Career Development at Pentravel

One of our successful shop managers shares her Pentravel career development story.

The travel bug bit Andrea during her post-matric trip to Brazil, leading her to study hospitality. “Travel and hospitality are interrelated, but travel has my heart and is my passion,” says Andrea.

Attracted by the brand story of Pentravel, Andrea applied for a position at the company in 2015. “Pentravel looked like a fun place to work,” she says. “I just love the vibrant image they have.” Andrea was shortlisted for a group day, after which she was invited to a work day at the Fourways branch.

“I immediately hit it off with the team,” she says. “It felt natural, and the rest is history. Pentravel is everything they advertise and more.”

Starting her career with Pentravel as a Newie agent, Andrea quickly excelled. She made the Highclimbers incentive within her first year, showing the top growth. She was promoted to travel advisor in March 2017, and then landed the position of store manager just three months later in June. This kind of career trajectory is not unusual at Pentravel. The company embraces individuality and places a high emphasis on staff opportunities to meet goals and reach for the stars. Andrea says she owes her success to a combination of experience, support and mentoring.

“All of the skills I have gained at Pentravel, the leaders that have mentored me, my amazing colleagues and my drive have contributed to my success.”

Personal growth and extraordinary travel opportunities have played a huge role in her career journey too. Since joining Pentravel, Andrea has been able to go on several amazing trips, including an MSC cruise, a trip to Zanzibar, the Highclimbers trip to Namibia and a trip the magnificent Sainte Anne Island. “I have grown personally and gained priceless travel experiences which have equipped me with so much knowledge.”

A career in travel has its challenges, and Andrea has had to learn how to cope with stressful situations.

“Overcoming each challenge has taught me that there is always a solution,” she says. “If we have an unhappy client, we overcome this by stopping at nothing until the customer is happy.”

Of course, a Pentravel career is not all work and no play. Andrea usually starts the day at the Fourways branch with a sales meeting or a destination training session. For the remainder of the day, she makes her clients travel dreams come true. “We also spend a significant portion of the day laughing,” she adds. “We have a really fun office.”

According to Andrea, retaining talent is a big deal in the travel industry. Training and personal development is so important to Pentravel that it’s one of the key areas which sets the company apart.

“Pentravel nurtures and develops its talent, so staff feel valued,” she says. “Valued staff tend to stay where they are happy.”

As a shop manager, Andrea’s leadership role requires her to tap into the strengths of her team. “Every consultant has their own strengths and weaknesses,” she says. “It’s all about getting them to focus on their strengths and overcome their weaknesses.” Incentives are a no-brainer too. “Goals drive people,” she says. “Working for such a fun company is inspiring, and every consultant wants the opportunity to travel to the amazing places that are on offer.”

If you are interested in a career at Pentravel, Andrea says you need to have patience, dedication, passion and drive. “It’s not always easy but having a job that feeds your passion is the best feeling in the world. Pentravel have proved that if you show your dedication, hard work and passion, you will be rewarded in amazing ways. They value their employees, which makes working for them so much sweeter.”

Want a career at Pentravel? Apply now.