Figures show that in July 2015 an average of 18.7 candidates applied for each role, a decrease of 9 applications per job on the previous year, leaving recruiters with a smaller application pool to choose from.
This follows April’s news that during the month of March the hospitality industry rose three places to third in the list of industries most in need of contract or temporary staff.
Simon Tarr, managing director of workforce development charity People 1st told BigHospitality that more needs to be done to keep talent within the industry.
“The drop in applications highlights that a greater focus is needed to retain the talent already working within the industry by offering clearer progression routes to demonstrate the fantastic career opportunities the sector has to offer, alongside targeting a wider range of sustainable and relevantly untapped talent pools to help fill vacancies,” he said.
Changing perception
Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of The British Hospitality Association (BHA), spoke to BigHospitality about the work that The BHA is doing with partners to change the perception of the industry.
“The BHA is currently working with the Department of Work and Pensions, National Apprenticeship Service, Springboard and Believe in Young People to continue to shift the perceptions of our industry, showing how people can quickly build a successful management career that can take you anywhere in the world,” she said.
Ibrahim also spoke about the success of The BHA’s Big Hospitality Conversation, a campaign aimed at attracting young people to the industry and giving them the skills they need to succeed, while reducing youth unemployment.
“This national campaign has already had great success - in just two years, over 2,500 businesses have helped to change the lives of over 43,000 young people by creating new career opportunities in hotels, restaurants and catering companies across the UK,” she said.
The South West recorded the highest year-on-year rise in hospitality jobs with a 75 per cent increase, while the majority of job vacancies in the industry were in the South East. The East Midlands had the fewest number of recorded job vacancies.
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