Apprenticeships
Hospitality's shortest road to recovery
Friday 25th June 2021
How the Hospitality Industry can come out fighting by investing in staff
The Hospitality industry has been the most impacted by the war path of Covid-19, as the sector saw the most restrictions with trading and social interaction through the Government guidelines. Measures implemented by the government such as curfews, social distancing and the lockdowns of the sector have seen a massive decline in the once thriving industry.
One of the biggest hurdles the Hospitality industry is facing is the shortage of workers. Following travel bans, border closures and quarantine measures, many workers cannot travel to places of work which has effects on incomes, particularly for informal and casually employed workers. The World Travel & Tourism Council has recently warned that the COVID-19 (C-19) pandemic could lead to a cut of 50 million jobs worldwide in the travel and tourism and food and accommodation industries. From January-March 2020 to July-September 2020, the number of workers in the food and accommodation sector fell by 6% (147,000). Paired with the UK leaving the European Union and statistics showing that up to 27% of front-line hospitality workers are immigrant workers, the sector has taken a huge hit. Though temporary workforces have been implemented, they have been unable to adapt to the fast-paced culture of the industry and are falling behind, with employment turnover is at an all-time high.
Social Distancing measures implemented to reduce the spread of C- 19 have also had a major impact on trading in Hospitality. The first and second lockdown within the UK saw the longest pause of trading, with almost all restaurants being restricted to takeaways for months at a time. As restrictions were slowly lifted the social distancing rules began, starting with only outside dining opening and then moving to the Rule of 6. This saw restaurants having to make massive changes to adapt to the new rules. Though the government furlough scheme was able to aid businesses to retain their staff through the changes, many jobs were still lost from March - September 2020.
With the massive hit the sector has taken, many businesses have lost their confidence due to fear of additional or prolonged lockdowns. However, there are ways to enable companies to retain staff and bring back this confidence through upskilling front- line workers and growing the specialized workforce within hospitality. Equipping staff with skill sets to enable them to correctly lead and manage teams, will not only reduce the number of layoffs moving forward but will present staff with more opportunities to grow within the industry.
If you would like to find out more about our Training & Apprenticeships and how they can benefit your business why not contact us today or call us on 01235430460 for a free consultation with one of our expert advisors.