Workforce development in the Australian outdoor sector: systematic literature review and participatory action research agenda

The Australian outdoor sector forms an important part of the country’s visitor economy by providing services such as outdoor education for adults and children, outdoor recreation and adventure, nature-based tourism, nature therapy, and environmental education – all of which involve significant movements of people from their homes or classrooms into the outdoors. Like other sectors of the Australian visitor economy (such as hospitality), the outdoor sector has been unable to meet the growing demand for its services and has taken a workforce development approach to address its labour and skills shortages. This paper outlines the findings of a systematic literature review of workforce development in the outdoor sector and presents a research agenda developed together with stakeholders for the Australian state of Victoria, using the ‘Open Research Agenda Setting’ (ORAS) methodology and theoretical grounding. The results call for a greater research focus on measuring the outdoor sector’s holistic value, the attraction and retention of talent, work and pay conditions, workforce diversity and inclusion, as well as course design, education and career pathways. Notably, the results also call for a greater research focus on the agency of current and aspiring workers and their role in shaping the socio-economic landscape of the future. A key contribution of this paper is the participatory action research approach, empowering stakeholders as equal co-creators of this research agenda. The findings are of national and international relevance as they may be translated into policy discussions around labour and skills shortages in the visitor economy and how these may be addressed.