com
- looking out for their TV adverts

If you're not already aware of what's involved in being a holiday rep. these are the main duties:

- be responsible for the welfare of holidaymakers on package holidays
- liaise between holidaymakers and hotel staff to make sure everything is satisfactory
- meet and greet holidaymakers at the airport and arrange transfers to and from hotels
- arrange entertainments, either by directing holidaymakers to what's available, or put on entertainment yourselves
- arrange safe care for babies and children, either during the day or at night
- sell excursions and other related products e.g. sun cream, phone cards, hire cars
- deal with any problems such as lost travel documents, accidents and illness
- help with language and currency problems
- complete administrative tasks e.g. paperwork, and attend meetings with other company staff

If you'd like to read up the information for yourself we found the following publication very helpful for our reply:
- Jobfile 2007/8, pub. VT Lifeskills. Your local Infocentre for young People or Connexions Centre may have a copy you can look at: Infocentre for Young People, 39-41 Scotland Rd. Nelson. Telephone: 01282 442555. Open: Mon - Fri: 9.30am-5.00pm, Tues: 10.00am-5.00pm. Connexions Colne, 16 Albert Road, Colne. Telephone: 01282 862138. Open: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9.30-12.30 & 1.30-5. You can just drop in to either of these.
You can also talk to:
- Connexions Direct, freephone 0808 00 13219, open 8am-2am every day. Website: http://www.connexions-direct.com

We hope you find what we've said in our reply helpful. Please email us again if you need to, about this or anything else. We wish you every success.

Best wishes from q2a.

Expert advice and every precaution has been taken to ensure that the information on this page is trustworthy and reliable, but the publishers do not hold themselves responsible for any inaccuracy as information can go out of date very quickly. This page gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law. With regard to suggested weblinks given in this reply please note that Lancashire County Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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here's what i think about ...

 jade, im in my second year of repping with club 18-30 and its brilliant! dont be fooled into thinking its gunna be an easy ride though...work hard, play hard, wouldnt change it for the world. altho if ur more after just gettin away have you thought about pr'n, its alot easier to get into and they usualy just work nights, as we work all day all night lol good luck !