The Western Australian Government announced last week that it would be investing millions in a new campaign to encourage and attract hospitality and tourism workers from interstate and New Zealand, as the industries have been hit by major worker shortages.

The Australian Hotels Association (Western Australia) praised the “significant funding”, of up to $8 million, allocated towards the Discover the Other Side recruitment campaign and the Tourism Workforce Development Program by the state government.

“Addressing labour shortages is currently the number one issue for those running hotels and hospitality venues, so it is encouraging to see the WA Government allocating resources that match the scale of the problem,” said AHA(WA) CEO Bradley Woods.

The WA Government has a proven track record of supporting hospitality in general as well as breweries specifically. The States of Brewing report found that WA was by far the most generous state, investing $3.18 million in breweries directly in 2021.

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• First phase of new hospitality and tourism workforce campaign to launch soon
• The campaign aims to help attract hospitality and tourism workers from interstate and New Zealand to work and live in WA
• Initiative helps to address labour shortages in the hospitality and tourism industries as WA’s economy continues to thrive
• Developed in collaboration with Tourism WA and the Australian Hotels Association
• Follows new settings introduced to attract more skilled workers to WA

The first phase of the McGowan Government’s new hospitality and tourism recruitment campaign, called Discover the Other Side, will launch in coming weeks.

The campaign has been developed in collaboration with key industry and government stakeholders, including Tourism WA and the Australian Hotels Association (WA), to help address skills shortages in the hospitality and tourism industries.

Workers are needed in the hospitality and tourism industries which have experienced high-demand as Western Australia’s economy continues to thrive.

A range of skilled and unskilled workers are sought after by the hospitality and tourism industries, including chefs, wait staff, baristas, bar tenders, managers and tour operators.

The recently launched westernaustralia.jobs website, a dedicated tourism and hospitality jobs, training and careers workforce portal, is a one-stop shop for job seekers looking for opportunities in WA.

Employers in tourism and hospitality are strongly encouraged to load their jobs onto the free portal as soon as possible.

The need to attract skilled workers to WA was a key focus of the Skills Summit and Regional Skills Summit with WA industry leaders held last year.

This new campaign builds on the already significant investment that the McGowan Government has made in workforce attraction campaigns. The McGowan Government’s Build a Life in WA campaign launched nationally last year to target skilled workers in the construction and manufacturing industries, and has recently expanded to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Comments attributed to Premier Mark McGowan:

“Summer is the busiest time of year for our local hospitality and tourism industries, so the timing of this campaign is critical to help attract young workers to WA.

“With our strong and thriving economy, relaxed lifestyle and great attractions, there’s no better time to make the move to WA and work in these high-demand industries.

“As someone who relocated to WA for work in my twenties and has remained here ever since, I can safely say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Comments attributed to Tourism Minister Roger Cook:

“Our local tourism and hospitality industries are the best in the country – we have world-class tourist attractions, with restaurants and venues to match.

“The State Government is committed to supporting these important industries to fill job vacancies and retain workers.

“The Discover the Other Side campaign perfectly complements the State Government’s $3.9 million commitment to develop workforce skills for the tourism and hospitality industries.”

Comments attributed to Racing and Gaming Minister Tony Buti:

“Our State relies heavily on the great work of our hospitality and tourism sectors.

“Now is a really important time to help bolster these workforces as they prepare to enter a busy summer trading period.

“I would encourage anyone looking for work in the tourism and hospitality industries to take up this great opportunity to move west and set themselves up in WA.”