The rate that people were hired for permanent vacancies in the UK last month was the highest since 1998, and as restrictions ease and various sectors re-open, its clear that businesses are in a race to recruit staff to cope with increasing consumer demand – especially in hospitality.
We’re currently seeing the highest need for staff in the IT, hotel and catering sectors, as many employees in the hospitality industry returned to their home countries either due to Brexit or the pandemic itself. Many people have also reconsidered their career choices after having time to reflect on their career choices during the last 18 months whilst on furlough.
Front of house staff and chefs are particularly in need, with UK Hospitality saying there is a shortage of around 188,000 workers.
A Government spokesperson has said employers need to focus on training and developing home grown talent instead of relying on workers from abroad. There is hope that when schools and colleges break up at the end of the academic year there will be an influx of students looking for for summer work.
Caterer.com, a specialist recruiter in the hospitality sector currently has 22,000 vacancies on its website which is up by 85%.
Many people have also reconsidered their career choices after having time to reflect during the last 18 months whilst on furlough from their hospitality jobs. Factors such as low pay and unsociable hours have been a major contributing factor.
Despite this, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that 197,000 more workers were on payrolls in May than there were in April. Although this is still half a million down from pre-pandemic figures, it shows strong signs of economic recovery. Redundancy figures are also back to pre-Covid levels which should help prospective hospitality candidates who have fears around job stability.
With this in mind, employers may find themselves suddenly consumed with the task of trying to fill roles quickly and with good candidates. That’s where ResourceBank can help. Our ResourceBank Flex service can meet the specific needs of your business or project.
We can look after your short-term recruitment projects, manage the spikes in your recruitment by screening CVs and telephone interviewing candidates to free up your time to concentrate on the day to day.
Here you can see the ways in which we’ve supported some of our recent clients.
