Tourism Industry Coincil Tasmania

Confronting our Skills and Workforce Challenges Head On

In the most recent Tasmanian Tourism Industry Business Sentiment Survey, 40% of respondents cited the difficulty in attracting and retaining skilled workers as their most significant business challenge.

The lingering disruption of Covid, a lack of backpackers, and with many growing Tasmanian industries all competing to attract the same local workers, our long-term workforce challenges as an industry is now a very serious crisis for the sustainability and growth of Tasmania's visitor economy.

Chair of the newly-established Tasmanian Tourism & Hospitality Workforce Advisory Committee (THWAC), Bianca Welsh, will lead a breakout discussion with key stakeholders exploring both the short and long-term strategies needed to address our workforce challenge.

  • What's the plan for our vocational training system, and training providers?
  • How do we attract more Tasmanians into the industry at all ages?
  • Why must our industry become an employer of choice?
  • What are the opportunities for short-term relief, such as a fly-in workforce?

Bianca will argue why we must now tackle our skills and workforce crisis with all the same resolve and commitment from both industry and government stakeholders as was demonstrated in supporting industry through the Covid disruption.