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TTF: Give us the people, we have the jobs
The tourism industry will struggle to meet the growth potential outlined by the federal government without additional access to labour, the industry’s peak body Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) has told Australia’s Future Jobs Forum.
Bruce McKenzie, COO of the InterContinental Hotels Group Australasia, said the TTF believes the Canberra forum comes at a good time, given the increasing concern about labour shortages in the hospitality and tourism industries.
There is rising concern over the shortage of skilled labour, with 30 percent of tourism industry leaders ranking it in the top three business impediments, according to the latest TTF-MasterCard Tourism Industry Sentiment Survey.
TTF said the concern is acute in regional areas, where tourism operators are having difficulty finding and retaining skilled staff as they are unable to compete with the wages offered by other sectors, such as resources.
State and federal tourism ministers have endorsed Tourism Australia’s 2020 Tourism Industry Potential growth targets that aim to double overnight tourism expenditure within a decade.
To achieve this potential, the tourism and hospitality sectors will require between 56,000 and 152,000 additional jobs. Framed in this context, labour and skills are seen as one of the greatest supply side challenges in meeting this potential.
TTF said the extension of the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme to tourism operators in Broome acknowledged that existing employment sources and programmes were not necessarily meeting the needs of the hospitality and tourism sectors.
“The scheme is a good first step but should be extended to include the many other regional areas struggling to fill hotel positions, like Darwin.
“The industry also wants to see changes to working holiday visa arrangements by having those who work in tourism and hospitality in regional areas qualify for a second year extension, increasing the age limits and allowing for subsequent visas,†TTF said.
Ian Jarrett
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