Exploring Australia’s breathtaking landscapes and unveiling its hidden treasures may seem like a dream job but a shortage of tour guides has reached alarming levels leading the government to add the job to the national occupational shortage list for the first time. The change opens the door for skilled migrants to help fill the gap.
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00:00It's a little bit of a result of the pandemic, actually, so we had a lot of guides who decided
00:09to leave the industry and not return.
00:12We had our borders closed for quite a long time, as you know, so we missed out on some
00:18of those specific guides that come in for skilled jobs to fill with certain operators
00:25around the country.
00:28I just think, in the past, it's not been cited as a true profession, which it actually is.
00:36It can be full-time, it can be part-time, it has attractive work conditions and has
00:41good salary.
00:43So we've had a few barriers, but things are moving along nicely now.
00:47And with this new program, we are hoping to see some guides come in who will fit the bill
00:53for certain operators who require certain skills, particularly in the language area.
00:59And as long as they're trained properly once they arrive, they can really bring our country
01:04to life.
01:05So could the jobs be made more attractive for people already here in Australia, like
01:10making them more permanent somehow and lifting the pay?
01:15I think it can be as permanent as you would like it to be.
01:21So when you've been in the industry like I have for quite some time, you get offered
01:26work and you choose.
01:27You choose whether you want to work full-time, part-time or casually.
01:32So a young person coming into the industry, provided they're properly trained and mentored
01:37by someone like Tour Guides Australia, then we can show them the absolute value in choosing
01:45this as a career path.
01:47Would international visitors and interstate visitors prefer someone who's actually been
01:51in Australia for a while rather than someone who's suddenly arrived from overseas?
01:56Look, there's many types of guides, so it depends.
02:01The image that's showing now is tubing or rafting or something.
02:04They are skilled people and they work the seasons from overseas and in Australia.
02:09So that's about a skill set that's required.
02:12And I don't think anybody would be too concerned whether that person has been a long-term Australian
02:17resident or has been here for a short term.
02:21On some of the overland tours such as I do, obviously we have foreign language speaking
02:29guides and we have English speaking guides.
02:32As long as you've done your homework and you've learned what this country is about and you're
02:37a great ambassador and the visitors are getting the correct information, then I think it's
02:45a value add by having a mix of people.
02:49And is this move to put the positions on this national list of needed workers likely to
02:54make much of a difference, you think?
02:57I think it will, particularly in some of the site guides that are required with their special
03:04skills.
03:05Yes, it will make a difference because those people will be able to come in and be trained.
03:10And then, of course, in our foreign speaking language guides, then they can come in, they
03:16can be trained properly by doing, you know, micro-academic courses or doing accreditation.
03:24And then they will be ready to deliver the same as we are.
03:28So as long as they've got some industry background from where they're coming from, and then they
03:33can research and learn.
03:35And we will help mentor these people to ensure that it is a quality guiding service that
03:41is being delivered.
03:43And Susan Rees, when did you first become a guide?
03:47And what do you love about the job?
03:49And what's the kind of the magic that can happen between a guide and the tourists?
03:55Okay, so I'm very proud of our country.
03:58I think it's a beautiful place.
04:00I am currently on tour.
04:02So I've been able to showcase the Great Barrier Reef.
04:05I live in Cairns Far North, Queensland.
04:07I think it's a stunning environment up there.
04:10I've been to Uluru in the centre.
04:13And I'm in such fragile, pristine environment with the cultural and heritage values out
04:20there.
04:21Sydney, and I'm currently in Adelaide.
04:23We've just been out to the Adelaide Hills and seeing some of our amazing wildlife.
04:27That's what I love about it.
04:28I'm excited when I do this, and I'm very excited to share it with our international visitors.
04:35Without giving my age away, I've been a guide for a very long time.
04:39And I enjoy it.
04:40I love it.
04:42Every day is different.
04:44I'm at the point in my career where I can be a little choosy.
04:50And a few companies that I work for have narrowed right down.
04:54They've got amazing itineraries that really give me the opportunity to showcase what Australia
05:00has and truly bring our country to life.
05:03And so, you say you're able to be a bit choosy now these days, but over the years, how much
05:10of the year have you actually been away from home on tour, taking tours around the country?
05:16Okay, so there's many types of guiding.
05:19So I'm doing overland guiding now, and that season starts in August and finishes around
05:27about the end of May.
05:28I don't work back to back.
05:30I take time off.
05:31I finish this tour 20th of November, and then I don't start again until the 3rd of December.
05:37So you've got to, you know, look after your emotional well-being and recharge those batteries,
05:42so to speak.
05:43But I haven't always done overland guiding.
05:45I was doing local guiding when I started.
05:49So I was meeting people when they came in, showing them around local areas.
05:53I also still do quite a bit of work in what's called the shoreX industry.
05:59So that's when the cruise ships come in.
06:00So we're taking visitors off the ship just for a day tour in a location.
06:04I do that in many places in Australia, predominantly in Cairns, but I also do it in Melbourne and
06:10Sydney as well.
06:12So that's what I mean, you know, you get to choose.
06:14So everybody starts out somewhere, and you work out what you want to do.
06:19You might have a young family, and this could be the job for you.
06:23Your children have gone to school.
06:25You've got that bit of time, and you just want to fix the ship work.
06:29So it can be tailor-made to what you want it to be.
06:34Tour Guides Australia is working very hard with many government bodies and with industry
06:40to look at the rates of pay and to get an award established and remuneration that's
06:48commenced right with what we're doing.
06:49And of course, we work very closely with the inbound tour operators that we all work for,
06:55and they understand that some of those days are 12, 14-hour days.
06:59So we are remunerated accordingly.
07:02And you've got to be on the whole time, don't you, in terms of making sure that everybody's
07:06having a good time?
07:07Well, yes.
07:08I mean, I've been on tour today, and we had a flight delay of an hour and a half this
07:14morning, and I still had to fit in and get to Cleland and call the bus company, and all
07:18those things you've got to do, you've got to be on your game all of the time, and always
07:22making sure that the guests are getting the best experience that they can.
07:28So we've just been feeding kangaroos and walking around looking at koalas and dingoes
07:34and listening to talks, and it's been amazing.
07:37Everybody has just loved it.