Staff shortages in hospitality and why we're helping our Wigan businesses

Latest figures from hospitality industry trade body UKHospitality confirm 85 per cent of venues are looking to hire chefs while 80 per cent need front-of-house staff.

A quarter of licensed premises – an estimated 25,000 venues – are still closed, according to industry statistics firm CGA and AlixPartners.

Job postings in the sector, meanwhile, have risen well above pre-pandemic levels.

National and local government have done a variety of things throughout the pandemic to try the support the industry, which has faced some of the longest and harsh restrictions on trade of any sector.

And an array of ideas to help bars, pubs and restaurants recover are also being floated.

Some within the industry have suggested a shorter working week and increased wages to attract back workers.

With furlough officially ending in September, there will be students looking for jobs that may fill some vacancies.

UKHospitality intends to run sessions in conjunction with JobCentre Plus across England, Scotland and Wales to help promote opportunities to job-seekers within the hospitality sector.

A government briefing paper in March revealed the hospitality industry has seen high take-up of UK Government business support schemes such as Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and business loans.

The Government has also provided support schemes targeted to the hospitality industry - such as Eat Out to Help Out - as well as a series of small business grants.

Local government has also played its part. Throughout the pandemic, councils distributed more than £11bn to 880,000 small businesses in 2020, continuing to help businesses reopen safely.

Wigan Today is equally aware of the challenges faced by many businesses in the hospitality sector trying to hire staff right now - and we want to help.

Our company JPIMedia has a team of experienced recruitment advisors who understand the pain of not having a full team in place, ultimately resulting in the potential loss of money and customers.

As time is precious, they can support local businesses with their recruitment needs, from searching databases of 1000s of CVs and shortlisting relevant candidates to designing eye-catching adverts to appeal to the right people.

The team’s new support packages means this is now more cost effective than ever before so if you are in the hospitality business, call them today on 0207 855 7577 quoting “hospitality hiring support”.

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