An Edinburgh travel management company is celebrating its five apprentices as part of National Apprenticeship Week.

Traveleads, which specialises in tailored travel solutions for the corporate, sports, group, energy and offshore, media and school sectors has five apprentices aged between 17 and 22 working across the business travel, sports travel, IT and HR departments.

Emma Paden (17) recently joined the team at the George Street office as business travel apprentice and supports the team by working directly with customers, arranging complex travel solutions. She said: “I’ve had a brilliant start to my apprenticeship with Traveleads – being able to support with some of our biggest customer accounts is really exciting and I’m proud to be trusted to communicate directly with them.

“This is also an inspiring team to be part of and the perfect way for me to better understand the travel industry. I’ve been taken along to some industry events to further support my learning – and even won a holiday at one of them!”

The travel management company works with national customers from its offices in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Leeds and London.

Lesley Cochrane, corporate travel manager at Traveleads, who manages Emma, said: “Working with educational partners in Edinburgh and Leeds, we’ve developed our own apprenticeship scheme which provides apprentices with on-the-job learning in a dedicated department for two years.

“Emma has been a fantastic addition to the team with her enthusiasm and passion to learn more about the travel industry. It’s wonderful to see all five of our apprentices embracing the opportunity to engage with customers and get a head start on their careers. We’re delighted to be celebrating them all during National Apprenticeship Week.”

Megan Smith, sports travel apprentice who is approaching her first anniversary at the firm, added: “This is a great environment to work in; I feel like I’m contributing to the business while learning so much and everyone has always been so welcoming. For me, it’s the best of both worlds too – particularly in an age where everyone is always so switched on – being able to earn money at work while studying simultaneously, means I have more time for myself than if I’d explored another avenue, I definitely think more young people should be aware of the opportunities available to them.”

During National Apprenticeship Week, Traveleads has been introducing each of its apprentices on social media, sharing their job highlights to date and advice for those exploring apprenticeships in the future.

For more information about Traveleads, please visit https://www.traveleads.co.uk/ or follow its National Apprenticeship Week Twitter thread here.