The hospitality industry is struggling, but not because of the reasons you probably think. While many venues are enjoying an unprecedented boom in popularity (and rightly so), these same places are struggling to find staff to meet the demand.
With chef and front of house positions the hardest to fill, some businesses are having to shut their doors permanently, temporarily or are unable to open their new ventures at all.
Just today, Sid and Chand Sahrawat, owners of fine dining establishments such as Sid at the French Cafe have announced that they will be shutting their three popular restaurants’ doors—The French Cafe, Sidart and Cassia—for two weeks over the upcoming school holidays due to staffing difficulties.
The Restaurant Association is highlighting this emergency with lights out—part of their wider Hospo Reset campaign. Today from 11.30 am-11.32 am and 7 pm-7.02 pm restaurants will be stopping service, switching off the lights, turning off the music and talking to their customers about the staffing crisis and what it could mean for the hospitality industry as a whole.
With borders still closed due to Covid, many of the migrant workers on whom these establishments rely are struggling to have visas renewed, or even to enter the country and it’s looking like the policy to open borders will not address this problem.
So how can you help? Sign this petition currently open in Parliament to open a dialogue with the government on how to make things better. If you’re looking to break into the hospitality industry, this is a great resource to help find the right job for you.
Together, we can make a difference.
Image credit: Esther Lin