A job fair aimed at helping young South Koreans find work in Australia was held as K-culture and Korean consumer goods gain popularity in global markets.
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said on the 23rd that it held the “2026 Australia Job Fair” in Melbourne and Sydney on the 20th and 21st. About 210 young job seekers and some 50 hiring companies took part, holding online and offline job interviews along with one-on-one legal consultations on visas and employment contracts.
At the Melbourne fair, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, local companies were recruiting across about 40 fields, roughly half of them in food-related manufacturing, distribution, marketing and food service, including baking. Twenty-four Australian companies, including Danford College, Hyatt Place Melbourne and The Library Bakery, sought to recruit Korean talent.
At the Hilton Sydney fair held the next day, 28 companies took part and recruited across 54 fields, including Korean firms operating locally such as CJ Foods, Daesang and POSCO, as well as local Australian food distributor Gomaps Trading.
In Australia, popularity has recently spread beyond foods such as ramyeon and gim (dried seaweed) to Korean-style breads and desserts. As a result, demand is rising to hire people with a strong grasp of Korean baking techniques and the latest dessert trends.
An official at a Melbourne company identified as V said, “As interest in K-food and Korean-style desserts grows, demand in Australia’s food and beverage (F&B) market is increasing for people familiar with these trends.” The official added, “This fair let us directly assess applicants’ experience and abilities that are hard to gauge from a resume alone, which was a great help in finding the right people.”
Starting in July, the Australian government expanded the age eligibility for working holiday visa applications from four countries, including South Korea and Germany, from 18 to 30 to 18 to 35. As a result, young people in their early to mid-30s can now enter the Australian job market using a working holiday visa.
As part of its K-Move program, KOTRA plans to continue supporting overseas employment for young people in line with promising local job demand, beginning with Australia in August this second half of the year, followed by Vietnam in October and Singapore in November.
Koo Bon-kyung, head of KOTRA’s Southeast Asia and Oceania Regional Headquarters, said, “We are feeling firsthand that as K-culture and consumer goods gain popularity not only in Australia but across the countries of Southeast Asia and Oceania, companies’ demand for related talent is also growing.” Koo stressed, “We will actively support young people in securing quality jobs overseas and using them for career development.”