Australia’s accommodation industry is successfully pursuing strategies to fill 123,000 additional jobs, which will be required in tourism by 2020.
The Accommodation Association of Australia said that unless these positions are filled, there is a risk that predictions of strong growth in tourism will not be realised.
“The Accommodation Association is strongly committed to tackling the workforce development challenges which are facing our industry,” said the Association’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Munro.
“A tangible example of this is the Accommodation Association of Australia Academy which, through partnerships with training and hospitality experts, is meeting the training needs of accommodation businesses.
“Our academy is implementing a program which aims to fill entry-level jobs in the industry, as well as skilled positions, and the success rate is almost 90 per cent for job seekers who complete the program and are endorsed.”
The figure of 123,000 jobs is contained in an Australian Tourism Labour Workforce Report, which has just been released.
The report also states that currently, there are 38,000 positions in tourism that require filling.
“The Academy, which is providing services as part of the Federal Government’s ‘jobactive’ program, is strongly focused on engaging with the accommodation industry to assist with ensuring that our training maximises the chances of participants being placed into employment,” Munro said.
“The Academy does this through pre-employment programs which provides trainees with the requisite skills to be job-ready.
“When it comes to finding the right position for a job-seeker, we are not afraid to try innovative methods, an example being the Academy’s partnership with Fitness First, which assists with analysing physical capabilities.
“We look forward to more accommodation businesses taking advantage of the comprehensive suite of services that the Academy provides,” he said.