Hays Travel Plans to Double Staff Numbers in NI

Hays Travel, who took over 22 Thomas Cook shops in Northern Ireland after the tour operators’ collapse, is planning to double its staff numbers across the Province here in 2020.

Hays bought all 555 Thomas Cook shops after it collapsed in September.

The buyout saved 130 jobs in Northern Ireland but Hay’s Director Irene Hays said the shops in NI need more staff.

Speaking to Good Morning Ulster, Irene said: “I think we are still about 70 to 80 staff short in the shops.

“Next year, we intend to work with the Northern Ireland government to hire apprentices and we would like 60 to 70 apprentices across our Northern Ireland stores.

“In our business, 47% of our managers started out as apprentices so we’re really keen to build that culture.”