Spaces are limited for Women in Travel’s free employment training programme. 
To apply, contact Alessandra Alonso at [email protected].

The social enterprise Women in Travel (CIC) has announced new dates throughout October, for its free training and mentoring programme for women who have lost their job due to COVID-19.

Women in Travel is offering support to those who have been made redundant as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women who live in London can apply to Women in Travel for free training and access to entry-level hospitality and tourism jobs throughout the capital. Provided as part of Women in Travel’s Female Employability Action Supported by Travel and Tourism (FEAST) initiative, the employment training sessions will be hosted both online and in-person, throughout October.

The month-long programme consists of 7-12 hours of targeted and blended support via online employability training and one-to-one mentoring. Workshops are being offered to London based women throughout October as below:

  • 7 October 2020, 10am – 11am: Effective Communication Skills – The online session will focus on effective communication skills and will help participants explore how to develop better listening and questioning skills.
  • 9 October 2020, 10am – 11am: CV Clinic – Covering questions such as, ‘What does a good CV look like?’ and ‘How do you help recruiters see what is good about you?’, this workshop will help women create an effective CV that represents them at their best.
  • 13 October 2020, 10am – 11am: Job Search – To help participants focus on what matters, in this session Women in Travel will breakdown the daunting nature of the job search to help women best go about finding work.
  • 16 October 2020, 10am – 11am: Job Applications & Cover Letters – So you have found the job of your dream…now what? This workshop will set women in the right direction when approaching job applications.
  • 16 October 2020, 11am – 12pm: Social Media & You – Women in Travel’s session will focus on the importance of social media when job searching, to help women understand why social media matters and how to use it to their advantage.
  • In addition to the sessions, women will be paired with a volunteer mentor to provide further help and support.

Individuals and companies interested in learning more about the FEAST training programme are encouraged to contact Women In Travel (CIC) at: [email protected].

Over 50 women have already attended Women in Travel’s training, with many of them now back in work. When speaking of the support offered by Women in Travel, a previous attendee said “I came away [from the training] with a list of items to implement but also the knowledge that I am on the right track to finding my next role, however long that journey may be. To echo some of the other ladies on this course with me, these are such uncertain times and it really is good to know we are all in this together.”

Throughout the coming winter months, Women in Travel will also host supportive online mentoring for unemployed women. Since launching its voluntary mentoring programme at the end of September, 45 women have already signed up to be a Women in Travel Mentor and help unemployed women seeking support in identifying their next steps. Women in Travel is welcoming more registrations from potential mentors, particularly from men and members of the BAME community. For more information and to register, visit: www.womenintravelcic.com/mentoring-form.

Since the start of the pandemic, Women in Travel has set up a crowdfunding page where it is raising money to provide 25 unemployed women with six months’ worth of training and mentoring to enable their return to work. Those interested in donating can visit Women in Travel’s crowdfunding page here: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/witcic to help women access skills and identify opportunities to gain economic and personal empowerment.

Commenting on Women in Travel’s supportive measures, Alessandra Alonso, the Founder of Women in Travel said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has made unemployed women’s return to work harder than ever before, especially in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries which have been exceptionally hard hit. Here at Women in Travel, we are so pleased to be able to offer support to women in our community, with training and mentoring initiatives that not only boost their skill set but also their confidence and success rate in getting back into work.”

If due to the impact of COVID-19 employers in your network are having to consider redundancies, you may like to suggest this opportunity to support female staff. Employers and women who are interested in enrolling for FEAST or the supportive mentoring circles are encouraged to contact Alessandra Alonso at [email protected].

For more information about Women in Travel, visit www.womenintravelcic.com.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS
Image Captions:
Image 1: Women in Travel (CIC) has announced new dates for its free training and mentoring programme for unemployed women, throughout October 2020.

About Women in Travel
Women in Travel (CIC) started life as a gender focused platform at World Travel Market flagship event in London, in 2014. Growing successfully from then onwards, in 2017 it was incorporated as a social enterprise dedicated to empowering women through employability and entrepreneurship in Travel Tourism and Hospitality. Its vision is to become a catalyst for sustainability by placing women at the heart of an industry which is inherently attractive to females and growing at a fast pace. It is the brain-child of Alessandra Alonso, who has been recognised as a trail-blazer when it comes to gender diversity in the industry and who has supported women in maximising their opportunity in the travel, tourism and hospitality (TTH) industry for well over a decade, originally through Shine & the Shine Awards. Women in Travel partners with employers to provide the first Women Returners service through which the industry can access a pool of marginalised but often highly skilled women who are eager to get back to work. Women in Travel also runs entrepreneurship focused events, mentoring and networking supporting start up and early stage female entrepreneurs and those wanting to start a business, particularly of BAME background.

For further media information, images or interview opportunities please contact:
GEC PR | [email protected]