Katy Usher
At no stage in her early career did Katy Usher see herself hopping on board a heritage train in Tasmania’s West Coast region. But now, with her role as Guest Experience Supervisor at the spectacular West Coast Wilderness Railway (WCWR), she can’t imagine being anywhere else.
Katy’s journey started very differently, when after completing a degree in chemistry back in the United Kingdom – and originally planning a career in environmental chemistry – she started travelling the world. Backpacking around New Zealand, she ended up working as a marine mammal guide, and it was there that Katy remembers: “I just fell in love with it - interacting with different people every day, getting to show people something that they've never experienced before. It was a really cool thing to watch people experience something for the first time”.
It was in New Zealand that Katy got a feel for the advantages of what she calls ‘seasonal work’. She recalls: “I loved seasonal work. It really suited my lifestyle of being able to travel – and working at the same time. I ended up in Western Australia, gaining more experience in guiding on different kinds of boats and wildlife guiding. Everybody said ‘If you love New Zealand, you have to come to Tasmania. It's very similar and (there are) job opportunities down here as well. So I came here, travelled around for a few weeks with a friend and just absolutely loved it – I especially loved the West Coast. So I started looking for guiding jobs.”
It was there that Katy met her partner, who was already established in the West Coast community. “He grew up here, so it gave me another insight into the West Coast. I really started to see the community as a whole and decided that this was where we were going to live and build a life”.
Katy’s journey from there to the WCWR came about when she started a Diploma in Tourism and Hospitality Management and received a scholarship through the Women in Tourism and Hospitality Association. It was through the scholarship that she met WCWR’s sales and marketing manager, who then took her on board as the on-train supervisor. She recalls by that stage she was “looking at a career more than a seasonal job”.
The nexus between a job and a career is a significant point for Katy – “I don't think that you have to be in a supervisory or management role to have a career in tourism or hospitality. It gives a lot of flexibility to people to work seasonal, but year-round. You have a lot of work in the summertime and things quieten down in the winter. For us, that gives you opportunities to travel or have some downtime with your family”.
But Katy is also very encouraging for those that want to move up and into supervisory or management roles. “There's so much opportunity in Tasmania, probably more so than other places. There's a lot of support around. There's a lot of places who are willing to put in the training and the effort to get your leadership skills up. So I think there's something for everyone”.
For people who think that some tourism and hospitality roles can be a bit monotonous day by day, Katy has some key reflections. “There's no average day. My main role at the railway is to ensure that guests get the best experience no matter what they come in for – whether that’s through our cafes, our gift shops, or coming onto the train. So it is different every day. My favourite part of the job and the favourite part of every day is seeing guests go out on the train and then coming back happy and being excited. And we've shown them something that they've not been able to get anywhere else. I love it.”
“There's so much opportunity in Tasmania, probably more so than other places. There's a lot of support around. There's a lot of places who are willing to put in the training and the effort to get your leadership skills up. So I think there's something for everyone”.
Katy also loves the way she has been able to incorporate what she has learnt about the West Coast’s history, people, community and culture into the guest experience. “I manage to have a lot of creativity in my role. A lot of research goes into that – creating the experience in the storyline and working very closely with the team to ensure that guests feel there is a story when they come through our buildings, our museums or on the train. The things they saw, heard, smelled or tasted throughout the day are really important to their experiences. It fills me with pride to see that guests can go away and think: ‘Wow, that was something I never thought I would find on the West Coast (of Tasmania)’”.
In reflecting on careers in tourism and hospitality, Katy says: “Tourism has the potential as a career to be rewarding and have longevity because it's ever-changing and people's needs are ever-changing. It's also a stable job nowadays. It's not something that's fluctuating. There is enough work around for you to really build a life around a career in tourism”.
