IN ASSOCIATION WITH
At Leon (left and below), the human element is a key part of its philosophy when it comes to keeping its staff
“The ongoing support of the hospitality industry is vital in order to address the shortage it faces” Anne Pierce
taurant industry alone creating 120,000 new positions. This has had a particular impact on a number of roles, including chefs, which have increased by 49,000.” Figures like this give further context to the skills gap and underline that part of the rea- son for it is that, happily, business is growing. Ducker points out that IoH research has indi- cated that only 7.7% of hospitality graduates were unemployed six months after graduat- ing. If you do a hospitality degree “you will get a job”, he adds. The IoH views the next few years as an ideal time for the hospitality busi- ness to ditch its old image as “a career of last resort” and highlight its advantages.
Reaching out The skills shortages still need to be addressed, however, and considerable efforts are being made to do so. Springboard, the industry char- ity, works hard to highlight a wide range of training opportunities in hospitality. Its events include National Waiters Day, which forms part of the inaugural Front of House Festi- val and Mission Apprentice, which promotes apprenticeships in hospitality. There is even a programme (A Day To Sparkle) designed to promote careers in housekeeping. For the particularly challenging issue of the
chef shortage, Springboard runs FutureChef, a four-stage national competition for those still at school to encourage them into a career. It has grown remarkably in recent years: in 2000 it involved just 127 pupils. Last year, it had 8,239 participants.
Springboard chief executive Anne Pierce says: “FutureChef is playing a vital part in solving tomorrow’s skills shortage. It relies on incredible support from professional chefs and colleges, but we need more support from chefs throughout the country to become men- tors, tutors and judges. The ongoing support of the hospitality industry is vital in order to address the shortage it faces.”
The Brexit spectre It is impossible to talk about that shortage without looking at the implications of Brexit. Nearly a quarter of the hospitality and tour- ism workforce is made up of overseas work- ers, both from the EU and beyond. Will Brexit mean that this figure will come down? Nobody knows for sure. However, the fear is that if restrictions are introduced via a points-based system according to skills, it would not bode well for hospitality. A People 1st paper published in Septem- ber says: “This may make it extremely dif- ficult for those businesses recruiting front
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Eternal issues?
In 2014, Professor Panikos Panayi of De Montfort University and Dr Stefan Manz of Aston University published a paper on Germans in the UK catering market from 1880-1920 (The Rise and Fall of Germans in the British Hospitality Industry 1880-1920). One of the reasons that German waiters and chefs were here was familiar: there were certain roles that could not be filled by Brits because they didn’t have the skills. Panayi and Manz pointed out that in 1911, about 10% of waiting staff in London were German. The co-authors wrote: “The German waiter was a trope and a familiar sight for British restaurant-goers, just as east-central Europeans or post-colonial Asian migrants are today.” As early as 1890, The Victualling Trades’
Review praised German waiters as “both thoroughly conversant with their business and [having] had a rigorous training and wide experience”. Other reasons for the German presence might also resonate with the industry nowadays. “German waiters had various advantages compared with native Britons. Before 1914 the former laboured up to 15 hours a day. In contrast to Englishmen, who demanded a fixed wage, foreigners relied upon tips, from which they could make £2 per week.” The wages have gone up a lot since then, and not so many of the foreign staff are German. But how much have things changed otherwise? Surely it should be no surprise that employers are keen on staff who work long and hard for wages that they can afford to pay.
of house staff, as they will not be considered sufficiently skilled to fall within any ‘skilled’ occupational list.”
The other problem, adds People 1st, is that
even if some occupations do meet the skilled criteria, such as chefs, the current restrictions for ‘tier 2’ occupations means that they will need to be paid at least £35,000 a year. The current average chef’s salary, according to the Office for National Statistics, is under £18,000. However, history suggests that if workers are really needed, ways tend to be found to get them here, just as the pre-war German waiters did.
And whether staff are British or not, com- panies are definitely making more efforts to keep them. This is likely to become even more important with the National Living Wage, which is set to be at least £9 by 2020. Similarly, the apprenticeship levy is making businesses ever more careful to maximise the benefit of their contributions. It is an example of just the sort of industry resilience referred to by Upton. The sector seems to be able to adapt and survive, however hard politics or circum- stances contrive to make its life.
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