Business Travel is a very difficult field to get into but some companies offer a "passport to business travel" course, i.e. CWL. These would be advertised in the trade papers or on companies' websites.  These courses are very hard to get onto and you will need to have at least completed a travel and tourism course. If you have a leisure/wholesale background then this is a good way to enter the corporate sector but you will need to be fully proficient on a major CRS i.e. Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre or Worldspan coupled with excellent customer service skills & exceptional geographical knowledge.

For information on Business Travel accredited courses log on to www.gtmc.org

Not all travel sector jobs require a reservations system. However, if you wish to pursue a career within the travel industry knowledge of a major CRS (computerised reservation system) would be extremely beneficial but does not always guarantee you a job. There are travel compines that will take you on without any expereinice of a CRS but will train you up! New Frontiers provide online training for IATA recognised CRS Training courses in Airline Reservations, Fares & Ticketing, Hotel Reservations & Car Hire available in AMADEUS, GALILEO, SABRE & WORLDSPAN. Brush up and conversion courses are also available. These courses can be booked online at www.train-in-travel.com or call our training department on 0845 202 2222.

I would suggest you contact Servisair who are the leading international aviation services provider here in the UK or alternatively surf the web to source various job boards such as aviationjobsearch.com. This company also have a free fortnightly magazine called aviation jobs which by the end of the year will hopefully be available in all major UK airports.

Recommended websites: ttglive.com, travelweekly.co.uk

Publications - SKYPORT Gatwick & Heathrow
                   Manchester Evening News
                   Birmingham Evening Mail,
                   London Evening Standard
                   Metro
                   Glasgow Evening Times.

Travel is a broad industry, which has many technical terms. We have a section that explains certain travel words in our terminology page. If what you are looking for isn't there, search on Google or an online encyclopaedia/dictionary such as wikipedia.

Finding that first job is always going to be frustrating. Many people experience problems with rallying interest for their applications. There are number of areas to consider that may improve your chances:

• Make sure that the job that you are applying for is the right one for you at the moment. There are a lot of people that apply for jobs that they want to do, rather than jobs they are suitable for. If you find that this is the case, look for a more junior role, where you can work your way into the position you want.
• You need to ensure that your CV and application are selling you sufficiently, and in the right way. A surprising number of CVs and applications don't include the right things or don't present the candidate in the correct way. Remember that a CV has to be short, to the point and relevant - an overdone CV can be more off-putting than a badly done one.
• Ensure that you are as visible as possible. All applications should be followed up with a telephone call after a few days. Use different media such as the internet and magazines.

This is a common problem. First of all, think about what you enjoy and what you would like to do; extend this to the type of work situation you would like to be in. The next step is to research various jobs, create a shortlist, then research that even further. Keep in mind what you enjoy and what you are good at. Eventually, you will be able to work a previously huge list down to a small one.

Most of the major newspapers advertise travel jobs. In addition to the major industry newspapers (Travel Weekly, Travel Trade Gazette), there are job websites such as totaljobs, aviationjobsearch, traveljobsearch etc. that advertise travel jobs. For those with travel industry experience, the best way to find travel jobs is to register with a travel related employment agency such as New Frontiers, where you can get a team to pro-actively look for jobs on your behalf, whilst at the same time providing a unified source of job information and vacancies.

There are many associations involved in travel in the UK, some of them include:-

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA)

Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) - formerly the Guild of Business Travel Agents (GBTA)

British Incoming Tour Operators Association (BITOA) also known as UKInbound