A partnership between Cable Beach Club Resort and Kimberley TAFE is set to go some way towards addressing the staff shortage that has been affecting the tourism industry in Western Australia.

 

All Cable Beach Club Resort staff will complete the Resort’s standard induction day before undertaking further units at Kimberley TAFE, which will contribute towards a Certificate II in hospitality.

 

Cable Beach Club Resort General Manager Ron Sedon believes that offering formal training and qualifications to new staff not only creates a pool of skilled staff for the Resort, it also makes hospitality a more attractive career option for young people.

 

“The reality is that many of these jobs are seasonal, short term employment opportunities,” Ron said.

 

“However, if we offer staff the chance to gain a recognised qualification during their time with us, I believe we will be better placed to attract and retain staff.”

 

Staff shortages in the tourism and hospitality sector have been consistently identified since 2000 and are now critical, according to “Making Tourism a First Resort”, a joint submission to the House of Representatives on Workforce Challenges in the Australian Tourism Sector.

 

Prepared in November 2006 by the Government of Western Australia, the WA Hospitality and Training Industry Council and Tourism WA, “Making Tourism a First Resort” details the staffing crisis currently facing the Western Australian tourism industry.

 

The submission calls for the Government to undertake a range of measures, including amending certain visa categories to help the tourism industry address the staff shortage.

 

Ron Sedon also believes that the Government’s immigration policies could be amended to give tourism employers access to a larger pool of workers.

 

 “Our partnership with Kimberly TAFE is a positive initiative that will ensure Cable Beach Club Resort will have sufficient, well trained staff at the start of the Broome tourism season,” Ron said. 

 

“However, like much of the tourism industry we would like to see the Government doing more to ease the chronic staff shortage which is threatening an industry which contributes $2.7 billion to Western Australia’s Gross State Product.