Working Holiday Makers needed to help fill workforce shortage

 

1 Feb 2022: Peak industry body the Accommodation Association says the Federal Government’s $7m marketing campaign to attract young people from overseas to work and holiday in Australia will help plug the massive workforce and skills shortage in the sector.
 
The Work and Play the Aussie Way campaign is designed to attract uptake of the Working Holiday Maker visas with a focus on the UK, Europe, Japan and Republic of Korea by showcasing the potential adventures that lie ahead while working and holidaying here. In 2019, Working Holiday Makers contributed $3.2 billion to our visitor economy, representing seven per cent of total visitor spend.
 
The Association thanked the Federal Government for listening to its call for this initiative given the current reality of widespread labour force losses of up to 35% and additional complications of staff having to isolate due to being close contacts of COVID cases.
 
The Accommodation Association has already introduced a range of employment pathways initiatives to address the shortfall:(accessible at www.aaoa.com.au/careers)

1. The Gappa –this is a gap year paid experience with additional bonuses and benefits for anyone that wants to work anywhere in the country for a year.
2. The Hub –a one-stop transformational Hospitality portal to for employers, job seekers, consultants with streamlined processes, forms and tools for anyone to use so that the matching of individuals to job and career opportunities is even faster and easier. It will also provide a unified job Board for the sector.
3. Train2Earn – our hugely successful direct training program which provides a short, intensive 3-day immersion training with a job interview at the end. This is already tracking at a 94% employment outcome.
4. Our PaTH Business Placement Partnerships programs which provide all jobseekers who complete training with a guaranteed 4 week live and practical internship in metro and regional venues nationally. These programs have an 80% employment success rate and provide the core basic skills to start a career in the sector. As part of this and in line with the sector’s commitment to creating an inclusive workforce, there are also dedicated DES programs to run in a hotel environment with a supported PaTH internship and employment support package.
5. The Training Panel of Accommodation Association-approved RTOs to help members with any training enquiries they might have. The Association has done the due diligence in checking each RTO’s training materials, trainers and overall performance and also facilitates the introduction.
6. The PALM (Pacific Australia Labour Mobility) program

 
Quotes attributable to Richard Munro, CEO, Accommodation Association (who is available for interview)
“Anything that helps us solve the current workforce crisis is most welcome and we are very grateful for the Federal Government’s action on this and for the ongoing collaboration with our sector in addressing the multiple, complex issues Australia’s hotels and accommodation providers and people are dealing with.”
 
“While properties in many parts of Australia have been lucky enough to benefit from strong consumer demand, CBD properties have been incredibly hard hit by the international travel ban and border closures, and there is a common theme across just about every single hotel and that’s the juggle to plug the workforce and skills gaps at every level."
 
“The Accommodation Association continues to advocate directly and in partnership with other peak industry bodies to ensure government support at a Federal and State/Territory level. We are confident that the young people being targeted as part of this initial campaign will find the lure of Australia very powerful, especially given the added incentive of the rebate on visa costs for all fully vaccinated international student visa holders who arrive in Australia between 19 January and 19 March 2022. We hope the success of the campaign will see the rebate window and the eligible countries extended given the massive extent of workforce losses here.”
 
“This pandemic has knocked so many of our hotels for six and we anticipate full recovery is not likely in the next twelve months with the subsequent issues having a profound impact for some time, we also hope the Federal Government will acknowledge the significance of the ongoing combination of dented consumer confidence, massive skills and workforce shortages, and the lack of international visitors and provide ongoing support.”
 
Media contact: 
Accommodation Association LJ Loch 0488 038 555 or ljloch@alphaconsulting.global