3Training, Careers and Numerical Flexibility: Equity Implications in Hospitality and Retailing

Emphasis on training and careers in several aspects of recent policy directions in Australia signals a concern for both the expansion and equitable delivery of career opportunities. However, the strategies designed to produce a ’clever coun-try ’ do not apply equally well to all industries, and detailed evaluation of training and career paths at workplace level is yet to be undertaken in most industries. Our purpose in this paper is to provide an initial overview of the factors affecting training and careers at workplace level in two service industries targeted as likely to provide the greatest levels of employment growth in coming years—hospitality and retail trade. We draw on survey research into employment practices in Bris-bane workplaces in these industries in order to illuminate patterns of training and factors affecting its equitable delivery. Our data emphasize variation between and within workplaces, and suggest some difficulties for the introduction and efficacy of new policy directions in these industries. Recent government policy statements emphasize the potential of service industries to provide both export earnings and employment. Austrade ( 1994: 14) predicts tha