FutureNow Industry Development Manager, Melissa Harkins, recently spoke to 150 education professionals to showcase career pathways in the tourism and hospitality sector for high school students.
Delivered by Tourism WA, the event aimed to showcase the diverse and rewarding career pathways open to young Western Australians.
Building on the success of the 2023 and 2024 events, this year's program features interactive industry activations, panel discussions, and presentations showcasing traineeships, apprenticeships, and higher education pathways in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
The program aims to create a sustainable local tourism and hospitality workforce pipeline and further diversify WA's economy by creating local jobs and providing a boost to local businesses.
​In the 2024-25 financial year, WA's tourism and hospitality industry supported over 120,000 local jobs, ranking it the fifth largest sector in the State.

The Western Australian screen sector is set to benefit from $10.8 million in funding provided to Screenwest by Lotterywest- the largest grant to date under their longstanding support program. This investment builds on Lotterywest’s three-decade association with Screenwest, helping to sustain a vibrant and growing film, television and digital content industry across WA. 
With this funding, Screenwest aims to stimulate more in-state production, open up pathways for emerging and established local talent, encourage genuine WA-based storytelling- including stronger representation of First Nations voices- and deliver a wide range of screen content that reflects WA's diverse communities. 
The support comes at a time of significant growth for the sector. Screenwest continues to offer grants and incentives across development, production, games and industry-building initiatives to nurture talent and build capacity for major screen productions in WA. The funding helps ensure that more stories rooted in local culture and experience can be told, and that the industry remains strong, inclusive and ready for the next generation of filmmakers, producers and digital creators.