In early 2019 North Queensland experienced record-breaking flooding that devastated infrastructure, businesses, and residents. While the flooding had a severe immediate impact, the full effects of the disaster are set to affect individuals and industry for years to come.
Previously a major contributor to the regional economy, the local tourism industry has reported a significant downturn following the disaster, leaving many residents without work or income.
The Volunteers and Events Training Program is designed to help paid and unpaid volunteers and event organisers build event support skills to create and deliver events. The program is funded by the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Offered both online and face-to-face, the program covers three core topics:
The orientation module provides participants with information on their role in volunteering as well as a foundation in site safety and induction processes.
The resilience module provides an introduction to resilience concepts and a range of practical tips on how it can be established and supported.
The leadership module introduces a range of leadership styles and provides advice on how leadership can be applied in a team context.
Training is now taking place in person at a number of locations across North and Far North Queensland.
Townsville: Friday 26 February | Friday 5 March | Thursday 18 March
Cooktown: Tuesday 16 March | Burdekin: Tuesday 23 March | Winton: Wednesday 31 March
A bespoke training program has been created to help paid and unpaid tourism event workers build their customer service, resilience and partnership skills. If face-to-face training isn't offered in your area, or doesn't fit around your work or family commitments, you can also choose to study the program online.
Apply nowTwo study tours involving 15 participants are planned to enable tourism industry workers to attend a major event to learn from leaders in hospitality and tourism across the state.
Twelve scholarships of $5,000 each have been provided for residents of 39 eligible Local Government Areas towards studying one of six courses from Semester 1, 2020.
Applications for the current round of scholarships have now closed.
Having working in the festivals and events industry for over 30 years, the Volunteers and Events Training Program is one of best grass roots tools for events training that I've seen. It has a lot of tools that can be used to help make events more resilient and sustainable. Those who do the online training will thrive in the future and will adapt quicker to the new world we live in. I recommend any festival or event that uses passionate volunteers to help bring the event to life to use this program to induct or educate their volunteer workforce.
If you're ready to get your events career back on track then register for the Volunteers and Events Training Program today. This training opportunity is free of charge for residents of the 39 eligible Local Government Areas affected by the 2019 Monsoonal Trough.