The popular hotel chain has announced plans to train 18 year olds as apprentice managers luring them away from the now very expensive prospect of university. Travelodge will be paying them between £8,300 and £10,000 a year.
With the aim of producing 500 managers of properties by the age of 21, Travelodge’s three-year Junior Management Programme, known as JuMP, will be recruiting it’s first 50 apprentices this summer.
Hoping to take advantage of the increase in university fees, Travelodge hopes the low wage will not put young people off. A spokeswoman said a manager aged 21 would earn between £25,000 and £30,000 a year once trained. However once completing the three year course, apprentices will still have to complete the 12-week long management training programme.
“The point is they will be with us and getting on the job training rather than running up debts of more than £40,000,” the spokeswoman said.
Guy Parsons, Travelodge chief executive said: “The fast track management programme provides a real job, with the opportunity of on the job training throughout the business, combined with further education and the opportunity to earn up to £30,000.”
Travelodge plans to have 1,100 UK hotels by 2025 – doubling its current amount – and aims to have as many as half of these managed by apprentices by 2015.
“The budget hotel sector is the engine room of the hotel industry and Travelodge is the power brand of the UK hotel sector. Therefore the potential for today’s youth to revolutionise one of Britain’s powerhouse industries is phenomenal. I am hoping we will find our future business leaders from JuMP,” said Parsons.
