Sacha Lord, the Night Time Economy Advisor for Greater Manchester, has urged students to move quickly if they want to snap up some of the hospitality sector’s most wanted roles this summer.

The Parklife co-founder has highlighted current vacancies at Escape to Freight Island, AO Arena, Rio Ferdinand’s Rosso Restaurant, renowned tapas resturant El Gato Negro, The Oast House, Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, and celeb-favourite, Dakota Hotel, which are all recruiting above living wage.

Lord said, “The opportunities in the hospitality sector are huge at the moment, whether that’s for front of house roles, chefs, bartenders, kitchen porters, promoters, or assistant managers.

“I know many people who say working behind the bar was the best job they’ve ever had, and there are huge opportunities right now for young people to pocket some extra money and have fun over the summer season. These jobs won’t just give them valuable experience when they choose to move into full time employment, but the social experiences which we all know have been massively missed in the past two years.”

The beleaguered sector is currently facing a staffing drought due to the uncertainties caused by the pandemic, visa restrictions related to Brexit, and rising business costs.

Echoing the woes, a report by The Open University and the British Chambers of Commerce today found that more than two thirds (68%) of small businesses are facing skills shortages, with the figure rising to 86% for large organisations. Furthermore, staff shortages in the hospitality sector have caused nearly 45% of operators to cut trading hours, according to UKHospitality.

In addition to highlighting opportunities, Lord, who is meeting trade union Unite today to discuss support for the sector, has also called on operators to ensure they are offering employees the best experiences they can,

“I’ve spoken at length to operators in Greater Manchester and we continue to urge venues to ensure the right processes and pay rates are in place to attract and retain workers.

“It’s a difficult time at the moment, but it’s a cyclical process – if you have motivated happy staff, the service is better and the customer experience is better. We can’t be naive to the fact that if staff aren’t treated fairly, and this includes paying living wage, they will walk. They’ll move to sectors which are paying fairly, committing to hours, and give them a good work life balance. The hospitality sector does need support but we can’t rely on that alone. We must also work internally to aid staff retention, boost morale and attract new staff into our sector.”

In June, the ONS revealed more than a tenth of the 1.3 million job vacancies nationwide can be attributed to hospitality which currently has over 174,000 vacancies on offer – a record high. UK hospitality businesses also recorded 83% more vacancies over the three months to May than over the same period in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

A call to introduce a dedicated hospitality visa to attract overseas workers back into the UK and plug staff shortages has been tabled by the NTIA, UK Hospitality and Sacha Lord, but has not yet been backed.

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