On the eve of the annual influx of visitors to the region, even the major venue operators have had to manage personnel and operating times to allow for the shortage of skilled hospitality workers.
It is a flow-on effect from the COVID-19 departure of long-time hospitality and tourism staff from the industry as lockdowns, reduced hours and continuing uncertainty forced them to leave.
Scott Thomson, Sureway Employment and Training area manager for Goulburn Murray and the Riverina, said he had heard of businesses in Echuca and Moama that were deciding not to open during the Christmas period.
“They don’t have the staff numbers to cope with regional tourism and the influx over our peak tourism,” Mr Thomson said.
“It is a mixture of smaller and larger operators.”
Mr Thomson said the staff shortage and the associated holiday loading, casual loading, and penalty rates made it difficult for some businesses.
He said Sureway asked businesses to reach out for support in the new year to plot a way forward in a difficult environment.
“Businesses will need to be open to ideas and willing to work through what is a different employment space,” he said.
“We are heading into a job seekers’ market.”
Mr Thomson said the new year expectation was for school leavers to exit from the school system, given the complex education environment of the past couple of years.
“We are looking at how to prepare staff better to enter the hospitality and tourism space,” he said.
“And also, how to retain those currently working in the industry.”
Regional unemployment in Victoria is at a record low of 3.3 per cent, having fallen by 1.1 percentage points in the three months to August 2021 alone.
Brendan Sheridan, the region’s Federal Government employment facilitator for Goulburn Murray, is working with Sureway to fill the hospitality and tourism job void.
In January, programs such as Youth Transition from School to Work and working within the Local Jobs Plan will have announcements surrounding their enhancement.
Mr Thomson said there remained many different barriers for people to get into work, which was a joint focus point for Sureway and employers.
“It’s about working with the jobseekers,” he said.
“It is not just to place staff, but to support them over a six-month period.
“There is lots of funding out there.
“In Echuca Moama I have been working with Moama Bowling Club, Echuca Moama tourism, and with C4EM to think outside the box.”
Mr Thomson has also been working with Sean Goggin and his Discovery Parks team to fill a void in the cleaning sector.
He said frustrating the attempts to fill a void in the hospitality and tourism sector was the boom in the industrial and manufacturing workforces.
Regional and state-funded projects, such as the Coleman Rail project, solar farms and underground channel work, have given people guaranteed work and longevity.
“We are getting feedback that, in these new roles, they are not working split shifts, holidays and weekends,” Mr Thomson said.
“But it’s not just those industries. We are seeing it in manufacturing as well.”
Many people have re-skilled and taken advantage of a lot of the state and federal funding.
“Hospitality and tourism is just one industry that has been hurt,” he said.
Mr Thomson said employers should be aware of their support in this space.
“There is a huge amount of funding available out there at the moment to support businesses and job seekers alike,” he said.
“People need to take advantage of that.”
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