On 19 May, more than 85 students, emerging professionals and tourism industry leaders came together at Quarterhouse for Young Tourism Network’s sold-out Career Connections night.
Designed to help the next generation build meaningful career and industry connections within Victoria’s visitor economy, the evening gave attendees the chance to meet people working across the industry, hear how they built their careers and learn about the skills that can help them take their own next step.
There’s no single pathway into tourism
Throughout the evening, attendees heard from professionals working across aviation, wine, events, visitor experiences, transport, travel and tourism.
Our speakers shared their career journeys, insights into their organisations and the experiences and skills that have helped them grow professionally.
One message came through loud and clear: there’s no single pathway into a career in tourism.
Whether your interests lie in events, aviation, hospitality, destination marketing, operations, visitor services or creating memorable experiences, Victoria’s visitor economy offers an incredibly diverse range of career opportunities.
A huge thank you to our speakers for generously sharing their time, experiences and advice:
- Ashley McPhee and Suzana, Avalon Airport
- Indra Nadeson, Lethbridge Wines
- Rebekah Jeffrey, Intrepid Travel
- Daniel Ovalles Tavares, Searoad Ferries
- Maddison Bywaters, Arts Centre Melbourne
- Karen Hollenbach, Think Bespoke
Building connections – and your professional profile
Career Connections wasn’t just about hearing from the industry. Attendees had plenty of opportunities to meet employers, industry partners and each other, creating new connections with people at different stages of their tourism careers.
LinkedIn strategist Karen Hollenbach, Founding Director of Think Bespoke, also shared practical advice to help attendees strengthen their professional presence on LinkedIn and get noticed as they build their careers.
Attendees could even put that advice into action with a fresh professional headshot, thanks to Sam D’Agostino from SDP Media, who was onsite photographing attendees throughout the evening.
Thank you to our partners
Career Connections was proudly delivered in partnership with eeger and AVC.
A special thank you to eeger and Todd Bennett for sponsoring the event and introducing attendees to the eeger platform, which connects people with jobs, career pathways and training opportunities across tourism, hospitality and travel.
And, of course, thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make Career Connections such a fantastic evening. Seeing more than 85 people come together to share advice, make new connections and explore where a career in tourism could take them was a great reminder of just how much opportunity exists within our industry.
We can’t wait to see where those connections lead.