New government grants offer $7.5m to address tourism workforce shortages

New government grants offer $7.5m to address tourism workforce shortages
Edited by Travel Weekly


    The Albanese Government is helping to rebuild Australia’s tourism workforce by offering State and Territory governments and tourism bodies a share of $7.5 million for programs to attract workers to the visitor economy.

    The Choose Tourism program is among a number of Albanese Government measures, working in partnership with industry, aimed at helping to address workforce shortages across the tourism sector.

    Grants under the program will enable the states and territories to develop new programs and campaigns, extend existing activities to attract new workers, and ensure they have the skills to deliver quality tourism experiences for our visitors.

    Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell said Tourism Ministers around the country are united in their commitment to return Australia’s visitor economy to pre-COVID expenditure levels of $166 billion by 2024, and grow it to $230 billion by 2030.

    Don Farrell poses next to Australia’s new PM Anthony Albanese (Facebook/SenatorDonFarrell)

    “The Albanese Government is committed to growing our tourism industry, and to achieve that we need to ensure they have the workforce they need,” Minister Farrell said.

    “Choose Tourism grants will fund a range of activities including jobs expos, mentoring, targeted media campaigns, and specific industry training.”

    “Attracting workers to the visitor economy, including young people, older workers, those with disabilities and First Nations people, will give more people the chance to get a job and pursue a career in what is a diverse and dynamic sector.”

    The Choose Tourism grants program complements a national campaign being delivered by Austrade to encourage eligible pensioners and other older Australians to take advantage of the temporary change to the Work Bonus by joining the tourism workforce. That campaign includes a free business information kit to assist tourism businesses to attract older workers and benefit from their skills and experience.

    These programs are part of the Government’s $48 million commitment to support the Australian tourism and travel industry to upskill workers, support quality tourism products and deliver infrastructure upgrades.

    Featured Image: Young woman in Australia hiking looks at the Red Centre (iStock/swissmediavision)

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