Concerned with the ¡°dwindling¡± number of new travel agents entering the industry and by the lack of appropriate training made available to them, the Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA) has announced that it will launch a new travel agent skills certificate program.

The scheme, revealed after a meeting of the board of directors of ARTA in Orlando, aims to increase the labor pool of skilled professionals by introducing a ¡°comprehensive, travel skills-oriented¡± web-based training program for prospective agents ¨C or for those simply looking to enhance their already existing skills.

According to ARTA, the program will focus on specific industry segments comprising air, car, hotel, cruise, and tour components, among others, which it says are lacking in current industry training programs.

Upon successful completion of tuition, which includes access to a live instructor, participants will qualify for the ARTA Travel Agent Skills Certificate (TASC).

The training program will commence during the second quarter of 2012.