Tourism and hospitality

Tourism and hospitality workers come from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences. In general, this industry attracts people who are naturally oriented towards customer service, love meeting people, and genuinely enjoy making other people happy. 

Cultural diversity is valued across the workforce, because many of your customers will be international travellers which makes a knowledge of other cultures and languages is a definite advantage in this industry. As the area of Indigenous tourism continues to grow, people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds are highly valued for their cultural knowledge and lived experience. 

Some specialties within the industry tend to attract a particular demographic of workers — for example; tourism and hospitality associated with backpackers generally has a younger workforce. However; the industry offers opportunities for people of all ages and at all stages of life. 

In tourism, around two-thirds of workers are male. Over 54 per cent of hospitality workers are female.

Tourism and hospitality offers a range of job and career opportunities — for entry-level workers through to high level management positions and everything in between. It's a great choice if you're looking for casual or short term work, but also a fantastic option for a lifelong career.

The kind of jobs you could get will depend on your skills and experience, and in some cases whether you have a qualification. Typically, experience is highly valued in the tourism and hospitality industry and many businesses promote from within in recognition of their employees' skills and experience.
 

• Please see the How do I get a job in tourism and hospitality section for further information

Working in tourism or hospitality can truly take you anywhere in the world.

How would you like to be a tour guide in Paris, or on a wildlife safari in Africa? Closer to home, you could be working in one of WA's top hotels or restaurants, one of our many cafes or coffee shops, working on reception in an eco resort in Broome or as a venue and events manager at boutique winery and function centre in Margaret River. Or if you're really looking for something completely different, you could work on a cruise ship or potting whale sharks as a guide on a tour boat on the Ningaloo Reef!

The industry also encompasses transport services, camping and caravanning, attractions, and national parks. 

In short, pretty much anywhere you go — whether it's in WA, around Australia or across the world — there will be something related to tourism or hospitality happening. 

Many businesses in tourism and hospitality are small to medium size, but there's also plenty of opportunities in large businesses and even international corporations such as hotel chains and global amusement parks or similar venues. 

Yes! In fact, it's an industry that has shown continual growth consistently over past years. 

Forecasts for continued growth still remain; however COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the industry, particularly in the area of international tourism. Reduced visitor numbers have a flow-on affect to other areas of the industry — for example; hotel guest numbers reduce, visitor numbers are down for tourist destinations, and restaurants and bars are missing their international guests. In more positive news, tourism within Australia has picked up in 2021, due to the reopening of state borders, and this is giving the industry a much needed boost. 

If you're not already in the tourism and hospitality industry, now is the perfect time to get into training and build your skills so that you're job ready to take advantage of all the opportunities that will come up once it returns to better times.

Tourism and hospitality is an industry where your skills and knowledge are highly transferrable, which puts you in a great position to switch jobs and/or progress your career. It offers much more than entry level work, and there's really no limit to how high you want to go. 

For example; if you have experience as a bar attendant in a busy pub, that would transfer directly to another venue such as a casino or entertainment venue. Or if you're an experienced housekeeping attendant at a boutique hotel, your experience would transfer directly to a housekeeping role on a cruise ship or to move into a supervisory or management role. 

Tourism and hospitality both offer excellent career paths, where you can either progress through to top level management or executive positions through gained skills and experience or undertake study to get you on the path to promotion. 

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the hospitality and tourism industry, particularly in 2020. Border closures and travel restrictions limited domestic travel, and stopped virtually all international travel to Australia, and this led to a downturn in business across all areas of the industry as well as the loss of jobs in key business areas including airlines and hotels. 

In 2021 domestic tourism and travel business is taking a positive upturn. In particular, intrastate travel and tourism (ie; within the state/territory) has increased significantly which is having a flow-on affect for our hospitality industry with business returning to restaurants, cafes and clubs. The WA State Government has invested heavily in promoting tourism within WA, and as part of its WA Recovery Plan is providing financial support to tourism and hospitality businesses to help them recover and rebuild.

We have been exploring our home state of WA at record levels so far in 2021, and travellers to WA from interstate are now increasing. Tourism operators are reporting an increase in visitors booking tours and experiences, and accommodation rates are also steadily improving. Many businesses have taken this time to diversity into other areas of tourism or hospitality, or to go in a new direction such as offering virtual tour experiences or offering home delivery services, and this opens up new opportunities.;

While the industry's recovery from COVID-19 will take time, these early signs show great promise for tourism and hospitality to continue growing in WA and across Australia, and eventually worldwide.

1 Source: ABS and Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

2 statistica.com Global tourism industry report May 2021

3  Tourism WA: Visitation to WA report (year ending Dec 2020)

4  Tourism Western Australia: Cruise shipping

5 Tourism Research Australia (Commonwealth Government)

6 Australian Bureau of Statistics Tourism Satellite Report December 2020

7 Australian Bureau of Statistics Retail Trade Report March 2021

8 Future Now Industry Training Council 

10 Labour Market Information Portal, February 2021 quarter

11 Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC): National industry insights

With such a range of jobs available, the first step is to decide what kind of work you would like to do. For example; do you want to work front of house — directly with customers? Or are you more interested in back of house — a less 'hands on' role? 

If you're looking at travel and tourism, it would also be useful to consider what kind of work environment you would most enjoy. For example, does a large city hotel interest you? Or are you looking for something a bit less corporate — like a beachside resort, or guiding tours in the outback? Do you love food? Or do you think you'd like working with people to plan their holiday? 

Finally, what level of work are you looking for? If you're starting with an entry-level position, you can expect to be working under supervision so that you can grow your skills and experience on the job. If you already have some experience in tourism and hospitality, perhaps you're looking for a job with more responsibility or you may want to get into a particular area such as hotel management. 

Your answers to these questions will also help you determine whether you'll need to do some training, or get a qualification, for the job you want. 

To learn more about jobs in tourism and hospitality, a good place to start is our occupational profiles but you can also take a look through the following websites.
 

• Take this quick career quiz to see what kind of role would suit you.
• View the occupation profiles on myfuture.edu,au (you'll need to register, but it's free!)
• Your Career: Occupation profiles search

If you're after a specific occupation or looking to make a career move then skilling up through training is the way to go. 

Right now there's 180 qualifications with course fees reduced by half or more under the Lower fees, local skills program... and even better, there's an annual cap on course fees, so you can super size your study but only pay as little as $400 for the year if you are under 25 or looking for work!

There's also a number of free* short courses that will provide you with an excellent overview of what it's like to work in this field and get you job ready with entry level skills and knowledge, or on a pathway to further study. 

 Take a look at the Do you need to skill up? section for more information

*Free for eligible students

These are both great options to kickstart your career. 

With a traineeship, you will complete a program of work and training over a period of time (generally one to two years). You are employed, and paid, during this time. You could choose to do a traineeship in healthcare or community services, to build your skills and knowledge, and then go on to a full traineeship or a qualification that will enable you to specialise mental health. 

A pre-traineeship is a qualification that you complete at a TAFE college or private training provider, to give you some entry level skills and knowledge as a pathway to a full traineeship and employment

Take a look at the Do you need to skill up? section for more information

• We have compiled a list of all the travel, tourism, events and hospitality related courses here, including pre-traineeships and traineeships,  for you to browse through

You can find out more about the industry, and about working in tourism and hospitality in WA, from the following websites.
 

• Tourism Western Australia is a government agency responsible for promoting WA tourism to the world
• Tourism Council WA is the peak body representing tourism businesses, industries and regions in Western Australia
• Business Events Perth markets WA nationally and internationally as a destination for conventions and exhibitions 
• The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) WA represents more than 80 per cent of WA’s hotel and hospitality industry
• FutureNow is the WA industry training council that supports the tourism and hospitality industry

Because WA's aged care industry is rapidly growing, the demand for workers has never been higher! Most job opportunities are advertised online — here's some places to start your search.
 

• The Jobs and Skills WA jobs board
• SEEK job search website
• indeed.com job search website

There's also some companies who specialise in recruitment for the tourism and hospitality industry. We recommend doing an internet search to find out more about what services they offer for jobseekers. And if you're on social media, there's several groups on Facebook and Instagram that regularly post job opportunities — do a search to find them. 

If you’re interested in a career in tourism and/or hospitality, your local Jobs and Skills Centre can help with free advice on career planning and training to help you get there.

And if you've spotted a job you want to go for, they can help freshen up your CV and even help you put your job application together. Need some tips for job interviews? They can do that too!

Because Jobs and Skills Centres work closely with local employees and industries, they know where the jobs are and how you can get them.  And they know what employers are looking for. There's 15 JSCs across Perth and regional WA, and all services are free. Call your local JSC on 13 64 64, or check our map to find your closest centre.   

Volunteering gives you the opportunity to become an active member of your community, while helping others and yourself. Many volunteering opportunities are available in tourism and hospitality — in particular; volunteer tour guiding.

Through volunteering, you can not only build your skills and knowledge but also gain valuable experience working with people. Volunteering is also an excellent way to network with organisations in your local area, and find out about job opportunities that are coming up.

If there's a particular person or organisation you would like to volunteer with, get in touch with them directly to see if they have any opportunities. You could also look at your local newspaper or community noticeboard, or check out an organisation that advertises volunteering vacancies on behalf of different organisations.

To find out more, visit the Volunteering WA website to see how you could get involved.
 

• Volunteering WA website

You can also contact your local Jobs and Skills Centre on 13 64 64 for assistance with finding a volunteering opportunity.

Work experience
Although generally unpaid, work experience can be a fantastic way to get hands-on practical experience in a particular field or occupation. Employers value skills and experience, so this can give you an advantage when looking for work.

Internships and cadetships
An internship or cadetship is work experience combined with on the job training while studying – similar to how people studying trades qualifications do an apprenticeship. An internship or cadetship can be done by secondary school students as well as those studying at college or university, and they're a great way to skill up. 

Internships are generally short term, and are usually unpaid. They may lead to employment with the company but there’s no guarantee of this. An internship or cadetship is a great addition to your resumé.

Contact your local Jobs and Skills Centre on 13 64 64 for assistance with finding a work experience opportunity, or for advice and information about internships and cadetships. 

These are designed to give you job ready skills and knowledge, and a 'taster' of working in a particular industry or job role.  The training component of your pre-traineeship or pre-apprenticeship is based on nationally accredited vocational education and training (VET) units of competency, and on completion you will receive a nationally recognised Certificate II qualification.

This means that if you decide to grow your skills and knowledge through a higher level qualification after your pre-traineeship, you will receive credit for the units you have already completed so you can get that higher level qualification more quickly.

Pre-traineeships or pre-apprenticeships are available in a range of areas related to tourism and hospitality. Take a look at our course list to find out more. 

Traineeships and apprenticeships combine training with on the job learning — you are employed for the duration, so you earn while you learn. 
 

• A traineeship generally runs over one or two years, and is usually for a Certificate III or IV level qualification. Traineeships are in non-trade areas; including healthcare, community services, business and information technology.
• An apprenticeship generally runs over three or four years, and is usually for a Certificate III or IV level qualification. Apprenticeships are for trades areas such as building and construction, automotive, and hospitality.

On completion of your traineeship or apprenticeship, you will be awarded a nationally recognised qualification.  There is no requirement to have completed a pre-traineeship/apprenticeship before starting a traineeship or apprenticeship; however, if you have already completed one you may receive credit for the units you have already achieved, which could shorten the time it takes to complete your traineeship or apprenticeship.

Some jobs in tourism and hospitality can only be gained through an apprenticeship — for example, a chef. You can contact your local Jobs and Skills Centre on 13 64 64 for information and advice about traineeships and apprenticeships, or take a look at our course list to find out more. 

To do an apprenticeship or traineeship, you must be employed. So how do you find an employer?
 

• Call your local Jobs and Skills Centre on 13 64 64 for free information and advice — because they work with local businesses and employers, your local JSC knows where the jobs are!
• You can go out and find an employer yourself, by searching for advertised jobs or contacting a company directly. 
• There are a number of Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) providers in WA that are funded by the Australian Government to provide advice and assistance to help you find an apprenticeship or traineeship and organise everything to get you started. 

You can find out more on our Apprenticeships and traineeships page here 

There's also some great information on the Australian Apprenticeships website about finding an apprenticeship or traineeship, including some useful tips for how to approach employers.

A school-based apprenticeship or traineeship (SBAT) is an employment-based vocational education and training (VET) learning pathway for secondary school (Years 11 and 12). It combines off the job training at a TAFE college or training provider, and paid on the job training through a work placement, that leads to a nationally recognised qualification and can count towards your WACE. 

An SBAT is designed to give you skills and knowledge in your chosen field or while you're still at school, to give your career a head start. There's also the Aboriginal school-based apprenticeship/ traineeship program, for Aboriginal students in years 10, 11 and 12.

SBATs are available in a range of areas related to tourism and hospitality, so this is a fantastic option if you're still at school and wanting to get a headstart on your career. You can see all of the qualifications currently available for SBATs here. 

Contact your local Jobs and Skills Centre on 13 64 64 for information and advice about VET options while you're still at school.

Another option is to find a traineeship through a group training organisation (GTO). 

GTOs employ apprentices and trainees across a range of different industries. You are directly employed by the GTO, but they 'host' you out to an employer for work. This can be a great option as you may have the opportunity to work with more than one employer during your apprenticeship or traineeship — giving you a wider range of experience. GTOs are experts in hiring apprentices and trainees, and are regulated to make sure they are doing the right thing by their employees.

Step 1: Register with a GTO
You can look through our list of WA GTOs here, and check their information to find what industry/sector and/or type of apprenticeship or traineeship they specialise in. The next step is to register with the GTO (you can register with as many as you like) so that they have your details if a suitable vacancy arises.

Step 2: Recruitment process
You will have an initial interview with the GTO, so that they can find out more about the type of apprenticeship or traineeship you're looking for and discuss options. If you are suitable, the GTO will either offer you an apprenticeship or traineeship or let you know when one becomes available.

When you start your apprenticeship or traineeship, your GTO will help you prepare to meet your host employer. They will also provide any pre-employment training that's required; such as workplace health and safety, and the basic personal protective equipment (PPE) needed for the role. 

After you start your apprenticeship or traineeship, the GTO will assign you a field officer who will be your direct contact point if there's any issues or if you have any queries about your apprenticeship or traineeship. Your field officer will also monitor your training and work, and check in to make sure that everything is going smoothly.

All aspects of your apprenticeship or traineeship through a GTO are the same as any other apprenticeship or traineeship — it's really only the actual employment arrangements that are different; ie you are employed and paid by the GTO rather than by the company where you're doing the apprenticeship or traineeship. 

Contact your local Jobs and Skills Centre on 13 64 64 for further information and advice about GTOs.