Hilton helps fight youth unemployment and hotel skills shortage

Portrait Of Confident Restaurant Staff Standing Against White Background
By Alexandra Coulton


Last week we wrote about the hotel skills shortage and how it affects all aspects of the travel industry.

Our $40 billion tourism industry is expected to be a major contributor to Australia’s future economic growth. Despite that, the industry is facing a labour shortfall across the industry with a forecast of 123,000 skilled and unskilled workers needed by 2020.

In Greater Sydney alone, 57 hotels and over 10,000 rooms are in the pipeline – all of which need staff across a range of career segments from IT, finance, and engineering to food and beverage and front desk teams.

Well, it seems Hilton are already coming to the table on this one, in a big way.

See also: Hilton APAC President: “Yields in Sydney are the strongest they’ve ever been” 

The major hotel chain has partnered with national children’s education charity The Smith Family in Australia for the fourth year in a row!

The partnership is part of the hospitality company’s largest annual global career initiative, Careers@Hilton Week.

Under the partnership, Hilton and The Smith Family will collaborate on a Work Inspiration program that will see over 150 young people – many from disadvantaged backgrounds – gain work experience at eight participating hotels across Australia from 14 – 18 May.

According to a release from Hilton, unemployment is one of the biggest challenges facing young people today. Globally, more than 1 in 5 young persons are not in employment, education or training.

In Australia, more than 264,000 young people aged 15 – 24 are unemployed, accounting for more than a third of all unemployed people across the country. Research also suggests that certain regions have much higher and concerning unemployment rates, including the Central Coast of NSW, northern Adelaide, West Melbourne and Townsville.

“Careers@Hilton Week is a truly unique opportunity for our Team Members to inspire and inform young people about the many great opportunities available in the hospitality industry, and to support them by providing guidance on the skills that are vital for them to succeed in the workplace and beyond,” said Heidi Kunkel, Vice President, Operations, Australasia, Hilton.

“Our partnership with The Smith Family on the Work Inspiration program underscores Hilton’s global commitment to connect, prepare and employ one million young people by 2019, and enable them to reach their full potential. Since working with The Smith Family, we have seen over 400 students go through the program so far.”

Under the program, students will be able to explore their interests and strengths in the workplace through a behind-the-scenes look into a variety of career opportunities at a Hilton hotel. They will also acquire skills and confidence that can contribute to building their future careers via a series of career talks.

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