A successful tourism and events industry is essential for the communities of Western, North and Far North Queensland, helping improve social cohesion and providing important financial benefits to local communities. This industry was severely affected by flooding in 2019 impacting the employment and income of many individuals in the short term and leading to longer term problems for the community.

TAFE Queensland worked side-by-side with the local community through the Volunteers and Events Training Program to boost the skills and confidence of volunteers working in the tourism and events industry and to build resilience in the community more generally. By building resilience and capability through training and upskilling, affected communities were equipped with the skills they needed to assist in their recovery from the 2019 floods.

This training program has been proven to give volunteers a better understanding of the importance of their role in the community, including ways to be more effective in their volunteer roles and support their community to become more resilient. As Australia faces the ongoing challenges of COVID and natural disasters, nothing could be more important than empowering our communities.

TAFE Queensland prides itself on giving people the skills they need to do extraordinary things, including giving volunteers in regional areas the diverse set of practical skills needed to make a great events and community building projects happen. These skills also enhance the resilience of the community and volunteers’ employability more generally, improving skills levels across Queensland especially for key tourism and events areas, contributing to improved economic performance.

The goal was to boost the skills and confidence of volunteers in the events sector and support them to reinvigorate the tourism industry in North and Far North Queensland.

Three separate components were delivered:

• A bespoke training program for nominated event volunteers and staff designed to build customer service, resilience and leadership skills including online and face-to-face delivery

• Study tour – giving event workers the opportunity to learn from leaders in hospitality and tourism across the state

• 12 scholarships worth $5,000 for one of six specific courses for people living in one of the 39 disaster-affected local government areas

TAFE Queensland worked closely with regional stakeholders and industry to understand their local needs, identify key events and tourism issues and identify learning opportunities and case studies for the customised face-to-face training.

The Volunteers and Events Training Program is not something that every training provider could deliver. TAFE Queensland has the size, resources, experience and technical capability to deliver an innovative training program designed to meet the unique needs of regional communities in North Queensland. TAFE Queensland has the required highly experienced trainers and ability to design and deliver responsive training programs that meet the needs of local industries, strengthens communities and provides employment opportunities for participants. TAFE Queensland is committed to meeting the diverse needs of students, from a wide range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, and in regional and remote locations.

TAFE Queensland has received incredible feedback on the Volunteers and Events Training Program highlighting how this training contributes to the community:

• Working together helps to make the community brighter.

• Consecutiveness builds resilience in the community.

• Establishing community relationships to draw on in times of crisis.

• Empowering communities to come together / work together to reach a common purpose or goal.

The value of volunteering was almost $84 billion in 2020 and it is growing, highlighting the important role volunteers play in our communities and the need to support their skill development and motivation to continue their roles in the future. TAFE Queensland has innovated to develop a bespoke, contemporary and community-focused training solution on time and within budget. Improving workforce capability, knowledge and experience to develop bespoke training products and support volunteers to ensure successful events is an important contribution to business sustainability due to the growth in this area.

Engaging and collaborating with regional Councils to identify and respond to their training needs offers potential opportunities for the future. TAFE Queensland is investigating rolling out this program to sporting clubs across the state as part of the build up to the Olympics. North Queensland are also hoping to use the material to continue delivery in their region as part of a broader volunteer strategy.

TAFE Queensland is working alongside industry and the communities it serves to assist Queensland in its recovery from the pandemic and floods through the training of a skilled and job-ready workforce. The importance of our regional communities and supporting them to be sustainable and resilient when faced with natural disasters and geographic isolation cannot be understated. While this program was developed in the aftermath of the 2019 floods in North Queensland, the importance of this program has been repeatedly underlined in the years since through COVID and wide-spreading flooding in early 2022.

For more information about the TAFE Queensland Volunteer and Events Program, visit tafeqld.edu.au/vetp.