WHMs needed to help meet tourism’s unskilled labour shortage
Workers crucial if sector is to succeed in rebuilding
Attending this week’s Job Summit in Canberra, the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) is calling for an expansion of the eligibility criteria under which Working Holiday Makers (WHM) can extend their stay by an additional one to two years in order to help meet the tourism industry’s dire need for unskilled labour.
The association is calling for three months of work in the tourism and hospitality sector to be included in the eligibility criteria for WHM visitors to qualify for a second-year visa, expanding it to include areas beyond the current ‘northern or remote and very remote Australia’ qualifying regions to all tourism and hospitality work across the country.
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Expanding the criteria is seen as an inducement to encourage greater numbers of WHM visitors to Australia, in the process providing a desperately need boost to the workforce, provision of tourism dollars to the economy and helping to create a positive message for international visitors thinking of coming to Australia.
ATEC Managing Director, Peter Shelley said tourism and hospitality businesses across the country are facing severe shortages in staff, particularly the unskilled workforce which helps businesses to meet the demands of seasonal fluctuations.
“Previously WHM holders could work for three months in jobs primarily in the agricultural sector, in order to qualify for an extension of their visa. Some jobs in the tourism industry also qualify however, these are restricted to work in regional areas of northern parts of the country.
“Tourism businesses across the country desperately need unskilled workers and these workers are crucial to the successful rebuilding of our industry.”
Mr Shelley said that while the tourism industry required long-term solutions to the workforce challenge, there is an opportunity to instigate a short-term solution through the Working Holiday Maker program, introduced in 1975, with the purpose of promoting cross cultural understanding.
“ATEC recognises the significant need for both skilled and unskilled labour across the sector and the lack of unskilled labour in particular is something which can be addressed by expanding the WHM visa criteria as way of meeting the severe labour shortages being faced as the industry rebuilds post-COVID,” he said.
“We have an opportunity to use the WHM visa system to both support the rebuild of Australia’s tourism industry and to help solve some of the critical workforce shortages being faced across the nation.
“Given the WHM visa is in essence a tourism visa, making it more attractive by offering a wider range of work options will create greater uptake and therefore also help support the regrowth of this export market.”
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
