Opera singing accountant guides visitors as tourism hunts new talent

Friday, 16 August 2019

Former accountant turned tour guide Leon Liu was the first person hired through a website which matches job seekers with tourism businesses needing staff.

Former accountant and part time opera singer Leon Liu's head for heights launched him into a new career as a tour guide.

He had to jump off the Sky Tower at his job interview with AJ Hackett Bungy, and he clinched the position by bursting into song on the bungy platform.

Liu was the first hire made through Go with Tourism, a website created by Auckland's tourism and economic development agency (Ateed) to match job seekers with employers.

Thanks to a $5.2m grant from the new international visitor levy, the recruitment site will be rolled out nationally over the next year, starting with Queenstown.

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An online match-making service for Auckland employers and job seekers in the tourism sector will help boost the region's work force in time for the America's Cup and other major events in 2021.

Now guiding visitors on the Auckland Harbour Bridge climb, Liu says it's way cooler than 'boring' accountancy and he is enthusiastic about future job opportunities in the tourism sector.

'You're not sitting in front of a computer all day every day and you meet a lot of different people.'

The extension of the Go Tourism programme is is part of a major charm offensive by the tourism industry which needs 40,000 more workers by 2025,

Auckland alone needs 16,000, which means increasing the region's tourism workforce by a third.

A softening in arrivals has seen international guest nights for commercial accommodation drop seven months in a row, but Ateed destination manager Steve Armitage says they have to prepare for 2021 when Auckland will host the Apec leaders meeting, the America's Cup, the women's cricket and rugby world cups and Te Matatini.

He admits tourism has an image problem which they are trying to change.

'Both with young people, but in particular with their parents, there is a perception that it's low value.'

Based on the results of an online survey, Go with Tourism job seekers are given three potential career paths, and an idea of income as they climb the ladder.

Leon Liu is one of the more than 360,000 people employed directly and indirectly in tourism.

To date 186 companies and 700 prospective employees have registered on the site with 31 jobs confirmed, and businesses signing up have to commit to paying the living wage within three years.

AJ Hackett Bungy Auckland sales manager Tash Lawrence has filled two vacancies through the online matching making service.

She says being able to specify skills, such as the ability to speak multiple languages, was a major plus.

Room service attendant Dylan Bryant is the sort of talent the tourism industry is looking for as it tries to recruit 40,000 more workers over the next five years. (File video)

Like Liu, many of the 60,000 visitors to the website have been older people interested in changing careers and Lawrence says they have a lot to offer.

'We have one person who was an engineer for years and he's an incredible jump master because he can do maths really fast. We put safety first so we need these clever people.'

Based on Dylan Rushbrook's experience, there is a lot of untapped talent out there.

Starting out as 16-year-old washing dishes in a Dunedin hotel kitchen, he left school with no formal qualifications and was initially denied entry to hospitality training because of his poor attendance record.

But by the time he was 30 he was earning more than $100,000 a year as director of sales at SkyCity and he is forever grateful to the polytech tutor who took a punt by accepting him on a hospitality course in Cromwell.

His first job was at the Millbrook Resort and a few years on he graduated with a bachelor of tourism from Otago University.

Tourism growth has slowed but the industry is still trying to recruit an additional 40,000 workers by 2025.

A dishwashing stint as a 16-year-old inspired Dylan Rushbrook to become a hotel manager and he is encouraging more young people to give the tourism industry a go.

Now back living in Cromwell as the general manager of Tourism Central Otago, he also part owns a tourism recruitment business.

He says employers can do more to attract and retain staff by offering job placements to students, releasing staff to talk to schools, and mentoring younger employees.

The first five years are tough for newbies, but those prepared to do the hard yards can progress swiftly, and Rushbrook says his agency fills plenty of jobs paying salaries of $100,000-plus

Often young people cannot see past the low paid entry-level jobs, leading to churn rates of 30 or 40 per cent.

'[Some employers] are not great with new people coming in, they get all the shitty shifts and the least amount of hours when things start getting a bit tight, they're on minimum wage of course, so it's really hard.

'You've got to figure out ways to help these people see what the long term goals for them are.'

The seasonal nature of New Zealand tourism is a challenge too and Rushbrook suggests extending the recognised seasonal employer scheme to tourism.

'There's an opportunity to have a better conversation, starting at Government level, about New Zealanders going over there in [the Pacific Islands] high season and upskilling their staff, but in return bringing staff their staff here in our summer when we're short staffed.'

Rushbrook also believes the way tourism is taught in schools needs to change.

'It's really dumbed down …given it's importance to New Zealand's economy, it's an issue that needs to be addressed.'