Tamworth Community College reports strong interest in government-subsidised RSA training to ease hospitality staff shortages

Tamworth Community College has obtained 60 of the 5000 fee-free Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) courses offered by the NSW government, and with half already snapped up, it will ask for more spots to help meet local demand.

College Chief Executive Officer Tim Catterall said the program, which kicks off today, will expand accessibility to the hospitality industry which has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This offer has actually stimulated more people to think about hospitality," he said.

"Sometimes the $200 that the RSA would cost is just one of those barriers to employment if you weren't able to fund that yourself or get it funded.

"But this program is making people more aware of hospitality as an option."

He also said it would ease the strain on employers, who don't have the time or resources to train staff on the job.

"I think having people with a bit of experience so they're not coming in cold will be beneficial, some venues are big and busy and it's really hard to train, whereas other venues really enjoy training people," he said.

Longyard Hotel Publican Ian Dundon said the training will be fantastic for the industry, which is suffering from a chronic shortage of staff.

"The more they can get to do it, the better," he said.

"Like all industries and all businesses we've had staff off with COVID but we've been able to carry on with the staff we have, but all hospitality businesses are running short on staff."

READ ALSO:

To give new staff a further boost, the College has partnered with local bar, The Press, to deliver bar skills training on Tuesdays throughout February and March.

"It's about learning how to tap and pour a beer, how to identify and hold the right glassware, how to mix drinks - those types of things," Mr Catterall said.

"I think it's a really useful short course - about four hours - to provide people with that little bit of extra understanding about what it's like to be behind a bar and working."

The initiatives have helped create a "significantly higher interest" in hospitality training at the College.

"Over the weekend we've taken a lot of enquiries, we've had people coming in because they've heard about it and wanted to participate," Mr Catterall said.

Courthouse Hotel supervisor Alana Dickinson said the initiative will get more qualified staff through the door, at a time when it's needed most.

"Having free access to the training is really beneficial particularly for those newbies leaving school for gap years," she said.

"It gives them the opportunity to get straight into work without having to worry about cost of qualifications, it gets them in the door for us quicker and it's also really beneficial for those that need to renew it because it's free renewal."

The fee-free RSA training is also available through TAFE NSW with refresher courses available free of charge from February 7 until the end of June.

Government-subsidised courses are available at Tamworth Community College until April.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: