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Ladies and gentleman if you could please take your seats, flight 543 Virgin Galatic is now ready for take off. Please ensure all your baggage is securely stowed and your seats are in their up right positions, as we are now due to depart the earth’s atmosphere!
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If a $260,000 flight into space busts your budget then maybe the $23,000 sub-orbital space flight training is more up your alley.
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Setting sights high is one thing , but Penny Spencer's are out of this world
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I've never seen gate 1A at an airport. Is there such a thing? Who knows? But there's certainly a seat 1A, and, according to Penny Spencer, up-market travel agent and award-winning entrepreneur, it's the hottest ticket on any flight.
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Sydney based Spencer Travel achieved every travel company’s dream when it sold the first ticket to travel into space with Virgin Galactic to a woman from New South Wales in May.
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The Manpower Award for Employee of the Year
Finalist – Tina Killeen, General Manager, Spencer Travel
“Her proactive approach in working with management to develop new systems and technology (such as intranet) has boosted Spencer Travel’s productivity and profits”
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Careers – Always on the move
Generation Y employees only stay in a job for two years on average, which can pose problems for employers.
Spencer said she has a number of Generation Y consultants working in her Surry Hills agency who have been with her for at least three years. “It comes down to managing personalities and what turns them on, and open lines of communication” she said.
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Behind the Scenes – Agency Owner/MD Penny Spencer
Penny Spencer started in the travel industry 23 years ago. After having a stint in nursing, Spencer decided the travel industry was more her style.
Having a love of dealing with people and a passion for travel, she decided to undertake a travel course.
While attending the course, Spencer worked for free stamping brochures at Adventure World in Brisbane, so she could get experience. After finishing her course, the wholesaler employed her as a part time junior, or in those days a “Girl Friday”.
From that day on Spencer has remained in the travel industry and now owns her own successful, award winning corporate travel agency in Sydney’s Surry Hills – Spencer Travel.
I knew from the day I started the travel course that I wanted to work my way up and own my own travel agency one day,” she said.
After working in a few different areas of the industry, including wholesale and inbound, Spencer finally found her feet at World Travel Headquarters working in the domestic corporate area.
Spencer progressed to assistant international consultant, then to a corporate international consultant dealing with her own clients. Finally in 1998 her dream came true and she opened Spencer Travel.
Eight years on, she now employs staff straight out of travel courses and trains them up through the ranks. Over 60% of her staff has only ever worked for Spencer Travel, and she credits this with helping her agency win numerous awards.
Spencer no longer consults, but spends her time training staff and growing her business, as well as being an active member of the industry.
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