inquiry into career advice activities in victorian …...education, jobs and skills ommittee’s...

Inquiry into career advice activities in

Victorian schools

R&CA Submission

December 2017

EEJSC Submission No. 80 Received 22 December 2017

RESTAURANT & CATERING AUSTRALIA

Restaurant & Catering Australia (R&CA) is the national industry association representing the interests

of over 40,000 restaurants, cafes and catering businesses across Australia. R&CA delivers tangible

outcomes to small businesses within the hospitality industry by influencing the policy decisions and

regulations that impact the sector’s operating environment.

R&CA is committed to ensuring the industry is recognised as one of excellence, professionalism,

profitability and sustainability. This includes advocating the broader social and economic

contribution of the sector to industry and government stakeholders, as well as highlighting the value

of the restaurant experience to the public.

Cover images courtesy of Tourism Australia:

Top left: Visit Victoria (2016) Interior of Supernormal, Josie Withers.

Top middle: Tourism Australia/Time Out Australia (2014) Provenance Hotel, Beechworth, Roberto Seba.

Top right: Visit Victoria (2016) Cookie, Melbourne, Robert Blackburn.

Bottom left: Visit Victoria (2016) Plated food at Supernormal, Josie Withers.

Bottom right: Visit Victoria (2016) Chef prepares food at DOC Espresso, Josie Withers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ________________________________________________________________ 1

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ____________________________________________________ 2

OVERVIEW OF VICTORIAN HOSPITALITY SECTOR ___________________________________ 3

SIZE _________________________________________________________________________ 3

ECONOMIC AND EMPLOYMENT CONTRIBUTION ______________________________________ 3

Figure 1: Turnover in the Café, Restaurant & Catering Industry _________________________ 4

Figure 2: Business Count in the Café, Restaurant & Catering Industry ____________________ 4

OVERVIEW OF VICTORIAN HOSPITALITY SECTOR ___________________________________ 5

APPRENTICES AND TRAINEES _____________________________________________________ 5

Figure 3: Apprentices and Trainees by Age and By Industry Sector ______________________ 5

SKILLS SHORTAGES ______________________________________________________________ 7

SKILLS, RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT PROBLEMS ____________________________________ 7

Figure 4: Top 10 occupations by accumulated labour demand, 2015-2020 ________________ 8

Figure 5: Skills, recruitment and retention difficulty by tourism sub-sector ________________ 8

TRANSITION BETWEEN SCHOOL AND WORK ______________________________________ 9

PERCEPTION OF HOSPITALITY WORK AS SHORT-TERM __________________________________ 9

PERCEPTION OF APPRENTICESHIPS AND TRAINEESHIPS ________________________________ 10

Figure 6: Australian youth’s view of apprenticeships and university degrees ______________ 10

REFORMS TO CAREER ADVICE ACTIVITIES IN VICTORIAN SCHOOLS ___________________ 11

DELIVERY OF CAREERS ADVICE ACTIVITIES __________________________________________ 11

TRAINING OF CAREERS ADVISERS _________________________________________________ 12

PERSONALITY TESTING__________________________________________________________ 12

HIGH-PROFILE INDUSTRY FIGURES ________________________________________________ 12

CONSISTENCY IN THE QUALITY OF CAREERS ADVICE PROVIDED __________________________ 13

ADDITIONAL VET SECTOR FUNDING _______________________________________________ 13

CONCLUSION _________________________________________________________________ 15

REFERENCES LIST ______________________________________________________________ 16

INTRODUCTION

R&CA welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Victorian Parliament’s Economic,

Education, Jobs and Skills Committee’s Inquiry into career advice activities in Victorian schools. R&CA

acknowledges the importance of the role played by careers advisers in providing secondary school

students with high-quality careers advice, which ultimately contributes to the quality and robustness

of the Australian workforce.

R&CA’s overall objective is to ensure that the benefits and opportunities of a long-term career path

in the hospitality sector are being actively promoted to students as part of careers advice programs

in Victorian secondary schools. At present, Victoria’s hospitality sector is experiencing chronic skills

shortages, particularly amongst the key occupations of cook, chef and café and restaurant manager.

R&CA argues that it is essential for all Victorian school students to have access to timely and accurate

careers advice so they have the necessary knowledge and information to successfully transition

themselves into the growing hospitality workforce.

R&CA believes that the design, content and delivery of careers advice in Victorian schools must be

structured in a way which maximises attraction, retention and completion of hospitality courses in

the VET sector. To achieve this, the provision of careers advice should occur as a sustained process

throughout a student’s secondary school education rather than receiving an influx of information

upon graduation. Furthermore, greater awareness of VET pathways must be promoted as part of an

overhaul to the way that careers advice in Victorian schools is administered to address false and

inaccurate perceptions surrounding hospitality sector careers. The provision of information regarding

VET as a post-school pathway must be made a central component of careers advice programs to

address the stark imbalance that exists between university and the VET sector.

R&CA stresses that reforms to the careers advice provided in Victorian schools will not on its own

solve the chronic skills shortages facing Victoria’s hospitality sector. Whilst R&CA welcomes

improvements being made to school careers advice programs, a comprehensive package of reforms

aimed at addressing structural deficiencies in the VET sector is required. R&CA argues that increasing

funding and investment in Victoria’s VET sector is essential in alleviating significant issues related to

the attraction, retention and completion of hospitality courses and the significantly imbalanced

perceptions currently associated with careers in the hospitality sector.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

R&CA’s policy recommendations, as outlined in this submission, are summarised in the list below.

1. Careers advice in Victorian schools should occur at the earliest possible stage of a student’s

secondary school education, rather than being delayed until students have almost

graduated;

2. Properly training and equipping careers advisers to provide accurate and informative advice

regarding long-term careers in the hospitality sector;

3. Emphasising the benefits of a long-term career path within the hospitality sector and the

opportunities available to students who pursue this option;

4. Incorporating information regarding apprenticeships and trainees as post-secondary school

options;

5. Commissioning influential hospitality figures to give interactive presentations to secondary

school students about the benefits of careers in the sector;

6. Combining sector-specific careers advice with personality testing to match candidates with

the roles that they are most suited to;

7. Providing consistency in the quality of careers advice across all Victorian schools so that

students in rural and regional areas are not disadvantaged when evaluating their post-

secondary school career options; and

8. Accompanying reforms to Victoria’s careers advice activities with significant investment in

the VET sector and other appropriate policy measures to ensure that as many students as

possible are pursuing a long-term career path within the hospitality sector;

OVERVIEW OF VICTORIAN HOSPITALITY SECTOR

SIZE

According to the most recently available Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, there were 11,366

cafés and restaurants operating in Victoria, as well as 942 catering businesses at the end of the 2015-

16 Financial Year (see Figure 2).1 Out of Victoria’s 12,308 cafés, restaurants and catering businesses,

more than 93 per cent are small businesses employing 19 people or less.2 Victoria accounts for

approximately 28.5 per cent of all café, restaurant and catering businesses throughout Australia

which is second only to New South Wales at 34.9 per cent.3 Over the duration of the 2015-16

Financial Year, the number of cafés and restaurants in Victoria grew at a rate of 6.9 per cent which

was second only to the Northern Territory.4 In the city of Melbourne alone, there are 2,711 food

services businesses accounting for 35,478 jobs and generating an economic output of $4.9 billion.5

ECONOMIC AND EMPLOYMENT CONTRIBUTION

The hospitality sector, including cafés, restaurants and catering businesses, generates billions of

dollars a year for the Victorian economy. For the year ending October 2017, industry turnover for

the sector in Victoria was $6.5 billion.6 When incorporating turnover generated from takeaway sales,

the total industry turnover was $10.4 billion.7 A breakdown of the turnover generated from Victoria’s

café, restaurant and catering sector in comparison to other Australian states and territories can be

viewed in Figure 1 overleaf. The café and restaurant sector also employs 156,800 Victorians, equating

to 73.5 per cent of the total employment in the Accommodation and Food Services sector across the

state.8 Furthermore, the sector is expected to experience significant growth over the coming 5 years,

with an additional 29,400 positions to be created in Victoria.9 R&CA expects that a majority of the

new positions to be created in Victoria’s hospitality sector will be amongst the skilled occupations of

chefs, cooks, and café and restaurant managers. Given the increased demand over the coming years,

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2017 8165.0 - Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, Jun 2012 to Jun 2016. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid 4 Ibid 5 City of Melbourne, (2017) Economic Profile http://melbourne.geografia.com.au/ 6 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2017) 8501.0 - Retail Trade, Australia, Sep 2017. 7 Ibid. 8 Department of Employment (2016) Employment Outlook to May 2022 9 Ibid.

http://melbourne.geografia.com.au/

it is essential that all policy levers are adjusted to ensure that the hospitality sector’s need for skilled

labour can be met.

Turnover in the Café, Restaurant & Catering Industry

State

Sector

Month of October Year Ending October

Oct 16 ($M) Oct 17 ($M) % Change MoM Oct 16 ($M) Oct 17 ($M) % Change YoY

NSW Café, Restaurant & Catering Services 696.5 766.4 10.0% 8238.3 8417.4 2.2%

Café, Restaurant & Takeaway Services 1271.6 1341.2 5.5% 14427.8 15090.5 4.6%

VIC Café, Restaurant & Catering Services 540.5 569.9 5.4% 6088.6 6481.0 6.4%


QLD Café, Restaurant & Catering Services 427.9 420.4 -1.8% 4946.2 4905.4 -0.8%

Café, Restaurant & Takeaway Services 749.3 737.7 -1.5% 8683.7 8609.0 -0.9%

SA Café, Restaurant & Catering Services 96.9 129.4 33.5% 1128.0 1330.1 17.9%


WA Café, Restaurant & Catering Services 290.2 296.3 2.1% 3297.7 3484.2 5.7%


TAS Café, Restaurant & Catering Services 25.6 28.5 11.3% 304.2 327.6 7.7%


NT Café, Restaurant & Catering Services 21.3 23.4 9.9% 229.4 246.8 7.6%

Café, Restaurant & Takeaway Services 41.5 42.1 1.4% 472.3 469.3 -0.6%

ACT Café, Restaurant & Catering Services 41.9 41.7 -0.5% 511.6 496.5 -3.0%


Total Café, Restaurant & Catering Services 2140.8 2275.9 6.3% 24743.7 25688.8 3.8%


Café, Restaurant and Catering Businesses operating at end of financial year - June 2016

State Business Type Non

Employ. 1-19

Employ. 20-199

Employ. 200+

Employ. Change

% Change

Entry Rate %

Exit Rate %

Sub Total

Total No. Businesses

NSW Café & Restaurants 2643 10216 778 17 677 5.2 24.2 19.0 13660

15,030 Catering Services 474 798 83 9 42 3.2 20.9 17.8 1370

VIC Café & Restaurants 2308 8327 715 18 737 6.9 24.5 17.6 11366


QLD Café & Restaurants 1311 5105 645 9 442 6.7 25.2 18.6 7068


SA Café & Restaurants 393 1617 189 0 134 6.5 23.4 16.7 2196

2,429 Catering Services 90 123 22 0 -2 -0.9 12.3 11.9 233

WA Café & Restaurants 633 2403 437 7 135 4.0 21.7 17.6 3471


TAS Café & Restaurants 105 530 57 3 24 3.6 20.4 16.0 691

756 Catering Services 25 40 3 0 -8 -11.0 19.2 19.2 65

NT Café & Restaurants 38 135 31 3 22 12.0 25.0 14.7 206

242 Catering Services 12 18 3 0 1 2.9 17.1 14.3 36

ACT Café & Restaurants 143 578 84 4 20 2.5 21.2 19.0 811

870 Catering Services 18 42 6 0 -3 -4.8 8.1 21.0 59

Figure 1: Turnover in the Café, Restaurant & Catering Industry

Source: ABS 8501.0 Retail Trade, Australia; State by Industry Subgroup, Original.

Figure 2: Business Count in the Café, Restaurant & Catering Industry

Source: ABS 8165.0 Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, Jun 2012 to Jun 2016.

OVERVIEW OF VICTORIAN HOSPITALITY SECTOR

APPRENTICES AND TRAINEES

According to recently published data by the Department of Employment, the Accommodation and

Food Services sector has 28,000 apprentices and trainees nationally.10 This is the second highest out

of any industry sector, following construction which has 80,600.11 Figure 3 below shows the overall

levels of apprentices and trainees in the Accommodation and Food Services sector compared to

other industries. Despite the comparatively large number of apprentices and trainees in the sector,

it is also important to point out that the total number of apprenticeships and trainees across all

industries, not just within the hospitality sector, has declined over the last five years.12

Figure 3: Apprentices and Trainees by Age and By Industry Sector

Graph reproduced from Department of Employment (2017) 2017 Australian Jobs, 28 June.

10 Department of Employment (2017) 2017 Australian Jobs, 28 June. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid.

As the graph presented in Figure 3 highlights, the vast majority of the apprentices and trainees in the

hospitality sector also fall within the younger age bracket. Close to half of the hospitality sector

workforce consists of young workers, with 45 per cent aged between 15 and 24 years.13 The median

age for the café, restaurant and takeaway food sector is 24 years.14 The predominance of younger

workers within the sector is further evidenced by the fact that only 21 per cent of the hospitality

workforce were aged 41 years or over.15 Given the dependence of the hospitality sector on younger

workers, it is essential that secondary school students have access to timely, accurate and informative

careers advice regarding careers in the hospitality sector.

13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Department of Employment, (2014), Industry Outlook - Industry Outlook Accommodation and Food Services, December.

SKILLS SHORTAGES

It is well documented that the hospitality industry is currently facing chronic shortages in the supply

of skilled labour. These shortages are particularly acute amongst skilled hospitality occupations such

as cooks, chefs and café and restaurant managers. Evidence of this can be seen in R&CA’s 2017

Industry Benchmarking Report which found that 70.7 per cent of businesses surveyed indicated that

it was either ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to fill the position of chef.16 The need for chefs and café and

restaurant managers is expected to be particularly strong in the years leading up to 2020 with

accumulated demand for these positions by 2020 totalling 7,600 and 5,400 respectively.17 Figure 4

overleaf highlights the shortages being experienced among chefs and café and restaurant managers

in comparison to other hospitality sector occupations. Chronic shortfalls in the supply of skilled and

unskilled workers are especially problematic for café and restaurant businesses which rely heavily on

the ready availability of labour to operate efficiently and successfully.

SKILLS, RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT PROBLEMS

Data from a 2015 Deloitte Access Economics Report indicated that the café and restaurant sector had

the highest level of deficiencies in relation to skills, retention and recruitment of staff out of all

tourism-related sub-sectors.18 Alarmingly, 71 per cent of restaurants and cafés identified recruitment

difficulties which was almost double the average reported across other tourism industry sectors.19

81 per cent of cafés and restaurants also reported skills deficiencies in potential staff which was 12

per cent higher than the national average with chef identified as the top occupation affected by skills

deficiencies.20 As shown in Figure 6 overleaf, 7 out of the top 10 occupations by accumulated labour

demand in the tourism industry are directly relevant to cafés and restaurants. To help address chronic

skills deficiencies across hospitality sector occupations, it is essential that the transition between

school and the workforce is being managed effectively so that students can learn the skills they need

to succeed in a long-term hospitality career path.

16 Restaurant & Catering Australia (R&CA), 2017 Industry Benchmarking Report. 17 Deloitte Access Economics (2015) Australian Tourism Labour Force Report: 2015-2020, Australian Trade Commission, Austrade, October 2015. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid.

Figure 4: Top 10 occupations by accumulated labour demand, 2015-2020

Source: DAE labour force model.

Figure 4 replicated from Deloitte Access Economics (2015), Australian Tourism Labour Force Report: 2015-2020, p. xv

Occupation Accumulated demand

for skilled workers Accumulated demand

for new workers % all demand 2015 employment

Kitchenhands 4,966 17,118 14% 79,732

Waiters 4,895 13,868 11% 79,991

Bar Attendants and Baristas

3,857 10,578 9% 58,273

Chefs 7,603 9,936 8% 49,126

Cafe and Restaurant Managers

5,365 9,774 8% 40,652

Cooks 4,549 9,325 8% 40,642

Automobile Drivers 5,213 9,116 7% 26,137

Cafe Workers 1,425 4,472 4% 22,169

Hotel and Motel Managers 2,243 4,266 3% 16,253

Tourism and Travel Advisers

2,932 4,048 3% 17,450

Top 10 subtotal 43,048 92,502 75% 430,424

Total 59,689 123,125 100% 554,750

Metric Accommodation Attractions Restaurants & Cafes Other

Businesses reported as seasonal 44% 49% 59% 47%

Average # employees 21 22 21 11

Vacancy rate 5% 4% 9% 10%

Turnover rate 51% 42% 88% 61%

% identifying recruitment deficiencies

39% 36% 71% 38%

% identifying retention deficiencies

27% 22% 52% 30%

% identifying skills deficiencies 66% 59% 81% 64%

Top deficiency identified Capability

management Experience

opportunities Capability

misalignment Experience

Top occupation affected by deficiency

Cleaner Tour guide Chef Hospitality

Worker

Figure 5 replicated from Deloitte Access Economics (2015) Australian Tourism Labour Force Report:2015-2020.

Figure 5: Skills, recruitment and retention difficulty by tourism sub-sector

TRANSITION BETWEEN SCHOOL AND WORK

Currently, there is evidence to suggest that the transition between school and work for those

employed within the hospitality sector is not being managed effectively. Deficiencies with Victoria’s

current careers advice system can be reflected in the fact that less than a third of Victorian school

completers surveyed in 2014 indicated that their career advice was very useful which was down from

44.4 per cent in 2010.21 These patterns can also be seen with a decline in the number of

apprenticeships being completed as well as high rates attrition within the sector. Overall, the number

of apprentices and trainees has decreased, with recent NCVER data showing a 4.7 per cent decrease

in apprentices and trainees in-training in the 12 months to June 2017.22 In addition, around 60 per

cent of students who discontinue with apprentice courses do so within their first year which is

another indication that students may not be managing the transition to these courses effectively.23

R&CA believes that one of the major reasons contributing to systemic issues around attraction,

retention and completion of hospitality sector courses is due to negative and inaccurate perceptions

associated with the pursuit of a hospitality career path.

PERCEPTION OF HOSPITALITY WORK AS SHORT-TERM

One of the major perceptions associated with the hospitality sector work is that it is of a transitory

or short-term nature. This damaging perception is fuelled by the hospitality sector having ‘low

success rates and high rates of staff and apprentice turnover’.24 The high rate of attrition in the

hospitality industry is problematic for both the stability of the businesses and the employees

themselves. R&CA argues that the promotion of long-term career paths within the sector as part of

school careers advice programs is required to overcome the detrimental impact caused by such

perceptions. R&CA itself has already been actively involved in efforts to attract more students to a

long-term career in the hospitality sector through its Discover Hospitality brand.

21 Clarke. K (2015) Careers education must be for all, not just those going to university, The Conversation, 20 October. 22 National Centre for Vocational Educational Research (NCVER) (2017) Australian vocational education and training statistics - Apprentices and trainees 2016 (June Quarter). 23 Bednarz, A (2014) Understanding the non-completion of apprentices National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). 24 Dickie, McDonald & Pedic 2011 as cited in Bednarz, A (2014) Understanding the non-completion of apprentices National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

https://discoveryourcareer.com.au/discover-hospitality/

PERCEPTION OF APPRENTICESHIPS AND TRAINEESHIPS

In addition to perceptions surrounding the nature of hospitality work are the perceptions

surrounding apprenticeships and traineeships as being inferior to the completion of a university

degree. Recently published research by Year13 found that three out of every four young people

would not consider an apprenticeship or traineeship as a career.25 The same research also suggested

that young people did not view apprenticeships and university degrees on equal footing.26 Young

peoples’ perceptions of the value of an apprenticeship or traineeship are particularly important

when they are weighing up career options post-high school. Without adequate information on

hospitality sector careers through careers advice activities, students’ decision-making processes will

be unduly influenced by perceptions gained from other sources such as teachers, friends and parents.

If the perception that apprenticeships and traineeships are inferior to university degrees persists, this

will exacerbate the chronic skills shortages being experienced by hospitality sector employers.

25 Year13 (2017) After The ATAR: Understanding How Gen Z Transition Into Further Education and Employment. 26 Ibid.

Figure 6: Australian youth’s view of apprenticeships and university degrees

Figure 6 replicated from Year13 (2017) After The ATAR: Understanding How Gen Z Transition Into Further Education and Employment.

REFORMS TO CAREER ADVICE ACTIVITIES IN

VICTORIAN SCHOOLS

In R&CA’s view, instituting reforms to careers advice activities in Victorian schools is critical given the

strong correlation between school careers advice and future youth employment outcomes. Whilst

students’ career decisions are based on information received from a combination of numerous

sources including parents, friends and online information, school careers advisors nevertheless

provide students with specific and tailored career advice which can have a significant influence over

their final decision. Ensuring that students in Victorian secondary schools skills receive timely,

accurate and informative careers advice regarding potential long-term career paths within the

hospitality sector is a key priority for R&CA as part of any proposed reforms to Victoria’s careers

advice activities. The advice given to students needs to emphasise the benefits of a long-term career

within hospitality and the potential opportunities which are available to the students who pursue

this option.

DELIVERY OF CAREERS ADVICE ACTIVITIES

R&CA argues that both the content and delivery of careers advice within schools is critical in ensuring

that Victorian secondary school students are well-equipped to make decisions about their future

career. To ensure the most effective possible transition between school and work, it is important that

students are being provided with careers information throughout their secondary school as opposed

to receiving an influx of information as they approach graduation. In R&CA’s view, information

regarding potential careers options in the hospitality sector should commence at the earliest possible

stage in a students’ secondary school education. In doing so, this allows students an adequate

amount of time to properly evaluate post-school career options rather than being rushed into a

decision upon completion of Year 12. The provision of careers advice should occur as a sustained

process throughout all stages of secondary school education rather than merely as a once-off event.

Furthermore, the earlier that students have access to careers advice programs in schools, the sooner

they are able to pursue external opportunities which will enable them to obtain the desired skills and

experienced required to pursue their chosen career path effectively.

TRAINING OF CAREERS ADVISERS

In its previous submissions and parliamentary evidence, R&CA has recommended incorporating the

latest and most up-to-date employment data as part of the training provided to careers advisers. This

policy measure will result in students having access to timely, accurate and informative careers advice

regarding careers in the hospitality sector. Given that the café, restaurant and catering sector is

expected to generate 84,100 jobs by May 202227 (the most out of any economic subsector), R&CA

believes that incorporating such information into careers advice programs will help to address

underlying negative perceptions surrounding individual hospitality occupations and career paths.

The significant employment opportunities available within the hospitality sector are often

overlooked in favour of other aspects which do not necessarily depict the hospitality sector in the

most favourable light. Prospects for training and employment for students within the hospitality

sector are strong whereas this isn’t the case to the same extent for other more popular industries

which students may be inclined to select based on inaccurate perceptions or incorrect careers advice.

R&CA argues that the ability of school careers advisers to provide high-quality careers advice to

Victorian secondary school students is being hampered by a lack of available funds and resources.

PERSONALITY TESTING

Whilst the development of skills is no doubt crucial in maximising the chances of success in pursuing

a hospitality career, equally as important is identifying candidates with personality and human traits

that best suit individual occupations. For instance, a front of house staff will need to possess different

personality traits than that of a chef whose face-to-face time with customers is far more limited.

These nuances can be determined through personality testing which may be of assistance to students

in deciding which specific occupations are best-suited to them. R&CA believes that combining

tailored, industry-specific careers advice with personality testing of students will significantly assist

students in evaluating their post-secondary school career options.

HIGH-PROFILE INDUSTRY FIGURES

Given the recent increase in popularity of various television cooking shows, R&CA argues that this

intrigue and interest should be harnessed at a secondary school level to encourage more students to

pursue hospitality as a long-term career path. One such way of achieving this outcome is through

27 Department of Employment (2016) Employment Outlook to May 2022.

commissioning high-profile industry figures to give interactive classroom presentations to school

students as part of their careers advice programs. At the same time, however, it is also important to

ensure that students do not have a glamourised view of the hospitality industry because of

perceptions derived from watching reality television programs. These inaccurate perceptions further

contribute to the stream of students having short-term experiences of hospitality work as they realise

the nature of hospitality work in reality does not mirror the way it is presented in the entertainment

industry. Nonetheless, R&CA believes that influential and successful hospitality figures can still be

used to market the industry to school students and correct negative perceptions of the industry

amongst young people and their peer groups and families.

CONSISTENCY IN THE QUALITY OF CAREERS ADVICE PROVIDED

R&CA urges the Victorian Government to ensure that all schools, regardless of location or region, are

adequately resourced in terms of careers advisers and careers advice programs. R&CA stresses the

need for consistency in the careers advice provided to students across the state and against the

creation of a two-tiered system, believing that doing so would undermine the core objectives of this

Inquiry. Unless the ultimate recommendations from this Inquiry are applied consistently across the

state, R&CA argues that deficiencies in the current model will continue to exacerbate the skills

shortages being experienced across the hospitality sector. Ensuring that school students in rural and

regional areas receive quality careers advice and information regarding hospitality sector career

paths is even more important, given that staff shortages in café and restaurant businesses are often

most acute in areas of low population density. Furthermore, the hospitality sector is a major

employer in rural and regional areas of Victoria and the rate of youth unemployment is often

substantially higher than in metropolitan areas.

ADDITIONAL VET SECTOR FUNDING

R&CA urges the Victorian Government to accompany its investment in careers advisers with

additional funding for the state’s VET sector. At present, there is a significant degree of confusion

surrounding the VET sector among school students which only serves to reinforce incorrect

perceptions about apprenticeships and traineeships. R&CA stresses that reforms to the state’s

careers advice activities need to be accompanied by an overarching set of policies designed at

addressing structural deficiencies in the state’s VET system. For instance, a recent report found that

‘the VET sector must…better inform and support young early school leavers if it wants to engage

them and improve youth unemployment opportunities’.28

R&CA argues that the transition from school to work can be managed more effectively with industry-

led mentoring programs in place to maximise completions of hospitality sector courses. Whilst R&CA

believes that retention rates can be improved if students have access to relevant information and

data as part of careers advice activities, this does not negate the need to also invest in mentoring

programs after students have evaluated career options and made their decision about which

pathway to pursue.

28 NCVER (2017) Engaging young early school leavers in vocational training, Eric Dommers, George Myconos, Luke Swain, Stephanie Yung and Kira Clarke.

CONCLUSION

R&CA appreciates the opportunity to provide feedback the Victorian Parliament’s Economic,

Education, Jobs and Skills Committee’s Inquiry into career advice activities in Victorian schools. R&CA

is acutely aware of the importance of successfully managing the transition from school into the

workforce and believes that careers advice in schools plays a significant role in influencing students’

decisions about their career paths and long-term goals. R&CA argues that greater industry

involvement is needed in Victorian schools and more resources should be devoted to school careers

advice programs to ensure that secondary school students are properly informed as to the benefits

of a long-term career within the hospitality sector.

In R&CA’s view, the importance of ensuring that students receive informative and accurate careers

advice regarding the hospitality sector is magnified due to the negative perceptions surrounding the

industry which are often propagated through other sources of careers advice such as friends,

teachers and family. To combat against these damaging perceptions, R&CA argues that students must

receive robust careers advice at the earliest possible stage in their secondary school education, rather

than delaying this until graduation. Correcting these perceptions also involves establishing a closer

nexus between high school and the industry through commissioning high-profile, influential

hospitality figures to give interactive presentations to secondary school students about the benefits

of careers in the sector.

Although there is significant scope for the Victorian Government to reform careers advice activities

in schools, R&CA warns that structural adjustments in the design and delivery of this system will not

in and of itself be a solution to the current skills shortages crisis. Rather, improving the state’s careers

advice activities should be viewed as one aspect of an overarching policy approach towards

ameliorating the worsening skills shortage problem. R&CA advises that proper investment is required

in Victoria’s VET sector, alongside the development of industry-led mentoring programs to address

the ingrained problems associated with attraction, retention and completion of apprenticeships and

traineeships. Without this accompanying investment, Victoria’s hospitality industry will be unable to

maximise the economic and employment benefits of its predicted growth over the coming years.

REFERENCES LIST

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2017) 8501.0 - Retail Trade, Australia, Sept 2017.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2017 8165.0 - Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries

and Exits, Jun 2012 to Jun 2016.

Bednarz, A (2014) Understanding the non-completion of apprentices National Centre for Vocational

Education Research (NCVER)

Clarke. K (2015) Careers education must be for all, not just those going to university, The

Conversation, 20 October.

City of Melbourne, (2017) Economic Profile http://melbourne.geografia.com.au/

Deloitte Access Economics (2015) Australian Tourism Labour Force Report: 2015-2020, Australian

Trade Commission, Austrade, October 2015.

Department of Employment (2017) 2017 Australian Jobs, 28 June.

Department of Employment (2016) Employment Outlook to May 2022.

Department of Employment, (2014), Industry Outlook - Industry Outlook Accommodation and Food

Services, December.

National Centre for Vocational Educational Research (NCVER) (2017) Australian vocational education

and training statistics - Apprentices and trainees 2016 (June Quarter).

National Centre for Vocational Educational Research (NCVER) (2017) Engaging young early school

leavers in vocational training, Eric Dommers, George Myconos, Luke Swain, Stephanie Yung and Kira

Clarke.

Restaurant & Catering Australia (R&CA), 2017 Industry Benchmarking Report.

Year13 (2017) After The ATAR: Understanding How Gen Z Transition Into Further Education and

Employment.

http://melbourne.geografia.com.au/

RESTAURANT & CATERING AUSTRALIA

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