Dive In - The Water's Fine

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday March 29, 2008

Rebecca Martin

There are plenty of jobs in the state's booming tourism sector, writes Rebecca Martin.

When Luke Jansen and his girlfriend went on a road trip to Western Australia, they planned to stay a couple of months.

They drove from Perth to Broome and were heading back down the coast, intending to go back east, when they stopped off in the coastal town of Exmouth. There they found the Ningaloo Reef, famed for its crystal waters and whale sharks, and a whole new career direction.

Jansen, who already had his advanced open water dive ticket, found a cheap divemaster course with a three-month unpaid internship. He took it, subsidising his living expenses with casual work in WA's booming tourism and hospitality market.

"I did the dive ticket for six days a week, and worked part-time as a pizza driver," Jansen says. "My girlfriend also supported me, working in a cafe and restaurant. It's not hard to find jobs. Now I am working, she is doing her divemaster ticket, as well."

Jansen's "work" involves spending his days on Ningaloo Reef, either as a deckhand or taking tourists on dives. He earns about $140 a day.

"It was quiet season when I got here [and did the divemaster ticket]. So once busy season started, I was first in line for a job," says Jansen, who is working towards getting his skipper's ticket. "I was never sure what I wanted to do. I did want to do my divemaster's ticket a long time ago but I had never heard of Exmouth or the Ningaloo Reef. I had never thought of doing my skipper's ticket or working on a boat. Now that's all I want to do."

WA might be better known more for its mining sector but, according to Go West Now, the government campaign charged with luring workers to the state, there are more than 20,000 hospitality jobs to be filled in WA at any given time.

The shortage is partly due to the well-paid resources sector sucking up every skilled person it can find and the fact that the cashed-up state has more to spend on leisure.

"We have more than 7500 kilometres of coastline and people are discovering the attractions of WA," says Stephen Moir, chief executive of Go West Now to attract workers to the state. "There are major developments going on. Broome is expanding, so is Exmouth. And the south-west corner of the state is now the fastest growing part of Australia."

Moir says restaurants and hotels are crying out for people."It's not just about the resources sector, there are work opportunities everywhere," he says.

He is not kidding. Walk past a cafe in Perth, and you are likely to see a "help wanted" sign next to the menu in the window.

Blair Darvill manages the Margaret River Surf School and says during the summer season, qualified surf instructors can earn between $20 and $30 an hour, conducting three lessons a day and spending six hours in the water. He says if you have the right paperwork, glamorous outdoors jobs such as taking tourists rock climbing, sea kayaking or surfing are plentiful.

"The qualifications are pretty strict these days and they differ from state to state," Darvill says. "There's good money and jobs during the season, and then you travel to the next season. It's a bit like [following] the snow."

It has become so hard to find people that employers such as Kate Lamont, who owns wineries and restaurants all over the state, have set up a special program to give employees training and career progression.

There are about 15 employers. "We rotate people across the season," Lamont says. "It's more for people looking to get apprenticeship qualifications or front-of-house training. There are some strong brand employers involved with quality establishments and the fact that [staff] get to work at high season means competencies are fast-tracked."

Hospitality salaries are said to be improving. Lamont says a full-time waitress could earn about $45,000, while chefs and front-of-house staff could earn more than $65,000. Casual rates start at about $18 an hour.

"It used to be a handful of people that could earn good money," Lamont says. "Now a lot of people can."

Rory Cole-Bowen, managing director of recruitment firm Hospitality Biz, says employers are putting other sweeteners on the table.

"Sign-on bonuses or rewards for staying for a period of time [are being used] for chefs," Cole-Bowen says. "Retention is an important part of ongoing employment in hospitality, especially in an industry that traditionally has a high turnover. Other front-line employee [incentives] might be free parking, free uniforms, meals and discounts for using the services."

Then there is the lifestyle incentive. WA really has two peak seasons, summer in the south-west, then winter in the north.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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