MORE THAN WELCOME INDUSTRY FEATURE
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. K aty’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 she 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’. As 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 that point 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”.
18 Tasmanian Hospitality Review June/July Edition
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