Jobs in Hospitality
RSS FeedMay 5, 2008
Currently in the UK these are in excess of 20,000 jobs in the Hospitality and Tourism sector waiting to be filled and this figure is only set to increase as the industry grows. It is impossible to open a magazine or industry newspaper these days without being faced with the reality of a skills shortage in the UK hospitality jobs industry.
The skills shortage is exacerbated by an industry image problem - long hours, low pay and small rewards - a common perception that has long haunted any jobs in Hospitality as a sector. The short term solutions provided by migrant workers from Eastern Europe, which functioned as a stop-gap, will not prove sustainable, and as such, the industry must invest in alternatives for the future in order to fill these hospitality jobs.
A welcome solution provided by some industry giants to help fill these hospitality jobs is the creation of education and training centres modelled on the Swiss hotel schools, long reputed for the success and development of graduate students. These programmes, which will help to reduce the number of unfilled jobs in the hospitality sector, include Higher National Certificates in Professional Cookery and Hospitality Management, Diplomas, Degrees and Post-Graduate qualifications, including work-based job placements. This enables students to be better prepared for professional life and ensures a management pipeline for the future across all sectors in helping to fill the jobs in hospitality.
While a number of Hospitality jobs employers criticise the quality of vocational qualifications in the UK it is essential they respond to this at unit level, providing in depth bespoke training programmes in their own properties, taking personal ownership of the development of their staff to ensure that jobs in hospitality do not go unfilled. The benefits of training are widespread, including the development of working relationships, the discovery of strengths and weaknesses across the team, and a sense of value within the organisation. All of this promotes loyalty to the employer and reduces staff turnover, encouraging retention and minimising the costs of recruitment and re-training to replace those that leave their jobs in hospitality.
Training and development become increasingly relevant when attracting new talent to the hospitality jobs sector from other industries. In the past, the hospitality jobs sector has been renowned for only considering applicants with a hospitality jobs background. However, industry knowledge and experience will only go so far. Employers are slowly realising that they must cast the net wider to take advantage of a bank of potential employees with the raw ability to become successful hospitality professionals, at both front line and senior management level. Some successful examples include lawyers running fine dining restaurants and retail managers becoming Managing Directors of corporate hotel chains, taking advantage of skills learned in previous roles outwith the hospitality jobs sector. Advantages of recruiting beyond the boundaries of jobs in Hospitality include creating a wider talent pool, and an injection of alternative ideas to rejuvenate the organisation.
These initiatives should hopefully address the issues outlined above and lead to the retention and development of high quality staff across the hospitality jobs industry. However, this can only be achieved with the co-operation and a change in perception of Hospitality jobs employers to take responsibility for the future success of the industry as a whole.