AusLeisure

With New Zealand having COVID-19 restrictions lifted and moved to level one, Go with Tourism has announced it will sponsor tourism businesses and education providers to participate in its careers expo events this August and September, delivered in partnership with New Zealand Careers Expo.

In response to the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on New Zealand’s tourism industry, the Go with Tourism Expo, which saw more than 10,000 students in attendance at its inaugural event last year, will focus on breaking down the stigma that surrounds tourism careers.

Recent results of an independent study on Go with Tourism has shown that one-in-three Auckland youth surveyed are interested in pursuing tourism as a career – a drop from 2019, which was one-half.

Go with Tourism Programme Director, Matt Stenton says that the Expos will highlight the wide range of quality career opportunities within the sector and adds “without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly hurt New Zealand’s tourism workforce and has negatively impacted people’s perceptions on tourism as a career.

“However, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. In three - or five-years’ time we expect New Zealand tourism to thrive again and new talent will be highly sought after. Now is the perfect time to show students what success can look like in tourism, to place them into tourism businesses for work experience, and to get them training towards their career goals.”

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism was New Zealand’s number one export industry and was in need of 40,000 new tourism workers by 2030 to keep up with demand from increasing international visitor numbers.

Go with Tourism was launched in 2019 to build New Zealand’s tourism workforce, featuring a game-changing job connector platform and exciting initiatives to educate the public on the wide range of career options available and positives of working in tourism. However, when COVID-19 hit in March this year, Go with Tourism pivoted its service to help redeploy displaced tourism workers into new industries.

Stenton promises the Expos are one of several initiatives that Go with Tourism will start working on again to educate the public about tourism careers.

New Zealand Careers Expo Director, Mark Gillard notes the 2020 expos will be a great opportunity to find guidance on career changes and influence student choices.

Gillard explains “given the many new initiatives from government aimed at stimulating the employment market and providing incentives for individuals to train in various industry sectors, our careers expos are perfectly timed to connect providers and programmes with groups and individuals.”

Details of the joint New Zealand Careers Expo / Go with Tourism Expos are:

• ASB Showgrounds, Auckland - 6th to 8th August
• Claudelands Showgrounds, Hamilton - 23rd to 24th August
• TSB Arena, Wellington - 4th to 5th September
• Horncastle Arena, Christchurch - 10th to 12th September

To register for a stall at a Go with Tourism Expo please visit the Eventbrite registration page for Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington or Christchurch or email kiaora@gowithtourism.co.nz

For more information on the New Zealand Careers Expo, please visit careersexpo.org.nz.

Image: The Go with Tourism Expo 2019, Credit: Tomahawk Tourism Marketing.

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