Accommodation Australia CEO, James Goodwin is in Canberra today with Trade and Tourism Minister, Don Farrell to launch a new industry platform to help address workforce shortages in Tourism, Hospitality, and Travel.
Minister Farrell, will unveil the first-of-its-kind Hospitality, Tourism, and Travel Employment and Skills Platform at Parliament House today.
In December 2023, Accommodation Australia secured AU$10 million federal government in federal government grant to create the digital hub for hospitality, tourism, and travel.
The full details of the platform have not yet been revealed, however, a ‘coming soon’ website reveals that the platform is called eeger.
eeger is described as an “industry-led platform” for the visitor economy, aiming to:
- Serve as a central source of information for education, training, and careers in the visitor economy
- Connect job seekers with employers across Tourism, Hospitality, and Travel
- Provide education and training opportunities as well as career pathway information
- Offer businesses in the visitor economy insights and resources to help them advertise jobs and find employees.
The platform is expected to go live in March 2025.
Skills shortage is a big problem in the tourism, travel, and hospitality industry – it was recently named as one of the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA’s) top priorities to work on in the coming years after a 2023 survey found that 84 per cent of travel businesses experienced difficulty in hiring travel consultants and only 34 per cent of businesses were able to fill all of their advertised roles.
In October, the ATIA announced a Gap Year program to attract school leavers into travel careers and the Travel Career Kickstart Training Program, providing new entrants with the skills needed to succeed in the industry.
ATIA unveils slew of new initiatives set to reshape Australian travel sector
The ATIA also recently secured a win with the inclusion of travel consultants, travel agency managers and tour guides now being added to the skilled migration on the Federal Government’s Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL).
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Featured image: James Goodwin
