Career opportunities include: Travel Consultant, Airline Reservations Officer, Tourist Information Officer, Airline Customer Service Officer.

Industries include: tourism, airlines, hospitality.

Travel Consultants provide information, advice and booking services for people wishing to travel. A travel consultant can focus either on local travel, domestic travel, and/or international travel. A travel consultant may:

• provide literature and information to clients concerning local, interstate and international tours, travel routes, accommodation, fares and travel regulations
• discuss client requirements and advise on suitable options
• plan, prepare and cost out travel itineraries for clients
• make travel, accommodation and related bookings using a computerised reservations system
• confirm bookings and notify clients of luggage limits, insurance, medical, passport, visa and currency requirements
• issue tickets for travel, accommodation vouchers and all relevant documentation
• collect payments and maintain records of transactions
• assist with changes to travel arrangements and bookings as required

Most travel consultants work on a salary plus commission and travel rewards. Hours may include Saturdays.

Airline Reservations Officers assist airline passengers between flights with boarding and flight procedures, locating luggage, giving directions and chaperoning unaccompanied children in transit. An Airline Reservations Officer may:

• issue and check tickets and travel documents, check in passengers for their flight and allocate seats
• check baggage for size and weight
• direct passengers to customs, immigration and/or departure gates
• attend to passengers who are flying standby
• provide information on flight arrival and departure times and give messages to arriving and departing passengers
• direct passengers to baggage areas and when reporting lost luggage
• help passengers requiring special assistance, such as VIPs, disabled passengers, parents with infants and younger passengers travelling alone

Airline Reservations Officers can work day shifts, evening shifts or rotating shifts dependng on the role. Uniforms and other benefits are provided.

The travel, airlines and tourisms industry is highly customer focussed so presentation, grooming, communication and customer service are all requirments in this career.

Employability Skills are skills that apply across a variety of jobs and life contexts. They are sometimes referred to as key skills, core skills, life skills, essential skills, key competencies, necessary skills, and transferable skills. Industry’s preferred term is Employability Skills.

Employability Skills are defined as ‘skills required not only to gain employment, but also to progress within an enterprise so as to achieve one's potential and contribute successfully to enterprise strategic directions’.

There are eight Employability Skills: communication, teamwork, problem solving, initiative and enterprise, planning and organising, self-management, learning, and technology.

You can review the Employability Skills for this qualification at: http://employabilityskills.training.com.au