Cairns was proud to be the host of the Queensland Tourism Awards in the newly extended Convention Centre this month. Usually held in the South East, the event was attended by 800+ people and was a great success. There were many winners across the broad categories including from remote and regional towns. Congratulations to the winners and to Paronella Park who have been entered into the Industry Hall of Fame. Other first place regional winners included Mount Isa Rodeo, Bundaberg Rum Distillery, Cape York Peninsula Lodge, Whitsunday Airport, Big4 Whitsundays, Reef House Palm Cove. There were many other great regional attractions that took out silver and bronze awards, a fantastic result.

As we come towards the end of the year, that has gone ever so quickly, I thought I would give you a snapshot of some of the key employment market drivers, indicators, and changes.

• Unemployment remains low with significant shortages of skilled workers.
• Gen Z is now entering the work force. They are people born between 1997-2012 or aged 11 to 26. It is worth considering, they are drawn to jobs and companies that align with their values, are motivated by autonomy and ownership of their work, and a sense of purpose.
• Hybrid working from home continues to decline with people preferring to work in the ‘office’. The lack of face-to-face interaction with their managers and colleagues has proved to have a negative impact on employees the business and overall productivity.
• Artificial Intelligence, AI is a significant game changer with many low skilled, and repetitive task jobs, considered to be at the greatest risk. Other professions including legal, and engineering are also considered at risk. AI is creating a greater demand for soft skills. It is expected AI will in the future, increase job opportunities not decrease them. This is an interesting and fast-moving space to watch.
• With the critical shortage of housing many of our clients in regional towns are offering accommodation to entice workers. Across the board we have clients, including those in major centres, also offering landing accommodation which is a great idea to consider to help widen your search to fill key vacancies or to help make a career move to a new city or regional centre more enticing. Please speak to us if you need some advice or to discuss potential opportunities.

As the Christmas and holiday period approaches if you need temporary staff to fill holiday relief please do not hesitate to call our team.