A QUEENSLAND Government pilot program targeting Whitsunday tourism is set to be rolled out state-wide after five Proserpine State High School students picked up employment.

The VAK 8 program, led by Tourism Whitsundays, along with the Department of Education and Response Learning NQ, was taken up by 19 students across the region, offering hands on experience.

This enabled 13 local tourism operators to take on the students for 20 days work placement in addition to Response Learning ensuring the students completed a Certificate II in Tourism over ten days.

Proserpine State High School student Jasmine Emslei is an example of one of the success stories, after she picked up a job with Red Cat Adventures.

Tourism Whitsundays CEO Craig Turner met with Jasmine last week and said it was clear that the program was making a practical difference.

"When you consider that we have one of the strongest tourism destinations in Queensland, it made no sense to us that these passionate advocates were leaving and going to work somewhere else," he said.

"To have these people who have grown up here - they love the place and can engage with our visitors with first-hand experience and knowledge - is integral to delivering a genuine visitor experience."

Proserpine State High School Deputy Principal David Gallagher said the program helped provide students the skills to help boost the local economy and Whitsunday tourism industry.

"The program was excellent - we had 15 students go through and five offered part time employment from administration to even working on boats," he said.

"The majority of those 15 students were disengaging from school and as a result of the program 13 of them will continue until the end of Grade 12 and all of them are on track for their QCE.

"The program will run again next year and we are hoping it will get even better."

Labor candidate for Whitsunday Bronwyn Taha said the program was perfectly tailored to assist high school leavers to boost their employment prospects.