Amadeus Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 Hi - I am in the process of getting my PR to move to Perth, but I am anxious about work opportunity for a person of my age. I am 60 years old and am a very experienced and professional travel agent and will need to work as soon as I arrive in Perth. I have run a very large office in Johannesburg for many years and am well known in the industry in SA as being a very capable person. Do you know if there is any problem with an older (but very experienced and well travelled) person getting work in the travel industry (either Corporate or Leisure). I would really appreciate any guidance............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottg Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 Unfortunately no advice but just a question: Why did you decide on Perth for a break into the tourism/leisure industry?Perhaps contact the WA Tourism people directly and ask: http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/About%20Us/Contact_Us/Pages/Contact-Us.aspxSee if you can get an independent report here: http://www.roymorgan.com/industries/travel-tourism Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 Amadeus. First up, we say all the time that recruiters here are all about quantity over quality. I.e. they are looking for easy sales. They are seldom going to interview you and convince a company you are worth a bit extra.So, you might need to adjust your expectations a little. You may have to accept a lesser job and work your way back up. Companies would rather their local staff work hard to "earn" the good jobs. Add to that, the local staff won't like a foreigner coming in as their boss, unless they can see its not a crash hot job for you. Staff here can be petty. They can be downright cruel to working moms for example. They discuss important issues at the pub after work, when they know the working moms are off fetching their kids. Then they decide they deserve promotions because they don't take as much time off as parents do..Before I moved out here, the head of my company's Aussie division said that a foreigner would never jump off a plane I to a job managing locals. The locals wouldn't accept it.Yes, South Africans have moved to good jobs in Aussie. But that is generally through company transfers or because they had a unique skill that was sort after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RYLC Posted September 14, 2015 Report Share Posted September 14, 2015 Amadeus do you have a Linkedin profile? You will really need to be networking and putting yourself out there to get people to read your profile. I have a lot of ideas on how to use social media for job search and am working on a website to get all these resources in one place for people to access. (Just getting over Whooping Cough so this little side project has been on hold).I have serious doubts that the normal method (Look on Seek, apply, get interview, get job) will work for upper level travel industry jobs. The senior jobs in some industries are seen as a reward and are very often filled internally. From a company culture point of view it is good for morale and is also cheaper to fill new positions from the bottom than from the top.Another thing is that travel is one of the industries where people set up their own business online and work from home. Is this something you could do and continue to service your RSA clients?And I'm just curious: I thought there was an age restriction for PR visa applications so I'm just wondering whether you have this PR in the bag or you are just starting and haven't been told that there is an age requirement for applications (under 50 I think). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enrica Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 Hi AmadeusAs an ex travel agent, there are still jobs in travel, the big thing is to get that first job.It depends on weather your are in retail ( what is called leisure travel in RSA or Corporate) , also do you have ticketing ? Most retail /leisure agencies get their tickets through consolidators and don't issue their own. The retails marker is extremely competitive here , and most have sales targets.. Corporate agencies ..there are not to many of them in Perth , as always looking for good consultants ie Carlson Wagonlit, American Express and the corporate arm of Flight Centre ie FMC ,The Consolidator's are always looking for staff with ticketing experience.Unfortunately, age seems to be a bit of a draw back, I don't understand why, you not planning on babies or taking arers leave and you have heaps of experience. Something will come your way.The largest employment agency for travel agents is AAA appointments , they are based in Melbourne ....yes even for Perth.Most agents here work on Galileo, Amadeus or Sabre.Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 Hi Amadeus,You will need:A tarted up LinkedIn profileStart networking with your peers asapBuild a contact listPerth is in the doldrums workwise....have you looked east? meaning Sydney etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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