Tasmanian tourism and hospitality businesses have travelled a rocky road since the onset of the pandemic, but a new training initiative by development organisation Tasmanian Leaders is aiming to arm industry managers with the skills needed to get the industry back on its feet.
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Sponsored by hotel and casino operator the Federal Group and the Department of State Growth, the eight-week training programme began on Wednesday at the Country Club Tasmania outside Launceston.
Tasmanian Leaders CEO Angela Driver said the course will begin with teaching leadership skills, but will move on to different areas as participants complete eight sessions in a mix of on-site and online learning.
"It will provide people with the space to consider what we've just been through in the past few years with COVID, and to think about what a thriving sector looks like into the future," she said.
Attending the initiative today were a group of young Tasmanian business owners, including Alexandra Sumner, co-owner of the Waterloo Inn restaurant in Swansea.
Ms Sumner said she embarked on the training initiative in the hopes of learning more about the hospitality sector after she and partner, chef Zac Green, re-opened the restaurant last December.
"I've just pivoted into hospitality for the first time, and I just wanted to have better reassurance in my decision-making, and this programme ... just gives me more certainty," she said.
Ms Sumner, who cheekily refers to herself on social media as the "Director of Cleaning Glasses" at the restaurant, said she was "pleasantly surprised" at the strength of the business since taking over in the summer.
Although the tourism sector is recovering from the pandemic, there are still challenges to be faced, said Matt Casey, General Manager of Federal Group's Luxury Collection.
"I think the number one issue is around the war on talent - shortages of staff. Tourism as a sector, it's fair to say, has struggled to get people," he said.
Mr Casey, who was at the Country Club Tasmania to conduct a training session with participants, said he was most keen to impart one message to the participants.
"Don't forget the basics. Don't forget we are in hospitality, our product is an emotional one, it's about relationships between people ... and it is about creating a team that is motivated and knows what they are doing."
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