Hospitality sector must prepare for recovery with training

A new report from sector skills council, People 1st, has said that the hospitality industry must turn its attention to training and developing staff as the global recession continues to take its toll on UK hotels and restaurants.

'State of the Nation 2009' predicts that while current trading will be tough, the sector should make a strong comeback if businesses review their strategies and ensure they have, and continually develop, the right people with the right skills.

In the biggest research project undertaken by People 1st into the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism labour market in the UK, the report provides a definitive snapshot of how the sector has fared over the past five years and forecast what the future might hold.

Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People1st said the report clearly indicates that companies must review and adapt their approach, placing the customer and staff development first: "For many years, the sector has not sufficiently trained enough young people and has relied on unskilled and migrant workers. This is not a viable business strategy for long-term growth. Now more than ever it's important that those entering the sector are equipped with the skills industry needs."

The report also highlights that two-thirds of businesses (66%) invest in staff training and a quarter (25%) plan to increase training despite the recession. Worryingly though, half of respondents (51%) plan to cut back on training.

"This is a false economy," claims Wisdom. "Companies that grow their staff and provide good value for money without compromising on quality, should be in pole position when the economy picks up."

Yet, the industry is still suffering from skills shortages and the highest labour turnover of all sectors of the UK economy, standing at 31% in 2008.

• Employers spent £414 million on recruiting and developing new staff in 2008/09 with an average recruitment cost per vacancy of £673.

• A fifth of all sector vacancies (19%) are proving hard to fill due to a shortage of skilled applicants. Despite the growing popularity of chef careers, a third of employers still find it difficult to recruit skilled chefs. This worrying trend is expected to continue as an additional 61,000 chefs will be needed between 2007 and 2017. 

• Industry qualifications are becoming increasingly important to employers with over half (53%) place more value on them as a means of selecting job applicants. 

• Nearly one in five (17%) employers claim that their level of labour turnover is a problem for their business, impacting on productivity.

The report concludes that whilst, along with the rest of the economy, trading will be tough in the short term, in the long term the sector is still predicted to grow and remain an important contributor to the UK economy.

Total employment is predicted to grow by nearly 10 percent (208,000 additional jobs) by 2017.

Words: Clare Riley

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