Rick Myatt, CEO of the Australian Travel Careers Council (ATCC), has expressed serious concerns about TAFE NSW’s shift toward prioritizing logistics and manufacturing sectors since the pandemic, potentially undermining Travel & Tourism education and workforce development in New South Wales.
At a recent exclusive reception hosted by Business Sydney and Clayton UTZ, attended by Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan and TAFE NSW managing director Chloe Read, new industry-focused faculties were unveiled. These centres in Western Sydney, Newcastle/Hunter, and Illawarra will emphasise emerging technologies like digital manufacturing and renewable energy.
While acknowledging these positive developments, Myatt highlighted a troubling reduction in travel and tourism courses at both vocational and university levels. He called for full transparency from TAFE on the effectiveness of its strategies, urging data sharing to enable collaborative solutions with the travel industry.
Myatt also stressed the importance of incorporating AI literacy into training programs to reflect the rapid technological changes reshaping the travel sector. NSW Training Services is currently consulting with ATCC on improving School Based Traineeship (SBAT) uptake in travel, as last year saw only 142 students enrol in the foundational Certificate III in Travel (SIT30222).
“Myatt emphasised the need to adjust the HSC curriculum to include critical travel units such as Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and international destination knowledge,” he said.
Minister Whan and Ms. Read acknowledged these concerns and pledged to improve alignment between training offerings and the evolving skills needs of service industries to ensure no sector falls behind in the skills race.
