Thousands of jobs up for grabs as Brisbane Airport launches recruitment blitz

Thousands of new jobs are there for the taking at Brisbane Airport as the tourism giant launches one of biggest recruitment blitzes Queensland has ever seen. SEE HOW TO BE IN THE RUNNING

Thousands of jobs are up for grabs at Brisbane Airport as the tourism giant launches one of Queensland’s biggest-ever recruitment blitzes.

About 2000 positions are on offer at the transport hub ranging from aircraft engineers to bus drivers and landscape gardeners as the travel sector struggles to keep pace with frenetic demand to soar out of the pandemic.

The travel rush has proven a mixed blessing for tourism and hospitality across Queensland, with operators experiencing visitor levels not seen for three years, but securing staff has been a challenge for the industry at large.

An estimated 5000 jobs across tourism and hospitality in Queensland remain unfilled.

Brisbane Airport, which already employs some 24,000 people across aviation, hotels, retail and operations, will hold a BNE Careers Expo next month looking for a new generation of talent as the precinct eyes the 2032 Olympics and beyond.

It is expected the airport will be home to 60,000 jobs by 2050.

Brisbane Airport is embarking on a recruitment blitz to fill thousands of positions in jobs ranging from hotel chefs to security personnel. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Bosses from the precinct’s 400-plus employers are taking extraordinary steps to fill positions, with retired police officers targeted for security posts while others are investigating job sharing proposals which could see workers do a four-hour shift as an airport cleaner before heading across to one of the airport hotels for the rest of the day.

Airport boss Gert-Jan de Graaff said the industry was unlike any other.

“We need to get people thinking about this place as not only a gateway for a holiday, but a destination for a satisfying career,” he said.

“This is one of the most important job hubs in Queensland.

“There’s a buzz here you don’t find anywhere else, no matter what industry you work in.

“This is a place that never closes, serving the needs of Queensland – and you get a free air show every day.”

Brisbane Airport boss Gert-Jan de Graaff.

The clash between demand and jobs is stark at the airport’s hotel precinct where no vacancy signs abound at properties which may only be 50 or 60 per cent full.

Brisbane Airport Hotels Group chief operating officer Alex Penklis said a staffing shortfall of about 50 positions across the Novotel, Ibis and Pullman hotels was having an impact.

“The demand is there, it’s been incredible,” he said.

“We would be at 90 per cent-plus every night if we could, but in some cases we’re capping at 50 or 65 per cent capacity and operating limited services on things like food and beverage and room service because we need more night chefs, through to the contractors who do the linen and towels.

“It’s a global issue.”

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Executive general manager of human resources Jane Dionysius said the sector offered an in credibly diverse range of jobs which could become a career for life.

“Aviation is back and it’s an incredibly exciting time to be a part of it,” she said.

“Once you work in aviation it’s in your blood.”

BIG crowds are back at Brisbane Airport. Picture: John Gass (NCA NewsWire)

She said job hopefuls should not be scared by the effects of the pandemic, which had the airport resembling a ghost town during the dark days of border closures.

“We were still the busiest airport in Australia during Covid,” she said.

“And a lot of businesses actually kept their staff on even when there wasn’t work for them because they knew it would be hard to find new people once things returned to normal.

“We’re now experiencing pre-Covid numbers at the domestic terminal and the demand has exceeded everyone’s expectations.”

The expo will be held on September 10. More information can be found here.