Hospitality Students Discover Gold along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

By Monica Poling

Slinging burgers along the Jersey Shore has become a little less appealing for this year’s employment-seeking university students.

That’s because plenty of good-paying hospitality jobs – many located on the sunny beaches beside Australia’s Great Barrier Reef—are just waiting to be filled by American university students seeking short-term work to fulfill their graduation requirements.

Despite the abundance of hospitality jobs in Australia, however, it isn’t necessarily easy for individual students to identify and secure those positions.

“Students don’t always know how to go about looking beyond their local motel when it comes to fulfilling their work-study internship requirements,” said James Bell, president of cultural exchange organization Alliance Abroad Group (AAG).

AAG, who has recently partnered with Tourism Australia and Tourism Queensland to launch the “Work Experience Australia” program, created this one-of-a-kind program to connect university students directly with tourism employers in Australia’s Queensland state.

“At a time when university students are facing rising unemployment rates and significant competition for the jobs that are available, this program offers students a real opportunity to create a solid resume and to get a leg up on their competition,” said Victoria Lynden, AAG CEO.

Indeed the employment rate for recent university graduates is grim.

A May 2011 New York Times article called the employment outlook “bleak,” and further stated that the average starting salary for last year’s university graduates has decreased by some 10 percent over the past six years.

The Times article, which is largely based on a report entitled Unfulfilled Expectations: Recent College Graduates Struggle in a Troubled Economy released by The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, also indicated that just 56 percent of 2010 graduates had found a job nearly a year after graduation.

“International work experience is a real differentiator in the hospitality job market for recent graduates,” said Bell.

The Heldrich Center study seems to agree. Although international experience isn’t tracked specifically, the study does reveal that students completing an internship earned on average roughly 24 percent more than students without an internship experience.

If the idea of adding overseas experience to the resume isn’t enough motivation to consider working in Australia, the starting salaries should be more than enough to make students take a second look.

AAG will place college students in the most elite hospitality jobs in Australia’s beautiful Great Barrier Reef for up to six months, where they will earn a guaranteed pay rate triple of what they could hope to make back home (where they are lucky enough to even get work in this strapped economy). “When our students aren’t busy gaining invaluable professional experience working with international clientele on behalf of top 4 and 5 star resorts, they can spend their free time soaking up all the beauty and wonder the magnificent Great Barrier Reef has to offer, indeed the tax refund students earn will be more than enough to cover their program fee and airfare to Australia,” said Bell.

Once the student successfully finishes a full interview process, usually including a one-on-one interview with their prospective employer via Skype, the student will receive a guaranteed job offer for up to six months in Australia’s Queensland state. While students may not secure a one-year contract, due to the visa restrictions, they may stay in Australia up to a year and complete a second six month contract or spend the second six months traveling around the country.

By the time the student departs for Australia, he or she will have a complete employment contract outlining the work they will perform with salary details. AAG will also help secure affordable housing, which can range from dormitory style housing to apartment-type accommodations based on the student’s interest and the availability in the specific area where the student is assigned.

Students may already be familiar with Queensland, which was the focus of an internationally successful marketing campaign, “Best Job in the World.” Tourism Queensland sponsored one lucky contestant, who secured a six month Island Caretaker role which involved living in luxury accommodation on Hamilton Island and fuelling global interest in Queensland through media interviews, blogging, posting photos and video diaries, while earning AUD $150,000.

“While the Best Job in the World has been fulfilled, there are still plenty of great employment opportunities left throughout Queensland,” said Shana Pereira of Tourism Queensland. “We are thrilled to be working with Alliance Abroad Group to bring students from the U.S. to the various facilities around Queensland. With the US being one of the top markets for Australia, we think a cultural exchange with America’s tourism students will provide valuable education for both students and employers and will also give the student an opportunity to explore Queensland in their down time.”

One facility participating in AAG’s Work Experience Australia program is Hamilton Island’s luxurious resort “qualia”. Considered to be among the finest resort properties in the world, qualia has earned a laundry list of awards, including Best Resort, Best Australian Lodge and Best Spa at last year’s Hotel Management Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence. It has also been listed in the top 5 of the Condé Nast Traveller (UK) Readers’ Travel Awards in the ‘Overseas Leisure Hotels – Australasia and South Pacific’ category, as well as being recognized by Condé Nast Traveler in its USA and UK Hot Lists and the UK Gold List

qualia’s Assistant General Manager Nick Lee is no stranger to hospitality internship programs. Having himself worked as a housekeeping intern to fulfill his own university graduation requirements, he is a strong supporter of cultural exchange programs.

“We are very excited about this new program by AAG. I can personally attest to how valuable a hospitality internship program can be in securing future employment.  What’s more, qualia resort is looking forward to meeting and working with America’s best hospitality students.”

Understandably, this might all sound too good to be true. But by the time students leave for Australia, AAG guarantees that they’ll have a signed employment contract in hand, with known performance expectations and salary details already firmly established. Parents can take comfort knowing in advance where their children will be working (and that those jobs have been pre-vetted by AAG), how much they’ll be earning, where they will be living, while also resting assured that each placement will enjoy 24/7 on-the-ground support from the moment he or she arrives.

AAG charges a modest placement fee for every student, but the jobs our students will assume pay a minimum of $17-$20 an hour, a far cry from the minimum wage the average college kid can hope to earn slinging drinks and burgers back home. As an added bonus, they will pocket a good portion of their taxes plus the 9% that automatically goes into the equivalent of a retirement fund. The placement fee ends up easily paying for itself.

As an added enticement for Mom and Dad, the United States is currently Australia’s third-largest tourism market, and the surge in interest has led to more affordable airfare options than ever before. Our hope is that parents too will avail themselves of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to plan an epic family vacation. This could be their chance to both see their children in action in their chosen profession while enjoying all the exotic majesty the Great Barrier Reef has to offer.

AAG is no stranger to placing students in work-related positions and internships. AAG is a U.S. Department of State-designated program sponsor for the J-1 visa Work/Travel and the Intern/Trainee and Teacher programs. AAG adheres to rigorous standards to maintain their standing and accreditation. Since 1992, AAG has successfully matched many 1000’s of students with many of the world’s leading tourism and hospitality companies.

Students and recent graduates (under 30 years old) interested in participating in AAG’s Work Experience Australia program, or parents interested in learning more information, may visit AAG’s website at www.allianceabroad.com. Students may also watch for out AAG at any of the nation’s top student job fairs.