South east Queensland’s hospitality sector will face next year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games seriously under-staffed unless more young people can be attracted to the industry, said a group training organisation.
According to East Coast Apprenticeships (ECA), Queensland foodservice businesses are already stretched and will be under significantly more pressure once “a massive influx of international tourists” arrives for the Games, held every four years.
With one year to go before the event kicks off, ECA CEO, Alan Sparks said the skills shortage needs to be addressed now.
"The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games will demand a significant increase in the number of people engaged in hospitality to cater for the influx of domestic and international participants and spectators.
“This influx will come on top of the growing number of international and domestic tourists drawn to Queensland each year,” he said.
“A 'Good Games' is dependent on the provision of quality services such as transport, hospitality, tourism, accommodation and retail. It's all of those traditional services which will be put to the test. Quality employees, to support those sectors, can't be secured overnight. They require training, experience and integration into the existing workforce.”
Gaining entry into the market doesn’t need to be cumbersome or time-consuming, said Sparks, with ECA’s Trade Outcome Program (TOP) for Commercial Cookery comprising two weeks at TAFE Queensland Brisbane’s South Bank campus, followed by two weeks of work placement with a restaurant or hotel.
There are currently 15 vacancies for the February intake and applications close 27 January.