Jobs are going begging on the Sunshine Coast, with the tourism and hospitality sectors unable to fill positions ahead of the expected summer deluge of visitors.
Restaurants and cafes are struggling to find workers for hundreds of roles, from kitchenhands to waiters, baristas and chefs, making it hard to resume full service for summer.
In a bid to help the industry, Sunshine Coast Council has joined forces with Visit Sunshine Coast, HOT 91 and TAFE Queensland to promote a new Jobs Now campaign.
The campaign will promote vacancies on a local jobs website www.jobsnow.net.au and was developed in response to industry feedback.
The initiative invites local businesses to advertise their job vacancies for free for job seekers to search until January.
TAFE Qld is also offering a three-day workshop to upskill potential employees.
The opening of the Queensland border is expected to draw thousands of southerners to the Sunshine Coast for their annual summer beach escape, as well as hordes of Queensland visitors.
But there are concerns their experience will not be as pleasurable without local restaurants, eateries and tourism attractions operating at full capacity.
Industry insiders blame the JobSeeker payments for acting as a disincentive for people to transition back to work after the COVID shutdown.
Foreigners who once took up many service jobs have also left Australian shores, reducing the pool of potential workers.
Restaurateur Tony Kelly said he was chasing 60 staff across six of his businesses which included Rice Boi at Mooloolaba and the newly-opened Market Bistro in the Maroochydore CBD.
“There just seems to be a lack of people looking for work. It’s certainly an employee’s market; if you’re young and healthy and want to earn you can make a career out of it,” Mr Kelly said.
Mr Kelly said job positions were attracting as few as five applications when at the same time last year they would have had 300.
“The telltale sign is that Rice Boi, which doesn’t need skilled labour because we don’t have front-of-house service, is struggling to fill positions,” he said.
“It doesn’t require experience. If you’ve got two arms, legs and a heartbeat you should be able to do these roles.”
Mr Kelly said JobSeeker had created a “false economy” and made it difficult for businesses to re-open after COVID.
“I think JobSeeker has done a valuable role in helping us through COVID but it’s also created a problem in getting people off the couch,” he said.
Mooloolaba Chamber of Commerce president Graeme Juniper said job applicants without the appropriate skills were applying jobs but then not attending interviews.
“Are they applying because they are ticking a box?” he said.
“People are applying even if they know they don’t have the skills. Is it intentional or non-intentional?”
Mr Juniper said with the problem ongoing for months already, many businesses were not able to open to capacity, for example food outlets were cutting back on the number of meal services during the day.
Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson said the Jobs Now partnership would ensure the region was well placed to provide memorable experiences for tourists.
“The tourism industry is critically important to the Sunshine Coast economy and following a very difficult year, we are very pleased to see that our local tourism businesses are expecting strong visitor numbers over the coming months,” Mayor Jamieson said.
“However, local operators are also telling us that they need more staff to help service these visitors and our residents – with everything from chefs, wait and bar staff, housekeepers and baristas through to management roles needing to be filled.
“There are job vacancies advertised right now on Jobsnow.net.au and we want to connect job seekers with potential employers and point people in the right direction, should they wish to upskill with additional industry qualifications.”
Visit Sunshine Coast Industry and Development Manager Andrew Fairbairn said the Jobs Now initiative supported businesses as they prepared for what was expected to be a busy festive season.
“Jobs Now is a positive step on the path towards recovery for our industry, and we are extremely proud to partner with Sunshine Coast Council and Hot 91 on this initiative.”
For those new to tourism and hospitality there is a workshop designed specifically for people wanting to upskill to enter the workforce.
TAFE Queensland will offer a three-day hospitality skills workshop in customer service, food handling, and coffee making, as well as the qualification ‘Provide Responsible Service of Alcohol’.
Employers and jobseekers should register online at www.jobsnow.net.au
