MORE THAN WELCOME - Steve Old THA Part 1 - 31.03.24

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's both this morning and today I'm joined with you
more than welcome. It by Steve Old, the CEO of
the Tasmanian Hospitality Association. Thanks for taking the time to
chat with us.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Good to stay boat, good to have a chat.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Now, this is a big industry that you've become CEO of.
Why would it be an important industry to maybe consider
as a career for yourself.

Speaker 3 (00:17):
Oh look, I think it's a cracking career for anyone
of any age. I mean, you've got opportunities for young
kids coming through. So if you're a school lever looking
for your next career, I guess there's a great raft
of jobs and it's one of those industries where you
can take the skills you've gotten, not only have them
in your job here in Tasmania, you can take them
anywhere around the world. So if you're looking to get
a job and they look to travel down the track
or whatever you want to do, hospitality skills are.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Transferable anywhere you go.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
The other part is you can go the other extreme,
which is people who are looking to retire or who
have retired I guess can come back in and work
whatever hours they want to win hospitality. So it's one
of those industries you can work two hours a week
or thirty eight hours a week, whatever you want to do,
and there's a raft of skills and attributes you need
to work in the industry.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
It's not can you knock a nail in with a hammer.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
There's so many jobs you can do, whether it's a
front receptionist, a bar personal waiter, back of house chef, cook,
kitchen person, it could be a room attendant, whatever it
might be. There's so many different career opportunities. I guess
in hospitality it means that pretty much anyone can succeed
in the industry provided they've got the right attitude.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
I think that's a big thing that comes with that.
Everybody I've spoken to so far, I said, look, if
you've got the right can do attitude, you can find
something that will fit you in this The transferable skills,
I think is a big thing too, because it means
that if you are going to travel, if you've got
these skills. I've seen people literally rock up to cities
and walk into a job the day after when they've
got hospitality training.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, one hundred percent, you can get a job pretty
much anywhere in the world.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
You want.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
And hospitality is a massive career anywhere in the world,
and obviously some countries are far more advanced than us.
I hospitality jobs as soon as far more lucrative, let's
say than probably what they are in parts of Australia.
But the skills you can get and the opportunities are great.
So they said, if you want to travel, you pretty
much can say to yourself, I'm going to go to
wherever in the world and I know that I'm going
to be able to get some work wherever I go.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
And yeah, I've known a number of mates.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
We've gone off to England and played cricket and all
they do is they just do the bar job at
the local cricket club or the low par but gets
them through. They own they are little bit of cash.
And the good part is you can work flexible hours.
I mean that's the thing. And people talk about hospitality
careers and say, oh, yeah, but they're not great hours
or whatever. But for some people they are great hours.
I mean for some mums and dads work in an
afternoon or working of a night or whatever. It might

(02:15):
be just suits their lifestyle with their kids or the
other partners' work habits, et cetera. So it is that
flexibility around the hours that can actually make it really
attractive for people.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Definitely often find that people who work in the industry
also have quite a tight knit group of friends and
they all love to have fun as well. Like it's
very much a fun based industry.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
Yeah, I guess it's a career that you can actually
go to work every day and you're going to meet
a raft of different people from a raft of different
background So you do get an opportunity if you're a
bar person or a weight or whatever to you got
to work with the right attitude and want to start
chatting to people each day. You're going to meet new
people every day, and you're going to meet them from
all different backgrounds and all different societies, and I think
that's one of the great things about the industry. So
come along with a can do attitude, come along with

(02:53):
a smile on your face, and you meet anyone and
you can do anything you want to. And you never
know who might be the person that you're serving behind
the bar or serving table. They could be your next
boss at a future opportunity you might get. So I've
heard that many stories out of my journey I think
I've been CEO for sixteen years, is that you hear
of people who have served someone and the customer comes
in every day or every once a week or whatever.
The next minute they're offering them a job in a

(03:14):
completely different industry. But they just watch the way they
work for a couple of weeks, a couple of months,
whatever it might be.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
So you just never know in hospitality, also, who's watching you.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, it's a fantastic networking opportunity. We might take a break,
we'll come back. We'll talk a bit more with Steve Older,
CEO of the Tasmanian Hospitality Association. This is your more
than welcome