Fast Track: A-Z of employers - First Choice
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History: The group has operated under various guises since 1973, and was known as Owners Abroad until the summer of 1994, when it had a huge overhaul and changed its name to First Choice plc. Although it made 10 per cent of its workforce redundant, it took on a new lease of life. Six months after the reorganisation, the company's market share had risen from 9 per cent to 16 per cent, and it now includes the charter airline Air 2000 and brands Sovereign, Eclipse, 2wentys, JWT and Falcon, as well as the Canadian tour operator Signature Vacations.
Address: HQ is at First Choice House, London Road, Crawley, and there are more than 50 offices around the world. There is also a sales and reservations centre in Manchester, and some staff are based in UK airports.
Ambience: The company emphasises teamwork and is young and friendly - last year the average employee age was just 28. Work can be exciting and fast- paced, according to a spokeswoman: it's also seasonally hectic and pressurised.
Vital statistics: Last year's turnover for this group, the third largest tour operator in the UK package holiday business, exceeded pounds 1bn, while Signature Vacations is the largest in the Canadian market. More than 3,000 people are employed by the company worldwide, with many based in the UK. In the past 10 years, the company has sent or flown more than 20 million people to their holidays.
Lifestyle: Employees are expected to be both mobile and professional, and there are opportunities to move between the group's divisions. Graduates can be given a fair amount of responsibility early on, says a spokeswoman. Naturally, there are also holiday concessions.
Easy to get into? The company says "a limited number" of graduates are taken on each year, but competition is keen.
Glittering alumni: The company's non-executive directors include Terry Green, CEO at Debenhams, Top Shop and Top Man; Tony Campbell, trading director of ASDA.
Pay: Salaries are entirely performance-related, with last year's average salary around pounds 20,000, according to the publication Britain's Best Employers. Specialists - including finance, marketing, HR, IT and airline professionals - can expect to earn more. There's also a contributory pension scheme and share options scheme, and managers can recommend that individuals are given share options for outstanding performance.
Training: A two-year graduate programme was launched in 1995, leading to an MBA and a fast-track senior management route. Trainees are expected to get to know several areas of the business before settling down in one department.
Facilities: The staff restaurant at headquarters is, apparently, a key meeting point: aerobics classes, staff briefings and brochure launch parties are also held there.
Who's the boss? Ian Clubb is chairman, and Peter Long (formerly CEO of Sunworld Holidays) is the group's managing director.
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