Brisbane Airport is set to host a careers expo on Saturday, 10 September, in its Skygate Shopping Precinct. The hiring spree comes due to a severe labour shortage in the aviation industry and has already seen a positive reaction, with 1500 people registered for the event.
What’s in store for the BNE Careers Expo
The airport has 2000 jobs up for grabs, offering positions across security, cleaning, baggage, ground handling, retail, hotels, childcare and car rental. The event is free but requires tickets and will take place from 9am to 2pm. The event is child friendly and accessible to all.
40 exhibitors have so far signed up to attend the careers expo, including the likes of Airservices Australia, Alliance, Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and Qantas. Training and education providers, including Aviation Australia and Griffith University, will also be in attendance.
The event will allow interested workers to have a chance to interact face-to-face with prospective employers while also being able to see a wide range of career options across the 425 businesses at the airport.
Early job interest seen at Brisbane Airport
The announcement of the worker search has already seen the airport flooded with early interest, despite the careers expo being two weeks away. As stated in a press release published by the airport, George Drivas, Director of Airport Retail Group Australia, is now able to re-open all eight cafes and restaurants he owns this week for the first time since the pandemic due to the attention of the upcoming job fair.
“Since the moment people started finding out about the opportunities here at Brisbane Airport, we’ve had a flood of interest, and that has translated directly into interviews and people into jobs,” Drivas says.
Being the first employer to sign on to the worker search event, Drivas was eager for the opportunity the BNE Career Expo could give him to find more workers. He is the owner of well-known cafés and restaurants in the airport, including The Coffee Club and The Aviary. Drivas is still in search of 20 more staff to make up his team and is hopeful that September 10 can see the positions filled.
Worker search ahead of 2032 Olympics
The River City will host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics, which is set to be a major tourism boost to the region. With 10 years to go, the city is building its foundations now to ensure the success of the event. Brisbane Airport’s current hiring spree will have a large impact on the level of jobs that will be required later.
Gert-Jan de Graaff, Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO, recognises the impact the BNE Career Expo may have in ensuring enough staff will be available for the Olympics.
“We know right across Brisbane Airport there are 2000 positions available. We believe by the time the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympics come around, we will have 10000 extra people working across the precinct. So now is a good time to be thinking about a job at BNE.”
The rise of aviation job fairs
Aviation job fairs and career expos are on the rise across Australia and New Zealand in an effort to attract more staff to look for jobs in aviation. Airports, including Sydney and Auckland, have previously played host to these events over the past few months, which have in turn been seen as positive for the worker search. With heightened interest levels, there is no doubt that Brisbane’s airport will have success in its worker search.
Tickets to the Careers Expo can be found here.
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