Molly Dobbins: Connecting Classrooms to Tourism Careers

8 July

Episode Description

Join Carmen as she speaks with Molly Dobbins, Tourism and Hospitality Gateway to Industry Schools Program Coordinator at the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.

Molly is passionate about empowering the next generation of tourism and hospitality professionals by connecting students, educators and industry. In her role, she works closely with Queensland schools to help students better understand the breadth, depth and opportunity that exists across tourism, hospitality and events.

In this conversation, Carmen and Molly discuss how we can do a much better job of showing young people, and their parents, that tourism is a genuine, rewarding and long-term career path. They also explore the importance of getting students out of the classroom and into real tourism businesses, where they can see and experience the people, pathways and possibilities that exist across the industry.

Molly also shares her own tourism career journey, from studying tourism in high school to working with operators, writing award submissions, contracting with small tourism businesses and now advocating for the next generation through her work with QTIC.

What You’ll Take Away

Why tourism is often still seen as a “while you figure life out” job, rather than a long-term career pathway
How consistent language could help students, parents and educators better understand tourism career opportunities
Why hands-on industry experiences are so important for attracting young people into the sector
The role parents play in shaping young people’s perceptions of tourism and hospitality careers
How schools and industry can work together to build stronger career pipelines
Why attitude, curiosity and willingness to learn still matter so much to tourism operators
How foundational workplace skills, including communication, customer service and reliability, can be taught and developed
Why entrepreneurship should also be part of the tourism careers conversation

About Molly Dobbins

Molly Dobbins is the Tourism and Hospitality Gateway to Industry Schools Program Coordinator at the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.

Through her work, Molly helps connect Queensland schools with the tourism, hospitality and events industries, supporting students and educators to better understand the career pathways available across the sector.

Having studied tourism herself in high school before going on to complete a double degree in business management and international hotel and tourism management, Molly brings both personal experience and industry insight to her work. Her career has included roles with Tourism Tribe, Fun Over 50 Holidays, award writing, marketing support for small tourism businesses, and now workforce and education advocacy through QTIC.

Molly is passionate about helping young people see tourism as an industry full of purpose, people, passion and possibility.

Connect with Molly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-dobbins-125b86168/

Connect with Carmen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-bold/

Organisations Referenced

Queensland Tourism Industry Council: qtic.com.au

Gateway to Industry Schools Program: dtet.qld.gov.au/training/employers/gateway-schools

University of Queensland: uq.edu.au

Tourism Tribe: tourismtribe.com

Fun Over 50 Holidays: funover50holidays.com.au

Paradise Resort Gold Coast: paradiseresort.com.au

Queensland Tourism Awards: qtic.com.au/queensland-tourism-awards

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